Friday, June 4, 2010

An Astrologer’s Day – A Short Story by R. K. Narayan ICSE Paper II Class IX Revision Lesson

A Treasure Trove of Short Stories
Courtesy - Frank Sons/ Chakravarti, Gupta

An Astrologer’s Day – A Short Story by R. K. Narayan

Contextual Question and Answers

1. “His forehead was resplendent with sacred ash and vermillion, and his eyes sparkled with a sharp abnormal gleam which was really an outcome of a continual searching look for customers, but which is simple clients took to be a prophetic light and felt comforted.”

i) Whose appearance is being described here? What more do we learn about him and his profession?

The extract describes the astrologer’s appearance in a succinct yet very clear manner.
His appearance is striking. His forehead being painted with holy ash and vermillion dazzled in a conspicuous manner while the strange gleam in his eyes seemed to be a visionary one to his clients although that is actually the result of his perpetually searching for customers. It is self-evident that he is a soothsayer.

ii) What else does the writer tell us about his eyes in the lines that follow?

The charisma of his eyes is intensified as the pair of eyes is flanked by the bright forehead on one side and the dark whiskers streaming down his cheeks on the other. Narayan humourously says here that even a fool would look charismatic with such singularly impressive features.

iii) The writer takes pains to describe the impressive appearance ‘he’ has. What are the highlights of that description?

The astrologer has not only the traditional paste of holy ash and vermillion applied on his forehead but also wears a bright gleam in his eyes. The position of his eyes between the dazzling forehead and the streaming beard announce his trade to his clients loud and clear. The saffron-turban which he wears adds a telling effect to his overall appearance.

iv) Where did he ply his trade? How did the setting help in attracting his customers?

He pursued his trade under a tamarind tree standing beside a pathway running through the Town Hall Park.
The setting was an ideal one because a large crowd went up and down the pathway from morning till night and a good number of them were the astrologer’s prospective customers. Moreover, the man had interesting peddlers as his neighbours, some of whose customers would get drawn to him to know their future.
v) Who were the other traders and vendors who did their business around him?

A man sold medicines near him. Another peddled junk goods and stolen hardware at throw-away prices. A magician would be showing sleight of hands while another would create enough interest among the passing crowd by auctioning cheap clothes. And then there was the hawker who drew a good crowd around him because of his excellent salesmanship. He would sell the same fried groundnuts every day but would canvass his fare in different fancy names like Bombay Ice Cream, Delhi Almond, and so on and so forth on different days.

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