Name : Samarth

Course : BBA
Section: B
Register no: 19MG1K1091
Title : Discuss the themes of
deception , revenge and ironies in life of
R K Narayan’s astrologer’s day

Department: Management
Content
s.no topics Page no.
1) R .K. Narayan 1-2
2) Introduction 3-4
3) Summary 4-5
4) Themes 6-9
5) Bibliography 10
R.K. Narayan
R.K. Narayan, in full Rasipuram Krishnaswami
Narayan, original name Rasipuram Krishnaswami
Narayanswami, (born October 10,
1906, Madras [Chennai], India—died May 13, 2001,
Madras), one of the finest Indian authors of his
generation writing in English.
Reared by his grandmother, Narayan completed his
education in 1930 and briefly worked as a teacher
before deciding to devote himself to writing. His
first novel, Swami and Friends (1935), is an episodic
narrative recounting the adventures of a group of
schoolboys. That book and much of Narayan’s later
works are set in the fictitious South Indian town of
Malgudi. Narayan typically portrays the peculiarities
of human relationships and the ironies of Indian daily
life, in which modern urban existence clashes with
ancient tradition. His style is graceful, marked by
genial humour, elegance, and simplicity.
Among the best-received of Narayan’s 34 novels
are The English Teacher (1945), Waiting for the
Mahatma (1955), The Guide (1958), The Man-Eater
of Malgudi (1961), The Vendor of Sweets(1967),
and A Tiger for Malgudi (1983). Narayan also wrote
a number of short stories; collections include Lawley
Road (1956), A Horse and Two Goats and Other
Stories (1970), Under the Banyan Tree and Other
Stories (1985), and The Grandmother’s Tale (1993).
In addition to works of nonfiction (chiefly memoirs),
he also published shortened modern prose versions
of two Indian epics, The Ramayana (1972) and The
Mahabharata (1978).
Introduction
R.K. Narayan's short story analyzes human psyche.
It is a satire on the weaknesses of the human mind.
However, the irony is gentle and infused with humor.
The plot is simple, and the language is
unpretentious.
Guru Nayak has been fortunate to evade a near-
fatal accident. He wants to find his assailant and
seek revenge. He is anxious, vindictive, and bitter.
Narayan provides a vague description of Guru
Nayak, but the latter seems aggressive and
combative. He is prone to drinking and gambling.
R.K. Narayan's short story analyzes human psyche.
It is a satire on the weaknesses of the human mind.
However, the irony is gentle and infused with humor.
The plot is simple, and the language is
unpretentious.
Guru Nayak has been fortunate to evade a near-
fatal accident. He wants to find his assailant and
seek revenge. He is anxious, vindictive, and bitter.
Narayan provides a vague description of Guru
Nayak, but the latter seems aggressive and
combative. He is prone to drinking and gambling.
R.K. Narayan's short story analyzes human psyche.
It is a satire on the weaknesses of the human mind.
However, the irony is gentle and infused with humor.
The plot is simple, and the language is
unpretentious.
Guru Nayak has been fortunate to evade a near-
fatal accident. He wants to find his assailant and
seek revenge. He is anxious, vindictive, and bitter.
Narayan provides a vague description of Guru
Nayak, but the latter seems aggressive and
combative. He is prone to drinking and gambling.

Summary
The story begins with a description of the place and
environment in which the astrologer meets his
clients and does his work. He begins his work every
day at midday in a public place under a large tree
that is close to a public park in his town. The place
chosen for his work is generally full of people who
pass by or gather there, such as customers attracted
by vendors of nuts, sweetmeats, and other snacks. It
is a place poorly lighted in the evening, and because
the astrologer has no light of his own, he must
depend on what light comes from the flickering
lamps kept by neighboring vendors; a dully lighted,
murky place is best for his purpose. He is not an
astrologer by profession but was led into it by
circumstances that forced him to leave his village,
where, if he had stayed, he would have settled down
to a life of tilling the land.
He has a practical knowledge of the common
problems of most people: “marriage, money, and the
tangles of human ties.” His sharp eyes, used to
scanning for customers, make people believe he has
an unusual ability to tell people’s fortunes.
“An Astrologer’s Day” opens as its title character
arrives at his workplace, at midday, and as usual
spreads his charts and other fortune-telling props
before him, though no one comes seeking his aid for
many hours. Later, with nightfall approaching, he
begins preparing to go home when, all of a sudden,
he beholds a man standing in front of him.
Themes
In An Astrologer’s Day by R.K Narayan we have the
theme of fear, freedom, appearance, desperation,
guilt and relief. Taken from his Malgudi Days
collection the story is narrated in the third person by
an unnamed narrator and after reading the story it
becomes clear to the reader that Narayan may be
exploring the theme of fear and how far a man might
go in order to overcome fear. The astrologer has left
his village due to the fact that he was afraid that he
had killed somebody (Guru Nayak). In what seems to
be a friendship that has gone badly wrong the
astrologer not only was afraid of what he felt he might
have done but he was also conscious that should he
stay in the village he would be charged with murder
and in turn lose his freedom. Which is interesting as
the astrologer spends his nights helping people gain
some sort of control or freedom within their lives.
However it may be worth knowing that the astrologer
is somewhat of a charlatan and in reality doesn’t really
know very much about the stars. His job is a means
to an end. He stays on the street at night in order to
feed his family. However people still come to the
astrologer looking for information that might help
them with their lives. Which may suggest that each
customer is somewhat desperate. Desperate enough
to believe what the astrologer is telling them. When
the reality is the astrologer is formulating an opinion
based on the information each customer gives him.
Symbolically it may also be important that for most of
the story the astrologer is in the dark. This in many
ways mirrors how the astrologer feels when it comes
to Guru. He like the street was in the dark about what
happened Guru. The lightning in the street and the
fact that it is dark also sets the tone for the
astrologer’s conversation with Guru. It is not by
chance that the astrologer knows Guru by name.
However what is not clear to the reader is at what
point the astrologer began to recognise Guru. What is
also interesting is the advice that the astrologer gives
to Guru. It is entirely defensive. That being the
astrologer is attempting to put as much distance
between himself and Guru. If anything the astrologer
is protecting himself and ensuring that he does not
see Guru again. Which in all likelihood will be the case
as Guru believes everything that the astrologer has
said to him.
Narayan may also be exploring the theme of guilt. The
astrologer has spent his time in the city believing that
he has killed Guru and the weight of this on his
conscious forced the astrologer to abandon his
village. If anything it was the guilt that the astrologer
felt along with the fear of going to prison for murder
that drove the astrologer out of his village. It is also
interesting that the astrologer has the appearance of
an astrologer or someone who might know what the
stars have in store for an individual. This could be
important as it is most likely that the astrologer has
changed his appearance and his persona when he
arrived in the city. The young man that he had been
was no longer. The innocence of his childhood was
lost after the incident with Guru. The astrologer in
order to make a living and to succeed in the city had
to change who he was. Something that he
successfully managed to do. So successful is the
astrologer at changing his appearance that not even
Guru was able to recognise him. It is as though the
astrologer has all the tools of the trade something that
is noticeable from the opening paragraph of the story.
The end of the story is also interesting as Narayan
appears to be exploring the theme of relief. The
astrologer feels relieved that Guru is not dead as it
lifts a great weight from the astrologer’s shoulders.
How relaxed the astrologer is; is noticeable by the
way that he explains his story to his wife. It is in a
casual manner. Which may be important as again
there is a sense that the astrologer feels more relaxed
about his life. So relaxed in fact that he manages to
stretch himself on the pyol. Where once the
astrologer had been driven by fear this is no longer
the case. His life can begin again knowing that he is
not a murderer. He may be a charlatan when it comes
to the art of astrology but that in itself is not a crime.
At last the astrologer can feel free even if he doesn’t
know what the stars have in store for him. The
darkness that was inside the astrologer has
disappeared. No longer is he tied down by his past
and the mistake that he thought he had made. At the
end of the story there is not only a sense of relief but
also a sense of freedom. The shackles the astrologer
had imposed on his mind are gone.
In "An Astrologer's Day," irony is ever present.
Narayan achieved consistency in his ironic tale.
Nayak spends so much of his life searching for the
man who had attacked him years ago, only to not
even recognize the astrologer when he comes face
to face with him. At the same time, the astrologer
has lived with the guilt of killing a man he did not
actually kill. The astrologer has lived his life in hiding
for a crime he only thought he committed. Ironically,
the astrologer has lived with a guilt of a crime he did
not commit.

Bibliography
1) https://www.britannica.com/biography/R-K-
Narayan

2) https://www.gradesaver.com

3) http://sittingbee.com/an-astrologers-day-r-k-
narayan/