Maharashtra Board Class 12 English Chapter 1.1 An Astrologers Day Textbook PDF Download

Section One

1.1 An Astrologer's Day

Ice Breakers

Discuss with your partner and complete the activity.

What are your strengths?

The scene in a local market of a village or town or city is very attractive. People with different occupations sell their wares. Discuss with your partner the variety of activities at the local market.

1. selling flowers, selling grocery

2.

3.

4.

5.

In a village or town or city it is quite a common sight to see an astrologer sitting by the roadside with his professional equipment.

Discuss with your partner and list the requirements for his trade.

1. parrot, cards etc.

2.

3.

4.

5.

There are certain unreasonable beliefs among people living in our society. Certain common events are linked with superstitions. List such events, discuss the superstitions linked with them and the means of their eradication.

1. A cat crossing your path

2.

3.

4.

5.

Teacher's Note

Many people in Indian villages still believe in astrologers. They ask astrologers about their future before making big decisions. But we should trust hard work more than fate.

Exam Trick

Remember: An astrologer is a fake fortune teller. He uses common sense and clever guessing to fool people. Just like a magician tricks you, he tricks people too.

Points to Remember

Astrologers use appearance and speaking skills to impress people.
People believe in superstitions because they want easy answers to their problems.
The story teaches us that cheating may work for a short time but truth always comes out.
We should use our brain to think, not listen to fake astrologers.
Good listening skills help us understand people's real problems.

R. K. Narayan (1906 to 2001)

Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanaswami was one of the best known novelists among Indian English writers. He is the author of fourteen novels, five volumes of short stories, and a number of travelogues, and has a collection of non-fiction to his credit. He also wrote his memoir My Days (1975).

Narayan created the imaginary town of Malgudi, where realistic characters in a typically Indian setting lived amid unpredictable events. His stories are grounded in compassionate humanism and celebrated the humour and energy of ordinary life. His stories are characterized by a simple style and subtle humour.

Narayan was introduced to American readers in 1952 by the Michigan State University Press. These include, Swami and Friends, The Bachelor of Arts (1937), The Dark Room (1938), An Astrologer's Day and Other Stories (1947), Mr Sampath (1949), The Financial Expert (1954), Waiting for the Mahatma (1955), The Guide (1958), and many other books.

His novel, The Guide, won him The Sahitya Akademi Award in 1961, the most coveted literary honour in India. His writing is distinguished by humour and unoffending irony, a unique Indianness and a simplicity which is utterly charming and authentic. Narayan typically portrays the peculiarities of human relationships and the ironies of Indian daily life. His style is graceful, marked by genial humour, elegance and simplicity.

Teacher's Note

R. K. Narayan is a very famous Indian writer who wrote in English. His stories show the real life of Indians. He wrote about common people and their problems in a fun and easy way.

Exam Trick

Remember: Narayan wrote about a town called Malgudi. This is a made-up place that shows real Indian life. Think of it like a mirror of India.

Points to Remember

R. K. Narayan won the Sahitya Akademi Award for his novel The Guide.
He created the imaginary town of Malgudi with realistic characters.
His stories have simple language and hidden humour.
He shows the funny side of Indian daily life and human relationships.
His writing style is graceful, elegant, and easy to understand.

An Astrologer's Day

Punctually at midday he opened his bag and spread out his professional equipment, which consisted of a dozen cowrie shells, a square piece of cloth with obscure mystic charts on it, a notebook, and a bundle of palmyra writing. His forehead was resplendent with sacred ash and vermilion, and his eyes sparkled with a sharp abnormal gleam which was really an outcome of a continual searching look for customers, but which his simple clients took to be a prophetic light and felt comforted. The power of his eyes was considerably enhanced by their position-placed as they were between the painted forehead and the dark whiskers which streamed down his cheeks: even a half-wit's eyes would sparkle in such a setting. To crown the effect he wound a saffron-coloured turban around his head. This colour scheme never failed. People were attracted to him as bees are attracted to cosmos or dahlia stalks. He sat under the boughs of a spreading tamarind tree which flanked a path running through the Town Hall Park. It was a remarkable place in many ways. A surging crowd was always moving up and down this narrow road from morning till night. A variety of trades and occupations was represented all along its way: medicine sellers, sellers of stolen hardware and junk, magicians, and above all, an auctioneer of cheap cloth, who created enough din all day to attract the whole town. Next to him in vociferousness came a vendor of fried groundnut, who gave his ware a fancy name each day, calling it "Bombay Ice Cream" one day and on the next "Delhi Almond," and on the third "Raja's Delicacy," and so on and so forth, and people flocked to him. A considerable portion of this crowd dallied before the astrologer too. The astrologer transacted his business by the light of a flare which crackled and smoked up above the groundnut heap nearby. Half the enchantment of the place was due to the fact that it did not have the benefit of municipal lighting. The place was lit up by shop lights. One or two had hissing gaslights, some had naked flares stuck on poles, some were lit up by old cycle lamps, and one or two, like the astrologer, managed without lights of their own. It was a bewildering crisscross of light rays and moving shadows. This suited the astrologer very well, for the simple reason that he had not in the least intended to be an astrologer when he began life; and he knew no more of what was going to happen to others than he knew what was going to happen to himself next minute. He was as much a stranger to the stars as were his innocent customers. Yet he said things which pleased and astonished everyone: that was more a matter of study, practice, and shrewd guesswork. All the same, it was as much an honest man's labour as any other, and he deserved the wages he carried home at the end of a day.

Teacher's Note

The astrologer uses clever tricks and good appearance to fool people. In India, many people believe in astrologers sitting on the street even today. We should teach children to think with their brains, not believe in fake predictions.

Exam Trick

Remember: The astrologer doesn't know anything about stars or the future. He is just clever at guessing and reading people's faces. Think: fake guru = shrewd guesswork.

Points to Remember

The astrologer uses cowrie shells, charts, and a turban to look real.
His eyes seem magical because of his appearance and position.
He sits in a busy market where there is no street light.
He guesses about people using common sense, not real powers.
He is just as honest as any other worker earning his daily wages.

He had left his village without any previous thought or plan. If he had continued there he would have carried on the work of his forefathers - namely, tilling the land, living, marrying, and ripening in his cornfield and ancestral home. But that was not to be. He had to leave home without telling anyone, and he could not rest till he left it behind a couple of hundred miles. To a villager it is a great deal, as if an ocean flowed between.

He had a working analysis of mankind's troubles: marriage, money, and the tangles of human ties. Long practice had sharpened his perception. Within five minutes he understood what was wrong. He charged three pies per question, never opened his mouth till the other had spoken for at least ten minutes, which provided him enough stuff for a dozen answers and advices. When he told the person before him, gazing at his palm, "In many ways you are not getting the fullest results for your efforts," nine out of ten were disposed to agree with him. Or he questioned "Is there any woman in your family, maybe even a distant relative who is not well disposed towards you?" Or he gave an analysis of character: "Most of your troubles are due to your nature. How can you be otherwise with Saturn where he is? You have an impetuous nature and a rough exterior." This endeared him to their hearts immediately, for even the mildest of us loves to think that he has a forbidding exterior.

Teacher's Note

The astrologer left his village because something bad happened there. He ran away to the city and started a new life. This shows that running away from problems doesn't solve them.

Exam Trick

Remember: The astrologer uses a trick called "cold reading". He listens to people talk and then gives them advice that they want to hear. This is like magic but it's really just smart psychology.

Points to Remember

The astrologer left his village without telling anyone or making a plan.
He understands people's problems in just five minutes by listening.
He charges very little money for each question.
He lets customers talk first so he can guess their real problems.
People like his advice because he flatters them and agrees with their thoughts.

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