An Astrologer’s Day - Short Story

-       by R.K. Narayan

SUMMARY

“An Astrologer’s Day” is a short story written by R.K. Narayan, a famous Indian novelist and storyteller. It is an interesting story with full of suspense and humour. The story deals with the evens of a single day in the life of an ordinary astrologer.

The astrologer sits under a tamarind tree near the town hall of Malgudi town. He is not a professional one or trained. He survives out of his common sense and general psychology of people. When superstitious people approach him for reading of their future, he looks into their hand and tells some commonly acceptable positive and negative things. He knows some details from the people first and later only gives his readings. Generally people feel satisfied with his comments and readings and give him money.

One evening while it was becoming dark, the astrologer was ready to go home. At that time, a person was going that way. In the darkness, the astrologer didn’t see the person properly. He invited him for reading of his future. Then the new person came to the astrologer and thrusted his palm with a demand to tell whether he would be successful in his search for a person. Then in a split second in a beam of light, the astrologer saw the face of the person. The astrologer rejected to tell anything saying that he was going home. But the new person demanded. Finally, the astrologer told the person’s name as ‘Gurunayak’. The person was surprised at this. The astrologer told Gurunayak that he was stabbed to death by a person long time ago. He also told that the person he was searching for was dead in an accident. He also warned Gurunayak to leave the town immediately and never come that direction from his village as it would bring him death. The person was satisfied with this answer and gave him good amount of money and left.

That night, after dinner, the astrologer told his wife that the person whom he stabbed in his youth in a drunken stage, Gurunayak, came in search of him that day. Out of fear, after stabbing him he came to Malgudi town and settled there. Till now he was thinking Gurunayak was dead. Now, he felt relieved as he got rid of the guilt and Gurunayak will never come that way again.

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References used: Internet resources and English Praxis textbooks by APSCHE

Noojilla Srinivas, Ph: 7981862200; email: noojillasrinivas@gmail.com 

Lecturer in English

Govt. Degree College, Alamuru, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema Dist., Andhra Pradesh