Grade XI Compulsory English | Unit: 7- An Astrologer's Day | (XI-English ) by- R. K. Narayan

 An Astrologer’s Day by R. K. Narayan Summary, Analysis, Theme and Question Answers

‘An Astrologer’s Day’ by R. K. Narayan is a story deals with a day’s events in the life of a good for nothing fellow turned into an astrologer to earn his bread and butter. A single day brings in his drastic past back before him but being a smart fellow, he finely deals with it.

Summary of An Astrologer’s Day

The short story ‘An Astrologer’s Day’ by R. K. Narayan is a thriller and suspense short story which deals with a single day in the life of an ordinary astrologer who shrewdly tries to dupe people and escape from his guilt. The story not only exposes the fake astrologer but also highlights the gullible and superstitious people who approach him. His day begins like any other day but the day ends with unexpected events. When he is about to wind up his business, he meets a rogue character, Guru Nayak who is a part of the past life of the astrologer. Towards the end, as readers, we receive a shock that Guru Nayak and the astrologer belong to the same native towns. They were once upon a time good friends and had a quarrel one day. The result was that both were into bad company and had a fight. The astrologer tried to kill Guru Nayak by attacking him with a knife and when Guru Nayak fainted, he threw him into a nearby well.

Fortunately, a passerby saved Guru Nayak. The astrologer left his native village forever and became an astrologer. Thus suddenly he confronts his past unexpectedly but smartly tackles the situation.

The surrounding darkness seems to offer a refuge to the astrologer. There is an unexpected twist in the tale with the arrival of Guru Nayak on the scene. Gradually the mystery that is hidden in the darkness is unveiled by his questions. Guru Nayak challenges the astrologer’s knowledge. He refuses to go away without getting a satisfactory answer to his questions.

However, the astrologer who is at his wit’s end now decides to face the situation. He displays accurate knowledge about Guru Nayak’s past and is successful in convincing him. In answering the question of Guru Nayak, the astrologer has not only deceived him but also saved himself from his own fate. The author superbly evokes the atmosphere of suspense and irony in the story. The story reveals how appearances are often deceptive. It shows the witty astrologer’s encounter and escape from his former enemy.

Theme of “An Astrologer’s Day”

The theme of the story focuses on a single day in the life of an ordinary astrologer who suddenly faces past life in the present drastic situation. The story has a twist in the tale. The otherwise adventure less life of the astrologer suddenly poses a grave problem from his past life and demands alertness to tackle the situation. The story describes of a single day in the lives of the sleepy town of Malgudi.

The story also deals with the darker side of human nature with its hypocrisies, shrewdness, revengeful nature and selfishness. The characters in the story are no exception to these qualities of human nature. Finally, all is well that ends well with the astrologer coming out with flying colours in his examination of befooling his opponent, saving his life and also saw to it that he does not face the man again in future.

Analysis/ Summary of “An Astrologer’s Day”

“The Astrologer’s Day” is a short story which deals with a day in the life of an ordinary but fake astrologer. The setting of the story is a town, Malgudi which is located in South India, near to Madras. It is not a story of contemporary times but pre-independence times.

The story opens at the midday. This is the time when the astrologer opens his business. The writer describes how he begins his business. He removes all his professional equipment like cowries shells, charts, Palmyra writing etc. He is also dressed typically like an astrologer to attract customers. His forehead is bright with sacred ash and vermilion. His eyes are assumed to have a prophetic light by his customers. He wears a saffron turban. Thus the astrologer presented himself so perfectly that he was consequently a point of attraction for all the people.

The writer describes the path along the Town Hall Park where the astrologer sits to lure his prospective customers. He carried on his business under a tamarind tree on the Town Hall road. The path was the right place to carry on his business as it was amply crowded with different trades and traders like medicine sellers, hardware and junk, magicians, cloth – sellers etc. Next to him sat a fried groundnut vendor whose gas light enabled him to carry on his business even after sunset.

The astrologer was a shrewd person who hardly had any knowledge of astrology. He just made guesswork when people approached him. He had to work hard to earn his wages. He had absconded from his native village since he didn’t want to continue the traditional occupation of his forefathers i.e. farming. He never had any plans to return to his native village. He was a mastermind at analyzing human mind and psychology. His strong perception made him diagnose the exact problem of his customers. His customers would finally leave satisfied.

He closed his shop for the day when his neighbour, groundnut vendor blew out his light. On the day under description in the story, the groundnut vendor left and the astrologer was packing up his wares when he located a man standing before him. He perceived him to be his prospective customer. When the astrologer invited him, he posed a challenge before him and his astrological science. They have a deal between them. The man gave him an anna and asked the astrologer to answer his questions and if he doesn’t answer satisfactorily he will have to return the anna with interest. At the same time if the astrologer can answer the questions satisfactorily he would give him eight annas. But if the astrologer fails, he would pay double amount i.e., sixteen annas to the man. Thus the deal was finalized between them.

The astrologer prayed to heaven. Then suddenly the astrologer denied the challenge and requested the man to let him go. The man said that he will not let him give in. He holds him in his grip thereby making the astrologer shiver. Finally, the astrologer realized that he is trapped and has no chance of moving out. The man turned out to be a criminal by profession.

The astrologer shivered and unwillingly accepted the challenge. He started telling about some woman but the man was not satisfied and stopped him. He had a single question that whether he would get what he was searching for. The man promised the astrologer that if he is satisfied with his answers, he would pay him a rupee. The astrologer prayed a few incantations before replying. The astrologer began with his prophecies by saying to the man that you were left for dead in the past and a knife has passed once on your chest. The man was excited at this information since he had really faced it. After he got wounded, he was thrown into a well nearby to die. A passerby saw him and rescued him and that is how he was saved from dying. The man was waiting to revenge the culprit who had attacked him and was in search of the culprit who had tried to kill him. The only thing which the man wanted to know from the astrologer was if he can find his killer. The astrologer instantly replied that the culprit had died four months ago in a far – off town. The man was disappointed to hear this.

The astrologer identified the name of the man before him as Guru Nayak. He told the man that his village was a two days’ journey to the north and warned him to go back home and never to travel south again. He asked him to return to his hometown immediately as his life was in danger if he left his hometown again. The man replied that he left home just to search the culprit who had tried to kill him and was interested in knowing if he had died in the worst way. The astrologer satisfied him by informing that the culprit was crushed under a lorry. The man left after giving the astrologer a handful of coins. The astrologer too winded up his belongings and went home.

The astrologer’s wife was waiting for him worriedly since he was unusually late that day. The astrologer flung the coins at his wife to count. They were twelve and a half annas in all. She was extremely happy to encounter that big amount. She planned to buy jaggery and coconut for their child, who was demanding for sweets from a long time. However, the astrologer looked worried and was not happy like his wife. He was angry at Guru Nayak as he had cheated him. He promised to give a rupee and actually gave only twelve and a half annas. After dinner, he shared the secret of his life with his wife. He said that a great burden of his life was gone that day. He always felt that he had killed Guru Nayak. So the astrologer had run away from his native village due to the fear of being accused as a murderer. He settled in Malgudi and married and decided that he would never return back to his native village. Actually, the man who tried to kill Guru Nayak was the astrologer himself. So he was able to make accurate predictions about him though he hardly knew astrology. The astrologer confessed to his wife that in his youth he was into bad company with Guru Nayak. He drank, gambled and quarrelled badly one day and had a fight and had almost killed Guru Nayak. This is how life with its unpredictable twists and turns had created an astrologer out of a vagabond.

Source: https://smartenglishnotes.com/2020/12/20/an-astrologers-day-by-r-k-narayan-summary-analysis-theme-and-question-answers/

Summary : An Astrologer's Day

The story begins with the description of an astrologer who is sitting under a tamarind tree. On the forehead he has smeared sacred ash and vermilion. There was something special about his eyes. There was a sparkle in them that attracted people. This light was mistaken as prophetic light by his simple customers whereas R.K. Narayan describes this as the outcome of the continuous search for customers. He had dark mustache that came down to his cheeks. To complete the look he had a saffron coloured turban as well. He had cowrie shells and a square piece of cloth with obscure mystic charts and a bundle of palmyra writing. He was always searching for a customer in the crowd. The place where he was seated was surrounded by a variety of other traders like medicine sellers, auctioneer of cheap cloth, magicians as well as people who sold stolen goods. There was a vendor who sold fried groundnuts but called his product by different names each day like ‘Bombay Ice-cream’, ‘Delhi Almond’, ‘Raja’s Delicacy’, etc. Most of the people who came to the vendor went to the astrologer too. The entire place was lighted with shop lights. This is a very common sight in India. The astrologer was someone who knew very little of his own future. He was as much unaware of the stars as his customers, yet he could manage to astonish people with what he said. This he made possible with practice and shrewd calculation. He was clever enough to trick others with his guesses. He managed to make a living as an astrologer because of his experience. He knew that people had problems due to money, marriage and household issues. Within five minutes he could guess what was wrong and never spoke for the first ten minutes. He let his customers talk and gathered information for many of the answers from which he would create his advice for them. He had some questions which he usually asked to get clues as to what advice he should give his customers. Each question was charged at the rate of three paise. One evening, after the nut vendor had blown out the light and when every other trader was getting ready to go home, the astrologer saw a man before him. The man challenged the astrologer by saying that if the astrologer gave him the right answers for his questions then he would give him eight annas and if he failed then the astrologer would have to pay him back twice the amount. The astrologer happily accepted the challenge. But when he saw the man’s face from the light of a match stick, he quickly gave back the amount he had taken. The man caught the astrologer by his wrist and said he could not back out now. The astrologer finally agreed to speak for a rupee and he began. The man was shocked by the astrologer’s revelations. He said that the man was once left to die and that he was stabbed with a knife once. He also said that the man was pushed into a well near a field. The astrologer even goes to the extent of calling the man by his name – Guru Nayak. With this the man is very pleased and impressed with the all knowing astrologer’s knowledge. The astrologer advises the man to go back to his home town and never travel southwards again. He proceeds to say that the man who he was looking for is no longer alive. Four months ago he met with an accident and was crushed under a lorry. To this the man says that he was there in search of that man to take revenge and now that he was dead he would return home. The man leaves and the astrologer returns home. He tells his wife about his life before he met her. He tells her that in his home town he used to play cards, gamble, drink and quarrel. It so happened that one day he picked up a quarrel with a man and in the heat of the moment stabbed him. He pushed him into a well and left him for dead. He left his village thinking that he had the blood of another man on his hands. But now he says he can live peacefully not because Guru Nayak is alive but that after today’s session he would never come back there again. Guru Nayak could not identify the astrologer and the astrologer easily escaped from the hands of his enemy. After telling his wife of what had happened he stretched himself on the pyol and went to sleep. His wife was happy to get the money paid by the stranger as she could prepare some sweets for her child who had been asking for sweets for some days now. Read more on Sarthaks.com - https://www.sarthaks.com/719000/an-astrologers-day-summary-in-english

An Astrologer’s Day

Summary

The story opens with an account of the place and environment in which an astrologer meets his clients and does his work. Every day he starts his work at midday, under a tamarind tree that is close to a public park in the town.

The place which the astrologer chooses for his work is generally full of people who pass by or gather there. They are attracted by vendors of nuts, medicines, stolen hardware, etc. It is a place poorly lighted in the evening. The astrologer has to depend on lights coming from the flickering lamps kept by neighboring vendors because he has no light of his own.

The astrologer knows nothing about astrology, but with his experience he manages to earn money which he carries home at the end of a day. He has a working analysis of the common problems of most people. He makes people believe that he has an unusual ability to tell people’s fortunes.

One evening, the nuts- vendor blows out the light and is ready to go home. This compels the astrologer to leave the place. When he picks up his stuff and puts into a bag, a stranger stands before him. Seeing the opportunity for one more possible client, the astrologer invites the stranger to sit and chat. The stranger challenges saying that if the astrologer gives him the right answers for his questions, he will give him eight annas and if he fails, the astrologer will have to pay him back twice the amount. The astrologer happily accepts his challenge. But when he sees the stranger’s face from the light of a match stick, he feels very uncomfortable and quickly gives back anna he has taken.

The stranger holds the astrologer in his grip and says that he can’t get out now. The astrologer finally agrees to speak for a rupee. He tells the stranger that he was once stabbed through the chest and left for dead. The stranger is excited at the information and exclaims that the only thing he wants to know from the astrologer is when he can find the assaulter. The astrologer instantly replies that the culprit had died being crushed under a lorry four months ago. The astrologer calls the stranger by his name ‘Guru Nayak’ and advises him to return to his hometown immediately as his life is in danger. He gives the astrologer money and leaves.

The astrologer reaches home late night. His wife is very happy with his earning. But he is upset since he is cheated by Guru Nayak not paying him as much as promised. As they lie down to sleep, he reveals to his wife that he has got rid of a great burden. He confesses to his wife that in his youth he was into bad company. One day he drank, gambled and quarreled badly. He had a fight and stabbed Guru Nayak and left him for dead. He thought himself to be murderer. This was the reason why he fled from his home and started a new life in the town. But now he is content that he had not in fact taken a life. Satisfied by this, he goes to sleep.

Answer the following questions.

a. How does the astrologer’s appearance help him attract customers? How does he help the customers satisfy their needs?

Answer: His forehead is bright with sacred ash and vermilion. His eyes are assumed to have a prophetic light by his customers. He wears a saffron turban. He presents himself so perfectly that he is a point of attraction for all the people. He helps the customers satisfy their needs with his working analysis of their troubles like marriage, money, etc.
b. How do you characterise the astrologer’s attitude toward the stranger?

Answer: The astrologer sees the stranger before him and perceives him to be his possible customer.

c. What details does the astrologer give the stranger about his past?

Answer: The astrologer tells the astrologer that he was stabbed by a knife and thrown into a well to die, and some passers-by saw him and saved from dying.
d. Why does he advise the stranger to go home immediately?

Answer: He advises the stranger to go home immediately to get rid of danger in his life.
e. What is your reaction to the conversation between the astrologer and his wife?

Answer: I feel gratified that the astrologer has got rid of his guilt and fear and managed to earn a little extra money that day. I get struck by the picture of the simple lives these people lead. The astrologer's whole collection of coins for one day is only enough to keep them alive until the next day.
Reference to the context

a. Suspense is the feeling of anticipation you may have as you read. In this story, what details contributed to your feelings of suspense and surprise? Explain.

The feeling of suspense is created about the personal and past life of the astrologer. The reader is told that he was not intended to be an astrologer. He left his village without any previous plan. The reader is also told that astrology is not his family business. This creates curiosity in the mind of the reader about the reason why he broke this ancestral cycle and was forced him to leave his home all of a sudden. The sense of suspense continues with the astrologer’s encounter with the stranger. The astrologer catches a glimpse of the stranger’s face in the flash of light created by the matchstick, and immediately disagrees to accept the stranger’s challenge. At the end of the story, the reader is surprised with revelation of the fact that the astrologer was the person who stabbed the stranger and left for dead when he was drunk during one of his days as a youngster.

b. Analyze the conflicts in “An Astrologer’s Day.” Explain how the conflicts are resolved and what they reveal about the characters involved in the story.

In the story, conflict takes place when a stranger as the astrologer’s client, appears in the scene to be consulted. The astrologer is packing up his stuff and ready to call it a day. The stranger challenges the astrologer to provide specific answers for his questions. As the stranger lits his cheroot, he catches a glimpse of his face by the match light and for some unclear reasons the astrologer feels uncomfortable and rejects the challenge. But, he is forced to tell the stranger something that will satisfy him. The stranger is surprised to be told about his past life by the astrologer, and agrees to give up his search for his enemy who was declared to have been crushed under a lorry. The astrologer ensures a safe and secure life for himself hereafter.

c. “All right. I will speak. But will you give me a rupee if what I say is convincing? Otherwise I will not open my mouth, and you may do what you like.”

i. Who is the speaker?

ii. Who is he speaking to?

iii. What does the expression ‘open my mouth’ mean?

Answer:
i. The astrologer is the speaker.

ii. He is speaking to Guru Nayak.

iii. The expression ‘open my mouth’ means to utter some convincing information about the stranger.

d. Description helps readers visualize what is happening in a story. What details and techniques does the author use to describe the astrologer?

The astrologer is an impressive character. He is able to develop a new personality and survive in a densely populated urban environment by using his intelligence. The astrologer lives by his wits. Despite having no mystical knowledge he knows how to put on a show to attract passers-by. It is obvious that he must sit for long hours in order to collect enough to keep himself and his family alive from day to day. In addition to his intelligence, he is courageous and determined. When he is dealing with Guru Nayak and his life is in danger, he still insists on bargaining for money. He brings every single anna home to his wife so that she can buy food for the family. He is a devoted husband and father.

The story has the mode of third-person omniscience. The use of dialogue throughout the story serves the function of providing multiple points of view without changing the overall authority of the narrator. The story is set in the Town Hall Park, in the late evening. The reader learns that the astrologer is usually under the tamarind tree by noon.

e. Irony is a contrast between appearances and reality. What is ironic about Guru Nayak’s meeting with the astrologer?

The irony of the situation centers around the meeting of Guru Nayak’s meeting with the astrologer. He comes to the astrologer for help in finding and killing the man he is talking to. The man whom Guru Nayak is looking for is none other than the astrologer himself. As soon as the astrologer recognizes the man, he feels very uncomfortable. But the astrologer wisely misinforms him. He makes Guru Nayak wait and bargain for money. When he finally calls the stranger by his name and tells him about the incident that happened in the village, he has Guru Nayak in the palm of his hand.

f. How does the astrologer’s manner of dress suit his character?

The astrologer is the protagonist of the story. The initial part of the story describes the outfit and the appearance that the astrologer carries when he performs his duty. He is dressed typically like an astrologer. His forehead is bright with sacred ash and vermilion. He winds a saffron-coloured turban around his head. His dress and appearance suit his character and becomes a center of attraction. They are easily fooled by the astrologer with his wits. He is intelligent and has his shrewd ways to go about his profession. He has a working analysis of mankind’s troubles.

Source: https://www.suryaxetri.com/2021/02/neb-grade-xi-compulsory-english-note-An-Astrologers-Day-R-K-Narayan.html

An Astrologer's Day Summary

Analysis

At midday, the astrologer lays out his equipment and readies for the day. He has brought a dozen cowrie shells, mystical-looking but unreadable charts, parchments, and other accoutrements. His forehead is painted with sacred ash and he wears a saffron-colored turban. The astrologer’s garb, in combination with his keen eyes and long beard, give him an enigmatic and comforting appearance to potential customers. He seems prophetic and wise, though “even a half-wit’s eyes would sparkle in such a setting.”

Narayan vividly describes the way in which the astrologer’s appearance and equipment lend him a quasi-supernatural presence. Although the author leaves no room for doubt that the astrologer is indeed a fraud, the description of him is so compelling that it is easy to see how people would be fooled into regarding him as more than a mere man.

The astrologer is seated beneath a large tamarind tree near a road that leads through the Town Hall Park. Around him is a marketplace with similarly fraudulent characters, including an auctioneer of cheap cloth and a man who sells the same fried food every day but each day gives it a new luxurious name such as “Bombay Ice-Cream.” The lights in the marketplace flicker and dance from dozens of sources, creating an enchanted feeling—a feeling bolstered by the fact that the marketplace lacks “the benefit of municipal lighting.”

All the vendors are in the practice of overselling their own value. Both the cloth vendor and the food seller create the illusion of luxury, while the astrologer creates the illusion of wisdom and power. Catering to a poor demographic, each vendor exploits a desire for the trappings of a more privileged life. Note the contrast of the astrologer, representing ancient tradition, with the Town Hall Park, representing modern administration.

RELATED QUOTES WITH EXPLANATIONS

The astrologer prefers the indirect lighting, since he never aspired to be an astrologer at all, nor has he any business being one. He does not know any more about the stars than any customer who may come to him. Rather, he has a store of general platitudes and a practiced ear for guessing at people’s problems, since they are very often all the same. He tells people the things they want to hear. Even so, the author surprisingly interjects, his labor is as “honest” as any other, and his wages were earned.

The astrologer’s preference for indirect, arguably poor lighting is two-fold. It both enhances the mysticism and helps conceal the fact that he is not actually a true astrologer at all. Despite this, the author sympathizes with him, noting the ways in which he acts as a therapist, listening to the problems of his customers and offering advice that may soothe them for a time.

Years before, the astrologer had to leave his home suddenly, without telling anyone and without preparation. Had he stayed, he would have been a farmer like his forefathers, working, marrying, dying, but it was not to be. Instead, he had to flee several hundred miles, an immense distance for a villager, and take up a new life.

Though it is later revealed that the astrologer fled after attempting murder, this foreshadow of it is dismissive, reflecting his own current feelings toward the situation. He seems to blame his departure on fate. Yet, he left the only honest life he could have lived.

The astrologer has formed a “working analysis” of humanity’s problems, being as they all relate to marriage, money, or messy human affairs. When someone comes to him, he first listens for ten minutes before speaking, by which point he has many things that could be said and passed off as cosmological wisdom. Often his answers are vague but sufficiently satisfying to give comfort to people; otherwise, they are self-affirming to the listener and as such leave them satisfied. He endears his customer to himself, but is careful to tie such praise to a cosmological symbol, such as the position of Saturn.

Although the astrologer has no ancient wisdom, he does not seem to need it. The problems of mankind are the same as they have always been. Perhaps the astrologer’s customers do not actually need an astrologer at all, but merely a listening ear and a soothing voice to calm their nerves. But recognizing the desire for the illusion of control and significance, the astrologer manipulates his customers to their mutual benefit.At the day’s end, the nuts vendor next to the astrologer blows out his flare and goes home, meaning it is time for the astrologer to go home as well. There is no more light available to him, save for a small shaft of green light that strayed to the ground in front of him.

With the fading of the light, the astrologer has successfully upheld his ruse for another day. Yet under the cover of darkness, he is perhaps now bolder than he ought to be.

As the astrologer is packing his garb and equipment, a stranger blots out the green light. The astrologer summons him to sit down, hoping to make money off of him. The stranger resists but the astrologer presses, until finally the stranger steps to him and aggressively offers a challenge.

Ironically, it is the astrologer’s greed which brings him to an encounter that almost costs him both his false identity and his life. That the stranger blots out the light is significant, given that light throughout the story has signified the illusion of cosmic wisdom; the blocking of the light aligns with the stranger’s skepticism.

The stranger offers a large sum on the cynical wager that the astrologer cannot tell him anything worthwhile. They haggle over the wager, eventually raising the price and the stakes.

An immediate contrast to everyone else in the story, the stranger is instantly skeptical of the astrologer’s authenticity, and rightly so. Again, the astrologer’s greed intervenes as he keeps haggling for greater sums.

The stranger strikes a match to light his cheroot, and the brief light of the flame illuminates his face enough for the astrologer to see his identity. The astrologer gets very uncomfortable and tries to wriggle out of the wager and go home. The stranger will not allow it, grabbing him by the arm and keeping him there, determined to expose the astrologer as a fraud or learn something useful.

Had the astrologer not pushed the stakes so high, it is possible that the stranger—later revealed to be Guru Nayak, a man the astrologer thought he’d killed—would have let him leave, but his self-interest has trapped him. The fear he now feels is in part for his own safety, but also of the prospect of shedding his false identity and facing his past, as well as his guilt.

The astrologer, fearful now, tries several times to offer the same vague, placating advice that has satisfied other customers in the past. The stranger, however, will have none of it. The astrologer says a silent prayer and then changes tactic, revealing to the stranger that he knows that he was stabbed and left for dead some years ago.

Although the astrologer has been offered the opportunity to take responsibility for his crimes and be an honest man, he never even appears to consider it. Instead, he goes the opposite route, using his own experience to craft a more convincing lie.

The stranger is now filled with enthusiasm, convinced that the astrologer must truly possess cosmic wisdom. He inquires when he will be able to find the man who attacked him, so that he may kill him. The astrologer replies that it will not be until the next life, because his attacker died several months ago in a different village. The stranger is disappointed at this news. However, the astrologer offers him some satisfaction by telling him that the man he seeks was crushed under a lorry, and at least met a grisly, undignified end.

Guru Nayak nearly exposed the astrologer and forced him to the truth. Alas, the astrologer misses his chance to live with sincerity. Worse yet, he uses his past connection with Guru Nayak to permanently put to death his true identity. The astrologer will never live up to what he has done; he has killed the man he used to be and sated Guru Nayak with false justice.

The astrologer reveals that he knows the man’s name is Guru Nayak as well, crediting his own omniscience. He warns Guru Nayak to return to his village and never venture this way again or great harm will befall him. Guru Nayak concedes, for now that his assailant is dead he has no more reason to wander about. Guru Nayak gives the astrologer a fistful of coins and leaves while the astrologer packs his equipment. The last shaft of green light has also vanished.

The use of Guru Nayak’s name implies that the astrologer had a reasonably close relationship with him. He was not a stranger when the astrologer tried to murder him, making the astrologer a fairly villainous character. Beyond rejecting his chance for confession, the astrologer delivers what amounts to an astrological threat to Guru Nayak to give up his search. The light has all gone from the marketplace, as has the astrologer’s potential for virtue.

The astrologer returns home to his wife and daughter in the dark of midnight. His wife is angry at him until she sees the money he has made from Guru Nayak, though the astrologer curses Nayak when he realizes that Nayak has slightly underpaid him. She remarks that her husband seems troubled, though he brushes it off. As they are lying down to sleep, the astrologer tells his wife that a great weight has been lifted from him today. For years he had believed he had murdered Guru Nayak when he lived in his home village, but now he sees that he is not a murderer after all. His wife is shocked at the revelation that her husband once attempted murder, but the astrologer dismisses his crime as the folly of youth.

Though it could be surmised earlier, his wife’s response to the money confirms that their family is quite poor. The astrologer is also quite petty for a holy man, cursing Guru Nayak that his large sum of money wasn’t large enough, rather than being thankful for escaping with his life. When the astrologer reveals his past crime, his wife is shocked, but he does not seem to understand the severity of what he has done. He is satisfied merely in the fact that he is not a true murderer, and goes to sleep a thoroughly false and hypocritical man. He has destroyed any opportunity for an honest, authentic life.