AN ASTROLOGER’S DAY (R.K.NARAYAN)

 

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Q1. What was the astrologer’s professional equipment?

Ans. The astrologer knew nothing of his profession. But he had all the professional equipment with him. His articles included a dozen cowrie shells, a square piece of cloth with a strange chart on it, a notebook and some other little things.

Q2. How did he give his face the look of an astrologer?

Ans. The astrologer’s knew nothing of his profession. But he gave himself the look of a perfect astrologer. His forehead was marked with sacred ash and vermilion. He wore a saffron coloured turban round his head.

Q3. Where did he sit every day?

Ans. The astrologer would sit under a tree on a public road. It was a busy road. A crowd of people always kept moving up and down, from morning till night.

Q4. Who were the other professionals on the road where the astrologer carried on his business?

Ans. The astrologer carried on his business under a tree on a public road. Besides him, the other professionals on that road were- medicine-seller, magicians, sellers of stolen goods, a seller of cheap cloth and a vendor of fried groundnut.

Q5. What were the different names given by the vendor of fried groundnuts to his groundnuts?

Ans. Every day the vendor would give his groundnuts fancy names to attract the customers. He would call it ‘Bombay ice-cream’ one day. The next day he would call it ‘Delhi almond’. On the third day, he would call it ‘Rajas delicacy’ and so on.

Q6. What was the source of light used by the astrologer during the evening hours?

Ans. The astrologer had no light arrangement of his own. There was a groundnut vendor sitting near him. The groundnut vendor had a light above the heap of his groundnut. The astrologer would do his work by this light. Besides this, the lights from the nearby shops also helped him.

Q7. How does Narayan describe the astrologer’s knowledge of astronomy?

Ans. The astrologer had no knowledge of astrology or astronomy. He knew as little of it as his customers. He did his job through guesswork and though common understanding of human psychology. First he would let a customer speak for at least ten minutes. It gave him enough stuff for the answer.

Q8. What would the astrologer have done if he had continued to live in his old village?

Ans. The astrologer had to leave his village due to some reason. But if he had continued to live there, he would have carried on the work of his forefathers- tilling the land, living, marrying and ripening in his cornfield and ancestral home.

Q9. How could the astrologer ‘guess’ his ‘clients’ problems?

Ans. The astrologer did not know anything of the stars or astrology. It was only a matter of practice and guesswork for him. He would always say thing which pleased his customers. First, he would let a customer speak for at least ten minutes. It gave him enough stuff for the answer.

Q10. What was the challenge thrown by the client to the astrologer?

Ans. The client said to the astrologer that he had to ask questions and that he was ready to pay the price he wanted. But he challenged the astrologer that if he was found bluffing, he would have to return his money with interest.

Q11. How could the astrologer rightly guess the past of the client?

Ans. The astrologer already knew that stranger. He was the same man, Guru Nayak, whom the astrologer had stabbed a few years ago in his village. He had pushed the man into a well and left him for dead. That was why he could rightly guess the past of the stranger.

Q12. What did the astrologer tell his wife?

Ans. He told his wife that a great load was gone from him. All these years, he had thought that he had the blood of a man on his hands. And it was for this reason that he had run away from his village.
‘He is alive!’’ he said.

THANK YOU