CLASS-11TH
CHAPTER NO-1
Section-C
(lesson for extensive study)
AN ASTROLOGER’S DAY
(R.K.NARAYAN)
LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Q1. Write, in brief a character-sketch of the astrologer?
Ans. The astrologer belonged to a
village. His forefathers were farmers. He too would have become a farmer if he
had continued living in the village. He was then a silly youth. One day he
drank, gambled and quarrelled badly. He stabbed a man and left him for dead. He
ran away to the town. There he became an astrologer. However, he had no
knowledge of astrology. He did his job through guesswork only, yet he was very
successful. He wore such a dress that he at once attached the eyes of other.
His forehead was marked with sacred ash and vermilion. He wore a
saffron-coloured turban round his head. The astrologer was very clever and
tactful also. He always said thing that pleased his customer. First, he would
let a customer speak for at least ten minutes. It gave him enough stuff for the
answers. He would look at the palm of his customer and say,’’ you are not
getting the fullest result of your efforts,’’ or ‘There is a woman in your
family, who is not well-disposed toward you’ or ‘it is not your fault, but that
of your stars.’’ Such answer at once endeared the astrologer to his customers.
Q.2. Explain briefly the ‘sting-in-the-tail’ contained in the story?
Ans.
‘A sting in the tail’ is an idiom that means an unpleasant feature or event
that comes at the end of the story and spoils it, From this point of view, I
think there is any ‘sting in the tail’ in this story. Rather at the end of the
story, its main character is filled with relief. He has been relieved of a
great burden. Yes, there is an unexpected event in the story when the
astrologer was encountered with Guru Nayak. Guru Nayak was the same man whom
the astrologer had stabbed a few years ago. It had become quite dark when a man
came to the astrologer. As the man lit a cheroot, the astrologer saw his face
by the match light. He tried to get rid of him. But the man didn’t let him go .
Finding himself helpless, the astrologer agreed to answer his questions. He
told the man how he was once stabbed and left for dead. He warned the man that
there was again a great danger to his life and so he should never travel away
from his home. He also told him that the man, who had stabbed him, had been
crushed to death under a lorry. The man gave the astrologer a handful of coins
and went away satisfied.
Q3. Summarise the relationship between the astrologer and his clients.
Ans.
The astrologer did not know anything of the starts or astrology. He knew as
little of it as his clients. It was only a matter of practice and guesswork for
him. He would always say thing which pleased his clients. First he would let a
client speak for at least ten minutes. It gave him enough stuff for the answer.
He would gaze at the palm of his customers and say;’ In many ways you are not getting
the fullest result of your efforts.’’ It is a thing that each one feels to be
true. When he said this, nine out of the ten clients agreed with him. Or he
would say ‘is there a woman in your family, maybe a distant on the man’s stars.
He would say, ‘It is not your fault, but that of your stars.’’ Such answers
would at once ender the astrologer to his clients.
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