An Astrologer’s Day is a thriller, suspense short story by author R. K. Narayan. While it had been published earlier, it was the titular story of Narayan’s fourth collection of short stories published in 1947 by Indian Thought Publications. It was the first chapter of the world-famous collection of stories ‘Malgudi Days’ which was later telecasted on television in 2006.
“An Astrologer’s Day” is an interesting story about a man who runs away from his home and pretends to be an astrologer after imagining that he has committed a murder. In a strange situation, an ironic twist of fate, he runs into the very man he thought he had killed.
| Activity: Given below are some descriptions. Discuss them with your partner and find out one word for each of them. An example is given for you. (Textbook Page No-07) |
- The scientific study of the universe and the objects in it, including stars, planets, nebulae and galaxies – Astronomy
- The study of the movements of the planets, Sun, Moon, and Stars in the belief that these movements can have an influence on people’s lives – Astrology
- A prediction of what will happen in the future – Prophecy
- The scientific discipline that studies mental states and processes and behaviour in humans and other animals – Psychology
| Activity: In the story we are told that the Town Hall Park was a remarkable place in many ways for an astrologer to build his business. List the exceptional qualities of the place. (Textbook Page No-07) |
| Activity: The astrologer never opened his mouth till the other had spoken for at least ten minutes. Discuss the reasons behind his act. (Textbook Page No-07,08) |
- He is good at reading the people
- He was very much eager to get information from the person
- He could examine the person’s nature
- He could easily satisfy the person
| Activity: Tactics used by the Astrologer to earn his wages. (Textbook Page No-08) |
| Activity: An astrologer’s appearance helps to create an impression on his clients. Complete the following: (Textbook Page No-08) |
| Activity: Read the following sentences and choose the correct one: (Textbook Page No-08,09) |
| a. The astrologer says that if Nayak leaves his village again, he would- |
| i. return the money ii. face danger iii. go back home and stop looking for the man who tried to kill him iv. not find the killer |
| Answer: face danger |
| b. According to the narrator the astrologer’s success in his profession is primarily due to- |
| i. luck ii. the bargains he drives iii. his appearance iv. his understanding of people |
| Answer: his understanding of people |
| c. The story suggests that the astrologer’s comments and observations please people by- |
| i. promising them success and good fortune ii. proving, as time passes, to have been true iii. flattering them or supporting their own views iv. helping them to learn to solve their own problems |
| Answer: flattering them or supporting their own views |
| d. Guru Nayak consults the astrologer because he wants to- |
| i. understand the past ii. find out who the astrologer is iii. make some money through a bet iv. get the answer to a specific question |
| Answer: get the answer to a specific question |
| e. Guru Nayak is looking for the man who tried to kill him- |
| i. to take revenge ii. to get an apology iii. to demand an explanation iv. to prove that the man was unsuccessful |
| Answer: to take revenge |
| f. The astrologer’s remark makes Guru Nayak feel all of the following except- |
| i. relieved ii. suspicious iii. impressed iv. disappointed |
| Answer: suspicious |
| g. Reactions of the astrologer’s wife to his news suggest that she- |
| i. was unaware of his past ii. has been worried about his safety iii. has known him since he was young iv. is concerned about her future with him |
| Answer: was unaware of his past |
| Activity: Read the following sentences and find out True and False sentences. Correct the False sentences: (Textbook Page No-09) |
| Activity: The astrologer has changed his appearance and his persona when he arrived in the city. Give specific reasons. (Textbook Page No-09) |
| Activity: ‘The darkness load that was inside the astrologer has disappeared’. Through this sentence, explain the significance of the title ‘An Astrologer’s Day’. (Textbook Page No-09) |
| The Astrologer thought that he had killed Guru Nayak. He has been carrying the burden of this thought. He is feeling guilty about it. When Guru Nayak appeared before him as a customer, Astrologer identified him suddenly. But Guru Nayak could not identify him. The Astrologer became very happy and relaxed to see Guru Nayak alive. The dark load of the thought of murder suddenly disappeared. This is the happiest day in his life, an Astrologer’s Day. |
| Activity: The astrologer wins/gets the sympathy of criticism of the reader in the end. Express your opinion with the support of the main story. (Textbook Page No-10) |
| The Astrologer won the real sympathy of the readers at the end of the story. I too sympathize with the Astrologer. His intention was not to kill Guru Nayak. When he started to lead a new life, still he was feeling guilty over his deed. It shows his greatness and humanity in him. So I sympathize with the Astrologer. I’m very happy to know that the Astrologer can live happily in future. |
| Activity: In the story, astrologer has a great listening power. Listening helps in developing good relations with people. Express your opinion. (Textbook Page No-10) |
Of course, listening helps in developing good relations with people, because-
| Activity: In the story, the following characters reveal their qualities through words and actions. Pick out the words that describe them and write before the characters. (Textbook Page No-10) |
| Astrologer | Guru Nayak | Astrologer’s wife |
| shrewd | manipulative | caring |
| clever | shrewd | demanding |
| suspicious | arrogant | protective |
| mean | overconfident | rational |
| manipulative | cunning | humanistic |
| worried | aggressive | |
| cunning | antagonist | |
| intuitive | quarrelsome | |
| skeptical | gullible | |
| mystical | ||
| smart | ||
| sharp | ||
| impetuous |
| Activity: Match the suffixes with the words and make nouns. (Textbook Page No-10) |
| Activity: IRONY (उपरोध / उपहास) |
| “Irony means a situation or statement characterized by a significant difference between what is expected and what actually happens, or between what is understood and what is meant.”
“व्यक्तीच्या संदर्भात निंदाजनक, अपमानकारक व वरमण्यासारखे केलेले वक्तव्य म्हणजे ‘उपरोध’ किंवा ‘उपहास’ होय. |
Find out the examples of ‘Irony’ from the story and write them down.
| Activity: CODE-MIXING (भाषामिश्रण) |
| “Code-mixing is the mixing of two or more languages or language varieties in speech.”
“जेव्हा दोन भाषांमधील किंवा भाषा-प्रकारांमधील शद्ब जेव्हा एकत्रीतरीत्या वापरले जातात, तेव्हा त्याला ‘भाषामिश्रण’ म्हणतात.” |
Find out the examples of ‘Code-mixing’ words from the story and write them down.
| Cowrie Shells | Raja’s Delicacy | Bombay Ice-cream |
| Eight Annas | Jukta Drivers | Half Annas |
| Activity: There are some phrases where the word ‘crown’ is used with different shades of meaning. Use the following phrases to complete the sentences meaningfully. (Textbook Page No-11) |
- crowning achievement
- to crown the effect
- crown of thorns
- crowning glory
- to crown it all
| a. To crown the effect, he wound a saffron-coloured turban around his head. |
| b. The works of Shakespeare are the crowning glory of English drama. |
| c. Amitabh has given us awesome movies throughout five decades. But his crowning achievement is his performance in the movie ‘Black’. |
| d. In her pursuit of success, Radha has distanced herself from her family. Her fame has become a real crown of thorns. |
| e. They threw a wonderful party for me with costumes, games and to crown it all my favourite kind of ice cream. |
| f. Medical science has great inventions, but organ transplantation is definitely a crowning achievement for human beings. |
| Activity: Word Usage. Use the words given in the brackets and rewrite the sentences. (Textbook Page No-11,12) |
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also see:
| ONLINE GRAMMAR QUIZZES with CERTIFICATES |
| ENGLISH GRAMMAR_1 |
| ENGLISH GRAMMAR_2 |
| GRAMMAR: SPOT THE ERROR |
| USEFUL EXPRESSIONS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING |
| WORD FORMATION PROCESSES |
| PHONETICS |
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