Notes Unit 2 - An Astrologer'S Day Short Story As A Form

NOTES
UNIT 2 -AN ASTROLOGER’S DAY

Short Story as a form
Short Story signifies brevity, economy of words and short of length. It is not just a story that
is brief - it requires a particular kind of literary construction. A broad analysis of a short story
signifies three characteristic elements
1. Recognition of the familiar: Vivid details to create the illusion of reality and actuality, of
course, suggesting undercurrents of meaning. Though familiar, the writer has to rid it of any
kind of banality, cliché or formula. A short story is, after all, not a transcription of life but a
dramatization of life itself. 2. Empathy: Identifying ourselves very sympathetically and closely
with the characters and situations so as to feel a part of this actuality - the well worn theme
and thus get vivified by being individualized and
3. Readability: The good yarn pleasure tale - being absorbed by the fascination of the tale, we
are unable to put it down until we have found out what happened. Of course, beyond the
yarn lies a whole range of meaning to be explored. The traditional notions associated with
the short story such as design, continuity, effect, change etc are essential ingredients of a
short story. Even without the formal narrative parameters, a story can be exciting and
evocative.
Due to new fissures and new frictions, new expectations and new equations at every level,
personal, family, state, national, international, the modern short story has traversed new
grounds both in content and form. A short story is a voyage of discovery, of self - discovery,
of self - realization for the character but more than the character, for the reader.
A short story has to have a formal plot or structure and the skill of the author lies in making it
appear as natural, as lifelike, and as spontaneous as possible. The artist wants to make
incidents or situations appear natural rather than contrived.
R. K. Narayan is one of the three leading figures of early Indian literature in English, along with
Mulk Raj Anand and Raja Rao. He is credited with bringing Indian literature in English to the
rest of the world and is regarded as one of the India's greatest Indian English novelists.
Theme of "An Astrologer's Day"

The theme of the story focuses on a single day in the life of an ordinary astrologer who
suddenly faces past life in the present drastic situation. The story has a twist in the tale. The
otherwise adventure less life of the astrologer suddenly poses a grave problem from his past
life and demands alertness to tackle the situation. The story describes of a single day in the
lives of the sleepy town of Malgudi. The story also deals with the darker side of human nature
with its hypocrisies, shrewdness, revengeful nature and selfishness. The characters in the
story are no exception to these qualities of human nature. Finally all is well that ends well
with the astrologer coming out with flying colors in his examination of befooling his opponent,
saving his life and also saw to it that he does not face the man again in future.
Summary of "An Astrologer's Day"

"The Astrologer's Day" is a short story which deals with a day in the life of an ordinary but
fake astrologer. The setting of the story is a town, Malgudi which is located in South India,
near to Madras. It is not a story of contemporary times but pre - independence times. The
story opens at the midday. This is the time when the astrologer opens his business. The writer
describes how he begins his business. He removes all his professional equipment like cowries
shells, charts, Palmyra writing etc. He is also dressed typically like an astrologer to attract
customers. His forehead is bright with sacred ash and vermilion. His eyes are assumed to have
a prophetic light by his customers. He wears a saffron turban. Thus the astrologer presented
himself so perfectly that he was consequently a point of attraction for all the people. The
writer describes the path along the Town Hall Park where the astrologer sits to lure his
prospective customers. He carried on his business under a tamarind tree on the Town Hall
road. The path was the right place to carry on his business as it was amply crowded with
different trades and traders like medicine sellers, hardware and junk, magicians, cloth - sellers
etc. Next to him sat a fried groundnut vendor whose gas light enabled him to carry on his
business even after sunset. The astrologer was a shrewd person who hardly had any
knowledge of astrology. He just made a guess work when people approached him. He had to
work hard to earn his wages. He had absconded from his native village since he didn't want
to continue the traditional occupation of his forefathers i.e. farming. He never had any plans
to return to his native village. He was a mastermind at analyzing human mind and psychology.
His strong perception made him diagnose the exact problem of his customers. His customers
would finally leave satisfied. He closed his shop for the day when his neighbor, groundnut
vendor blew out his light. On the day under description in the story, the groundnut vendor
left and the astrologer was packing up his wares when he located a man standing before him.
He perceived him to be his prospective customer. When the astrologer invited him, he posed
a challenge before him and his astrological science. They have a deal between them. The man
gave him an anna and asked the astrologer to answer his questions and if he doesn't answer
satisfactorily he will have to return the anna with interest. At the same time if the astrologer
is able to answer the questions satisfactorily, he would give him eight annas. But if the
astrologer fails, he would pay double amount i.e., sixteen annas to the man. Thus the deal
was finalized between them. The astrologer prayed to the heaven. Then suddenly the
astrologer denied the challenge and requested the man to let him go. The man said that he
will not let him give in. He holds him in his grip thereby making the astrologer shiver. Finally,
the astrologer realized that he is trapped and has no chance of moving out. The man turned
out to be a criminal by profession. The astrologer shivered and unwillingly accepted the
challenge. He started telling about some woman but the man was not satisfied and stopped
him. He had a single question that whether he would get what he was searching for. The man
promised the astrologer that if he is satisfied with his answers, he would pay him a rupee. The
astrologer prayed a few incantations before replying. The astrologer began with his
prophecies by saying to the man that you were left for dead in the past and a knife has passed
once on your chest. The man was excited at this information since he had really faced it. After
he got wounded, he was thrown into a well nearby to die. A passer-by saw him and rescued
him and that is how he was saved from dying. The man was waiting to revenge the culprit
who had attacked him and was in search of the culprit who had tried to kill him. The only thing
which the man wanted to know from the astrologer was if he can find his killer. The astrologer
instantly replied that the culprit had died four months ago in a far - off town. The man was
disappointed to hear this. The astrologer identified the name of the man before him as Guru
Nayak. He told the man that his village was a two days' journey to north and warned him to
go back home and never to travel south again. He asked him to return to his hometown
immediately as his life was in danger if he left his hometown again. The man replied that he
left home just to search the culprit who had tried to kill him and was interested in knowing if
he had died in a worst way. 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. The
astrologer too winded up his belongings and went home. The astrologer's wife was waiting
for him worriedly since he was unusually late that day. The astrologer flung the coins at his
wife to count. They were twelve and a half annas in all. She was extremely happy to encounter
that big amount. She planned to buy jaggery and coconut for their child, who was demanding
for sweets from a long time. However, the astrologer looked worried and was not happy like
his wife. He was angry at Guru Nayak as he had cheated him. He promised to give a rupee and
actually gave only twelve and a half annas. After dinner, he shared the secret of his life with
his wife. He said that a great burden of his life was gone that day. He always felt that he had
killed Guru Nayak. So 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 back to his native village. Actually the man who tried to kill Guru Nayak was the
astrologer himself. So 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 drank, gambled and quarrelled badly one day and had a fight
and had almost killed Guru Nayak. This is how life with its unpredictable twists and turns had
created an astrologer out of a vagabond.
Conclusion
Overall in this chapter, the short story 'An Astrologer's Day' describes about a single day in
the life of the astrologer. The story has suspense and a twist in the tale towards the end. The
story also uses the co - incidence factor where the astrologer is shocked and is hardly able to
cope with the situation. His alertness of mind and smartness as an astrologer come to his
rescue. Finally, he is freed from the burden of killing Guru Nayak.

Notes Unit 2 - An Astrologer'S Day Short Story As A Form

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NOTES

UNIT 2 -AN ASTROLOGER’S DAY

Theme of "An Astrologer's Day"

Summary of "An Astrologer's Day"

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