An Astrologer's Day

An Astrologer's Day by RK Narayan 

This story has presented a very typical situation of the astrologer where he faces his past life's story.

Thee Astrologer has become successful to save his life through his proper use of mind.  

This story has various themes related to human nature as hypocrisies, shrewdness, revengeful nature and selfishness.

The astrologer always opened his astrology business during midday and he used to sit and run his business under a tamarind tree on the Town Hall road. 

That road led to Town Hall park which was quite good for his business to grow his customers. 

The road used to be crowded with different people with different trades and professions. 

The groundnut vendor also used to sit beside him and the gaslight of groundnut vendor enabled the astrologer to run his business even after the sunset. 

The astrologer was quite skilful at analysing human nature and psychology.

When the Astrologer started his business during midday, he used to decorate his business of astrology making various preparations. 

The Astrologer took out his professional tools like square cloth piece, cowries shells, charts, Palmyra: writings etc from his bag. 

He also used to dress typically like an astrologer to attract customers and he used to put sacred ash and vermilion on his forehead. 

Due to his makeup, his forehead seemed quite bright. He placed a saffron turban on his head. Thus, the astrologer presented himself perfectly to attract his customers. 

One day, when groundnut vendor blowout his gaslight, the astrologer also started closing his shop. 

While packing up his professional tools, he saw a man standing in front of him. 

He thought the man as his prospective customer and when the astrologer invited him, the man challenged the astrologer and his astrology science. 

The man-made a bet with the astrologer. He provided an anna to the astrologer and demanded his satisfactory answer to his question. He even added that if he didn't answer satisfactorily, he would have to return his anna with interest. 

The astrologer denied saying that he charged three pies for per question's answer and demanded five rupees charge for a satisfactory answer. 

But, finally, an astrologer demanded eight annas for a satisfactory answer. 

The man became ready to pay up but, he put up a condition in front of astrologer. 

According to him if the astrologer answered his question satisfactorily, he would provide him with eight annas. 

But, if he failed to satisfy him with his answer, he would have to return double amount i.e. sixteen annas. 

The bet was made. The astrologer prayed to heaven and bit later, when the man lit up his cheroot, the astrologer caught a glimpse of his face. 

Astrologer denied the challenge and asked the man to let him go but the man held him tight on his wrist. 

The astrologer trembled in fear and accepted the challenge unwillingly. 

The astrologer started telling him about the woman but the man stopped him being unsatisfied. 

The man had a single question whether he would get that what he was searching for. 

The man promised the astrologer to pay him up a rupee after getting a satisfactory answer. 

The astrologer again prayed a few incantations before replying. 

The astrologer revealed about the incident of the man in the past time.

According to the astrologer, the man had been attacked by an unknown person with a knife on his chest. 

The man became excited to hear astrologer's words as in the past, he had really been attacked with a knife. 

After that the man got wounded, he was thrown into a well nearby to die. 

A passerby saw and rescued him and now the man wanted to know about culprit's detail from the astrologer so that he could take revenge. 

But the astrologer informed about culprits death four months ago in a far town. 

The man was disappointed to hear this as he could not take revenge with the culprit. The astrologer even identified the name of the man before him as Guru Nayak. 

He told the man that his village was located in the north and took two days' journey to reach there. 

Astrologer warned him to go back home and never to travel south again and he asked him to return to his hometown immediately. 

Astrologer relates the man that he might get into the trouble if he left his home again. 

The man wanted to know the cause behind the culprit's death. 

The astrologer satisfied him by informing that the culprit was crushed under a lorry. 

The man left after giving the astrologer a handful of coins and the astrologer also packed his belongings and went to his home. 

The astrologer reached home quite late and his wife was worried about him. 

The astrologer flung the coins at his wife to count, there were altogether twelve and a half annas. 

She became so happy to see that amount and she planned to buy jaggery and coconut for their child, who was demanding sweets for a long time. 

However, the astrologer looked worried and was not happy like his wife. 

He was angry with Guru Nayak who promised him to give him a rupee but provided him only twelve and a half annas. 

After dinner, he shared the secret of his life with his wife and he told her wife that a great burden of his life was gone that day. 

The astrologer always felt that he had killed Guru Nayak because of which the astrologer had run away from his native village due to the fear of being accused as a murderer. 

He settled in Malgudi and married and decided that he would never return to his native village. 

The man who tried to kill Guru Nayak was the astrologer himself because of that he was able to make accurate predictions about him though he hardly knew astrology. 

The astrologer confessed to his wife that in his youth he was into bad company with Guru Nayak. 

He used to drink, gamble and quarrelled badly one day. In that fight, he almost killed Guru Nayak.

The astrologer was a shrewd person who hardly had any knowledge of astrology. 

He just used to make guesswork to satisfy his customers. 

According to him, he left his village because he didn't want to continue the traditional occupation of his forefathers i.e. farming. 

He never had any plans to return his native village as it was had to work  hard to earn his wages using his smart mind. 

He always used to give his day time earning to his wife in the evening time.