Summary of "An Astrologer’s Day"
By R.K. Narayan
Quick notes of the story “An Astrologer’s Day”
- This is a
story from Malgudi (मालगुडी), South India
- This is a suspense/thriller story
- The story
is set during the time when people had a strong belief on astrology (ज्योतिषशास्त्र)
-There are two main characters: an unnamed astrologer and Guru
Nayak
- The astrologer (ज्योतिषी) was smart enough to recognize his customers.
Complete summary of “An Astrologer’s Day”
Before he adopted (अपनाउनु) his profession as an astrologer, he
used to live in his village. He was a gambler (जुवाडे). He used to play cards, drink, and
quarrel. One day he fought with a man called Guru
Nayak. He stabbed (छुरा हान्नु) Guru Nayak with a knife on his chest and pushed to a well
to let him die there. But a passerby saved him.
After that, he left the village and disguised (भेष बदल्नु) himself as an astrologer and stayed
in the city. He married there and didn’t return to his village because he
didn’t want to adopt his parent’s profession ie. farming.
The
astrologer lived in the town of Malgudi which is located in South India. He
lived with his wife and the only child.
Every midday, the astrologer sat under a tamarind (तित्री) tree and ran his business. It was
the perfect place to run his business. The road was always crowded with people.
He was surrounded by a variety of traders like medicine-sellers,
the seller of stolen hardware and junk magicians, cloth
sellers, etc. There was a vendor (विक्रेता ) next to him who sold fried
groundnuts (बदम). The vendor lit a gas after sunset which enabled the
astrologer to run his business even after the sunset.
He prepared himself to look exactly like a real astrologer.
He dressed typically like an astrologer to attract his customers. He was
dressed in a saffron (yellow) turban (पगडी). He put sacred (पवित्र) ash and vermilion (सिन्दूर) on his forehead. He placed cowrie (कौडी) shells and a square piece of cloth
with an obscure (अस्पष्ट) mystic (रहस्यमय) chart and a bundle of Palmyra (ग्रन्थ ताल) writing in front of him. He looked
like a professional astrologer from every angle and that way he attracted
people towards him.
Although he had no
knowledge about astrology, he was good at reading the psychology of his
customers. He was good at
guessing the situations of his customers out of his experience. As he
talked with his customers, he often asked some tricky questions. Their reply
offered him a clue to predict their situation and offered them a possible
solution to their problem. The astrologer often advised them about money,
marriage, and household issues. He would charge three paisa for each
question.
One evening, as he was packing up his belongings and getting
ready to go home, a man came in front of him. He perceived him as his
prospective (सम्भाव्य) customer. He invited the man. The astrologer pressed him to
become his customer. The man posed a challenge before him and his astrological
science. He put a condition that if the astrologer satisfied him, he would give
the astrologer eight annas
and if the astrologer failed then he would have to give him back twice the amount i.e.
sixteen annas. The astrologer accepted the bet. The astrologer prayed to
heaven. Then suddenly the astrologer denied the challenge as he happened to see
the man’s face in the light of a match stick. He recognized the man. He was the
same man whom he had stabbed on his chest. The astrologer was afraid that he
might recognize him as his criminal. So the astrologer wanted to leave the man
as soon as possible. The astrologer returned his money and refused the
challenge.
The man, then, caught the wrist of the astrologer and said
that he couldn’t go back then. The astrologer finally became ready to speak
when the man agreed to pay him one rupee.
When the astrologer began the prophecies (भविष्यवाणी) about his life, he was excited to
hear the truth of his long past. The astrologer said that he was once stabbed
by a knife on his chest and pushed in a well nearby to die. A passerby saw him
and rescued him. The astrologer even called by his name – Guru Nayak.
With this, the man was very pleased with his knowledge. The astrologer advised
Guru Nayal not to travel southwards again and never to leave his village. He
said that the man who had tried to kill him was no more. Four months ago he met
an accident and was crushed under a lorry. The man left the astrologer after
giving him a handful of coins. The astrologer, then, went home.
As he reached his home, his wife was waiting for him
worriedly because he was late than the usual time. He flung the coins and asked
her to count them. She was overjoyed as she counted twelve and a half annas.
She planned to buy jiggery (गुड़) and coconut for their little girl.
But the astrologer was not happy because the man hadn’t given
him the money as promised. He understood that Guru Nayak had cheated him.
After dinner, the astrologer shared with his wife about his life in the village. He had thought that Guru Nayak was killed because of him. But when he came to know that Guru Nayak was alive, he felt like a great load was gone from him. The astrologer thought that Guru Nayak would stop searching him because he convinced him that Guru Nayak’s culprit was dead. Guru Nayak couldn’t identify the astrologer and the astrologer escaped from his enemy.
