Page 130 - DENG203_ELECTIVE_ENGLISH_IV

Unit 7: An Astrologer’s Day by R.K. Narayan

perceived as a significant work, comparable to anything else he has written. While many critical Notes
accounts have been confined to plot summaries, a few have drawn attention to the quality of
irony that accounts for the strength of the story. What has not been stressed adequately is that
the quality of harmony that informs all his work also frames this story. There is very little
violence in Narayan’s writing, and very little by way of tragedy. Not all his fiction ends on a
note of optimism, but there is always a sense of reconciliation, a suggestion that contradictions
will be resolved.
The story is about an astrologer, who chose to be one not out of choice but past mysterious
situations in life forced him to be one. So it goes without saying that he was a stranger to the
stars as much his gullible clients, but he did know how to carry out his profession. What baffles
the reader and everyone is how he could correctly read an unusual client’s past and even known
his name? Had he studied the stars and mastered the art, contrary to the common belief? Did he
possess some uncanny powers, which could be put to good use, when needed?

Plot

1. Exposition: In the beginning of the story we are introduced to the astrologer. All others
transacting their business nearby are there to create the right atmosphere and provide the
setting necessary for the development of the plot. The crafty ways in which the astrologer
transcends his work and endeared to his gullible customers is very well described.
“He was as much a stranger to the stars as were his innocent customer. But it didn’t seem
to matter at all. He said things which pleased and astonished everyone: that was more a
matter of study, practice and shrewd guesswork”.
The writer paints a perfect picture of an astrologer – the con men, the likes of whom we
come across in the marketplace and towns. Even though we may harbour doubts about
their knowledge of stars, we do feel tempted to consult them to know what future has in
store for us!
2. Complication: A sense of suspense is created about the personal life or past history of the
astrologer. All that we are told in the beginning of the story is that he had not in the least
intended to be an astrologer when he began life.
He had left his village stealthily without any previous thought or plan. He had to leave
home without telling anyone and had to cover a safe distance before he could recollect
himself and his life. We are also told that astrology was not his family business. If he had
continued to live in his village, he would have tilled the land and tended his cornfields
like his forefathers. So this creates curiosity in the minds of the reader as to what had
happened in his past that had broken this ancestral cycle and forced him to leave all of a
sudden?

3. Climax: The narration continues at its normal expected pace until an unusual client appears
in the scene to consult the astrologer when the astrologer was packing up his astrology
paraphernalia and was ready to call it a day. This client was no usual casual client wanting
temporary respite but had specific questions and challenged the astrologer to provide
specific answers.
The critical scene which drives the plot ahead: As the stranger lit his cheroot, the astrologer
caught a glimpse of his face by the matchlight and for some obscure reason the astrologer
now felt uncomfortable and tried to wriggle out of the whole thing.
(The work place setting described in the beginning of the story is very well gelled in evolving the
critical scene of the story).
The stranger won’t let go the astrologer. “Challenge is challenge”.

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 125