In "An Astrologer's Day,"

what is the character sketch

of the astrologer? 
An Astrologer’s Day," the main character is the astrologer. He is an ordinary man who practices to be a
genuine astrologer. At midday, he begins his job by seeking out people who need to know more about
their futures.

The astrologer worked in an area that had poor lighting. At night, he used the light of the neighboring
vendors who sold nuts, fruits, and ice cream to name a few things being sold. He did what had he had to
do to earn a living.

When a client would sit down, he would allow the client to talk for ten minutes. By this time, the
astrologer had enough information to go on. He was a good judge of character. He could read people
very well. His job was one of guess work for "he knew no more of what was going to happen to others
than he knew what was going to happen to himself the next minute."

The astrologer was shrewd. He understood the problems of life. He understood financial woes and
marriage problems. He would guess his way through an encounter with a client.

No doubt, the astrologer knew what to say after he listened to a client for ten minutes. He understood
life's problems and he could guess what was wrong after hearing his client pour his or her heart out.

As evening approached, the astrologer saw a man passing by and assumed he would be a potential
client. This client was Guru Nayak and he would not be played with. He tried to get away from the
astrologer, having little faith in his abilities. Guru Nayak lit a cheroot and the astrologer recognized him
as a man he had stabbed and left for dead many years ago. Nervously, the astrologer tried to back out
the deal the two had made. But Guru Nayak would not hear of it. He insisted that the astrologer would
tell him if the man he searched for was alive or dead. Guru Nayak wanted to know where the man was
who had stabbed him and left him for dead years ago.

Finally, the astrologer tells Guru Nayak what he wants to hear. He claims the man who stabbed him is
dead. The astrologer knows what to say since he was the man who had stabbed him years ago.
Fortunately, Guru Nayak does not recognize the astrologer. He satisfies Guru Nayak and makes extra
money off him.
In "An Astrologer's Day," why
does the astrologer give the
stranger this particular advice
about the stranger's past?
After recognizing the stranger as a man whom he tried to murder
years earlier, the astrologer advises, instructs his unknowing victim
to do this for one main reason: self-protection.
He wants to keep the man away in order to remain safe from
retaliation. His speech to the stranger involves two strategies:
establishing false authority and satisfying the customer’s rage and
need for vengeance. First, before delivering the advice above, the
charlatan astrologer uses prior knowledge to fool the customer into
believing his authenticity as a psychic. Pretending to demonstrate
supernatural powers, he feigns divining the man’s past—being
stabbed in the chest, pushed into a well in a field, and left to die.
The man is amazed that the astrologer knows this information,
unaware that the astrologer is actually the perpetrator of these
homicidal deeds. Further strengthening his facade as a trustworthy
clairvoyant, the protagonist addresses the stranger by name. This
false display of magical power misleads the stranger into taking the
fake astrologer's words seriously. The hapless customer listens
intently to and heeds the command to take the two-day train
journey back home up north and never return. The protagonist then
tries to scare the man by professing that he can avoid danger if he
stays home.
Conveniently, this warning ensures that the man will never return,
securing the protagonist’s safety. This action and a promise of long
life not only portray him as a mystical figure but also make the
stranger feel a bit of control over his own fate. The astrologer
supposedly sees into the future that the man will live to be one
hundred years old if he follows directions. Second, the protagonist
placates the stranger’s anger and desire for vengeance by telling
him that his attempted murderer is This statement provides double
insurance that the attempted murderer is dead and thus out of the
stranger’s reach and that the stranger can look forward to enacting
vengeance in the afterlife (“the next world”). The protagonist
confirms that the stranger has been looking for him “now and then”
in order to kill him. By lying that he—the attempted murderer—is
dead, the astrologer stops the stranger from stalking him in the
future. When the disappointed stranger remarks that his attempted
murderer hopefully “died as he deserved,” the astrologer again lies:
The astrologer embellishes his deceptive narrative in order to satisfy
the stranger and send him away appeased and certain never to
return.

What lesson do you learn

from the story of an
astrologer's day?
One lesson to be learned from "An Astrologer's Day" is that there
are many poor and ignorant underprivileged people who have
hidden talents which can blossom if their circumstances change. The
astrologer in this story was forced to flee to a city from his little
village. He is an interesting and admirable character because he
arrived in the big, strange city with nothing but the clothes on his
back. He was a peasant. He had no education and no trade. He had
to survive somehow. He must have become an astrologer on an
impulse, just to pick up a few coins so that he could buy a little
food. He discovered that he had a talent for his new profession.
Soon he became "street smart." He was successful enough to
acquire some sort of little home, and then he got married and had a
child. No doubt there would be more children to come, and he would
have to hustle to support himself and his family. His children would
grow up as urbanites.
What is especially interesting is that he didn't have a plan. Things
just happened to him. The so-called "professional equipment" he
uses to attract and impress passers-by was undoubtedly all acquired
second-hand, or third-hand. He may have just found them
abandoned somewhere by one of the many other astrologers who
had given up or died of starvation. The story is somewhat
reminiscent of the well-known poem by Thomas Gray, " Written in a
Country Churchyard," which contains this stanza:
Everybody has to find a way to survive, and no one can be sure of
surviving, even if he seems to have a secure position in the world.
The astrologer has managed to survive thus far, and he has even
gone through a life-threatening ordeal today. But he knows he must
live from day to day and that there is no way of knowing what is
going to happen tomorrow.

Explain in your own words

the meaning of this sentence
from “An Astrologer's Day”:
“He was as much a stranger to
the stars as were his innocent
customers.”
In the short story “An Astrologer's Day,” the protagonist pretends to
be a diviner who reads the stars in order to tell people their
fortunes. The statement reveals his true identity as a fraud. In other
words, he is as familiar with and knowledgeable about astrological
signs as his hapless clients are. Like his ignorant customers, he
cannot understand the stars but pretends that he knows what they
say about peoples’ lives. He then peddles this fake knowledge as
truths to willing listeners. Although author never discloses the
protagonist’s name, he reveals how the character became an
astrologer: He escapes from his former community and cannot
continue his family’s lineage and farming traditions. Instead, he
unwittingly becomes an astrologer to earn money. Admittedly, this
charlatan cannot predict other people’s futures any more than he
can his own. To fool people into thinking that he does have divine
powers, though, he cleverly asks them questions, observes their
reactions, and formulates their fortunes. His method is “study,
practice, and shrewd guesswork.” Most importantly, he figures out
and knows what to say in order to please and amaze his customers:
His strategy is three-fold. First, he pretends to read the customer’s
palm and states general, probable, and irrefutable statements like
“In many ways you are not getting the fullest results for your
efforts” in order to establish authority and connection. Then he
collects information on the customer’s background (family,
relationships). Finally, he offers an alleged analysis of the
customer’s character with references to planets and flattering
statements. Despite being a “stranger to the stars” and con artist to
“innocent” customers, the protagonist considers his work to be
honest labor that earns him deserved wages.
What is the moral of the story
"An Astrologer's Day" by R.K.
Narayan?
The astrologer is portrayed as a man who has always had to live by his own wits and on his luck. He
pretends to be a learned astrologer. The moral of An Astrologer’s Day seems to relate to the fact that
the protagonist does not rely on the hocus-pocus of the pseudo-science of astrology with its useless
paraphernalia, but on his own perception, intuition, and practical experience. If he knew more about
astrology, he would be handicapped. When he runs into Guru Nayak, he talks a lot about the messages
he supposedly reads in the stars, but he is only using the stars to befuddle his nemesis. The reader can
see quite clearly that the astrologer is talking about the stars but really using his own practical
knowledge to get himself out of a tight spot with a man who would kill him if he recognized him as the
man he was searching for.

The best expression of the moral of the story may be the principle expressed by Laurence Sterne, author
of the classic novel:

An ounce of a man's own wit is worth a ton of other people.

In the story "An Astrologer's Day," the protagonist's nemesis Guru Nayak is not relying on his "own wit."
He is going from one astrologer to another, believing one of them will be able to answer his question,
"Where can he find the man who tried to kill him in his village years ago?" Guru Nayak's quest is futile.
How could anyone read the answer to that question in the stars? One after another, the astrologers
send him on wild goose chases until, just by accident, Guru Nayak runs into the very man he has been
looking for, although he doesn't recognize him.

The astrologer is versatile and adaptable. He has had to learn by experience. That is perhaps the main
advantage of relying on your own perception, intuition, experience, and "street smarts."
What was the equipment that
the astrologer carried?
The astrologer's "professional equipment" is itemized in the first sentence of the story. ...he opened his
bag and spread out his professional equipment, which consisted of a dozen cowrie shells, a square piece
of cloth with obscure mystic charts on it, a notebook, and a bundle of palmyra writing.

Cowrie shells are large sea-snail shells. Some of them are very pretty. Palmyra writing is mystical writing
on the leaves of the Palmyra palm tree. No doubt the writing is only an imitation of sacred Palmyra
writing. The astrologer may not even be able to read in any language. All of these items of professional
equipment are obviously intended just for show. They give the astrologer an appearance of having
esoteric knowledge. The astrologer goes further: he paints his forehead with ash and vermillion and
wears a turban.

Guru Nayak, the astrologer's nemesis, is not taken in by the specious paraphernalia. He has been
searching for the astrologer for a long time and has evidently consulted astrologers before. He is not
impressed by the usual platitudes of these fortune tellers. But he is totally astonished when this
astrologer knows his name and the details of his near-death experience in his home village.

What is the irony of the story

"An Astrologer's Day"? 
In "An Astrologer's Day," irony is ever present. Narayan achieved
consistency in his ironic tale. Nayak spends so much of his life
searching for the man who had attacked him years ago, only to not
even recognize the astrologer when he comes face to face with him.
At the same time, the astrologer has lived with the guilt of killing a
man he did not actually kill. The astrologer has lived his life in
hiding for a crime he only thought he committed. Ironically, the
astrologer has lived with a guilt of a crime he did not commit.

Narayan's irony is not satirical. It is accepted by the reader. The

reader is relieved by the ironic ending. The astrologer is innocent of
murder. He uses his wit and intelligence to convince Nayak that his
assailant is dead. The story ends on a happy note.
Through character interaction, the irony unfolds. Nayak learns that
his attacker is dead. The astrologer learns that he did not commit
murder. Overall, the irony is never harsh or critical. It simply is a
matter-of-fact as the reader learns about the past life of the
astrologer. Human weakness is inevitable in this story. Ironically,
the astrologer is not guilty of murder. When he learns the truth, he
sleeps a peaceful sleep.

Describe the role of fate and

chance in the story "An
Astrologer's Day"?
Fate refers to the development and occurrence of events beyond a
person's control and is normally regarded as being determined by a
supernatural power, such as a god, that is believed to control a
person's destiny. Chance, on the other hand, can refer either to the
possibility of something happening or the occurrence and
development of events without evidence of any obvious design.

In the story, the confluence of both elements creates an interesting

encounter that is both ironic and intriguing. The astrologer sets up a
workplace as an astrologer after he leaves his home village. He is
clearly obligated to do so since he mentions regret about having to
leave. In this instance, it is fate that compelled the change. He is
destined to be in the position he finds himself in.

On the specific day in question, while the astrologer is busy packing

up, he sees a possible client. The meeting between him and this
individual seems to be ruled by chance. It is also by chance that his
visitor lights up a cheroot and he is able to recognize him. He
realizes that it is a man whom he stabbed and dropped down a well,
leaving him for dead, many years ago when he was still an
irresponsible young man.
It becomes apparent later that it was because he believed that he
had killed this man, Guru Nayak, that he left his village, possibly to
escape retribution. Fate intervened and Nayak survived the attack.
Their chance encounter is the result of Nayak having also left the
same village to find his erstwhile attacker and take revenge. Fate,
once again, intervenes, for Nayak does not recognize the astrologer
as his assailant.

The fact that the astrologer recognizes his past victim gives him the
chance to save himself from any possible future persecution. He, in
the role of astrologer, is very convincing: he provides his client
exact details of his attack and tells him that the perpetrator has
been killed by a lorry. In the end, it is the coming together of both
fate and chance that resolves the issues that both characters have.
One finds resolution through a lie, while the other finds resolution in
a truth—the fact that a victim he thought was dead is actually alive.

What would the astrologer

have done if he had not left
his village?
He would have led a life like that of hundreds of previous
generations of Indian peasants, but this unique individual was
forced to flee to a big city and become an entirely different person.
People who live on the land can survive without any money, but
everything in the city depends upon money. The protagonist had to
find a way to survive. He probably became an astrologer by
accident when he got hold of the few bits of old "professional
equipment" he uses to attract and impress passers-by. A peasant
like himself did not have many options. He might have gotten work
as a day laborer. He had no skills to offer. He might have had to
beg--but there are so many beggars in Indian cities that he could
have starved to death. How do all these other people survive?
Problems are often opportunities in disguise. The astrologer
discovered that he had a talent for understanding and interacting
with people.

By the time the story opens, the protagonist is no longer a simple,

superstitious, ignorant peasant. He has become urbane. He is a city
dweller. He knows how to get hold of those little coins that mean so
much. He has become relatively successful. Not only can he support
himself, but he now has a wife and a child. No doubt there will be
more children, and his responsibilities will be heavier. But he has
evidently found a niche in which he and his family can survive.

What tactics were used by the

astrologer to earn his wages?  
The astrologer did not consider himself an authentic astrologer. He
was not a man who could really read the stars and fortunes of his
clients. He had run away from his homeland and now he had to
pretend to be an astrologer to make a living. In order to earn his
money, he would have his clients sit down and begin talking. He
allowed them to talk for ten minutes. By this time, they had told
him enough information until he seemed to really be able to read
their fortunes.
The astrologer used such a tactic to gather information from his
clients. He would withdraw details from his clients. By the time they
had talked to him for ten minutes or more, he had more than
enough information to go on. The more the client talked, the more
information the astrologer had to appear to predict his or her future.
Truly, the astrologer seemed to be for real. He had all the charts
and fortune telling props that helped him appear to be an authentic
astrologer. By the end of the day, he had gathered information from
each client which provided him with details which made him appear
to be a true astrologer. His common-sense approach helped him
gather the information he needed to appear to be for real. He knew
which questions to ask.
Day after day, the astrologer managed to earn a living by telling his
clients what they wanted to hear.

In "An Astrologer's Day,"

what does "tangles of human
ties" mean?
The context (above) of the quotation, "tangles of human ties," helps
us understand what it actually means. The narrator has just
explained that the astrologer had to flee his village under cover of
night's darkness. We learn later that it was because he stabbed a
man with whom he had quarreled while both were in a drunken fit.
It is next that the narrator says the astrologer had a deep
understanding of "mankind's troubles" relating to "marriage,
money, and the tangles of human ties."
It is easy to understand the trouble related to marriage and money
as those are commonly enough spoken about or made the subject
of entertainment or literature. "Tangles of human ties" goes to the
root of troubles like marriage and money and specifies the
complexities of human relationships, also known as "human ties,"
that develop tangles. An example of a tangled human tie (or
relationship) is the astrologer’s relationship with the youth he
stabbed and left for dead. They were undoubtedly friends, or at
least acquaintances, or they would not have been drinking and
gambling together. That friendship suddenly got tangled when the
quarrel broke out and then tangled again when the impulse to stab
and try to kill held sway in the astrologer's frenzied and youthful
mind.
The reason this quote follows the passage about leaving home
abruptly is that it serves to (1) foreshadow the tangled human tie
that is about to be revealed to us and to (2) provide an example of
what a tangled human tie is. Ironically, this tie becomes more
tangled that evening and then, miraculously as well as ironically,
becomes untangled when the astrologer falsely tells the revenge-
hungry customer that his assailant of old died four months ago
when run down and crushed by a lorry.

In "An Astrologer's Day," why

has the astrologer chosen the
spot under the tamarind tree
to conduct business?
The astrologer has chosen to conduct his business under the
tamarind tree because it flanked a path running through the Town
Hall Park.
Apparently, the astrologer has to work late in order to pick up
enough small coins to support himself, his wife, and their young
child. But he does not start work until midday. The tamarind tree
also provides him with shade during the day. No doubt the traffic is
heaviest in the evening because people who live in hot climates like
to come out after sunset.
The last customer, whose name is Guru Nayak, does not appear
until the astrologer is ready to quit for the night. The matter of
illumination is important because Guru Nayak, a rough customer
seeking revenge, might otherwise have recognized the astrologer as
the man he was seeking with the intention of killing him.
Another reason the astrologer likes his location is that he gets some
minimal lighting at night from neighboring shop lights.
The astrologer decides to go home when his nearby neighbor, a
nuts vendor, blows out his flare, leaving the astrologer in almost
total darkness.
The effect of Narayan's story hinges on the fact that he can
recognize his client but the client does not recognize him. This is
largely due to the dimness of the lighting and also to the manner in
which the astrologer paints his face in order to look more
impressive.