XII - 1.1 An Astrologer's Day ( ICE BREAKERS & BRAINSTORMING )

XII - 1.1 An Astrologer's Day,

1.1         An Astrologer’s Day

                                                                                                                    -  R. K. Narayan

ICE BREAKERS

 

Ø What are your strengths?

 

Strengths	Why do you feel so?	Dream career
Painting and drawing	Can visualize, express	Commercial artist, cartoonist
Reading	Take knowledge, awareness	Writer, Poet, Editor
Sport	Maintain health	Sportsman
Dance	For relaxation	Dancer

 

Ø The scene in a local market of a village/town/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.    Bargaining with vendors                             

3.    Shouting on each other                             

         4.      Buying vegetables

         5.      Asking the rates

         6.     Taking fruits

Ø In a village / town / 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.    Few charts                                                   

3.    Mat                                                                

4.    Sacred ash                                                     

         5.  Saffron cloths

          6. Tilak, thread

          7. Neck wares / Malas

            8. Cowrie shells

Ø 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.    Breaking a mirror                       .

3.    Wearing gemstones brings good fortune 

  4. not cutting nails after sunset.                                                            5. Eat curd before heading out      

   6. Adding one rupee to gift 
money is lucky .

                                                 

   

     CHARACTERS –

1)    Astrologer- (main character)-    Protagonist -by profession – astrologer

-           He makes his living while predicting his customers' futures. 

-           Good listener

-          Shrewd, clever, cunning, smart,

2)    Guru Nayak –(co-character) –              searching for man

              wants to take revenge

                worried, overconfident, aggressive                                             

3)    Astrologer’s wife -           caring

-          protective, Humanistic in character.

-           

BRAINSTORMING

 

(A1)   i) Given below are some descriptions. Discuss them with your partner and find out one word for each of them. An example is given for you.

(a)  The scientific study of the universe and the objects in it, including stars, planets, nebulae and galaxies

-         Astronomy

(b)                        The study of the movements of the planets, Sun, Moon, and Stars in the belief that these movements can have an influence on people’s lives

-         Astrology

        (c)  A prediction of what will happen in the future

-         Forecast

        (d)  Scientific discipline that studies mental states and processes and behavior in humans and other animals

-         Psychology

 

  ii)     In the story we are told that the Town Hall Park was a remarkable place in many ways for an astrologer to build his business. Discuss it in a group and list the exceptional qualities of the place.

-          A surging crowd                       - Middle of the market/ city place

-          Close to road                          - free or benefit of other shop lights

-          Free of charge place                 

                  

    iii)  The astrologer never opened his mouth till the other had spoken for at least ten minutes. Discuss the reasons behind his act.

(a)          He is good at reading the people.

(b)                       He is a good listener

(c)          He is well expert to analysis human troubles

(d)                        He knows some typical problems faced by people

(e)                       First, he wants to understand the nature of the customer

 

(A2) (i) The tactics used by the astrologer to earn his wages are ……….

                Analysis of human troubles

The Tactics     matter of study

                His attire and long practice

              Having solutions of all problems

 (ii)   An astrologer’s appearance helps to create an impression on his clients.

       Complete the following.

(A) The turban on his head

(B)  Wearing saffron colour

(C)  Bag and other equipment

(D)                                                    Tilak on forehead

(E) Sitting under tamarind tree

(F)  Well arrangements of Sacred ash, parrot, thread, charts, cards etc.

          iii) Read the following sentences and choose the correct one.

(a)   The astrologer says that if Nayak does not leave his village again, he would-

-         Face danger.

(B) According to the narrator the astrologer’s success in his profession is primarily due to –

-         His understanding of people

          (C)  The story suggests that the astrologer’s comments and observations please people by-

-         Flattering them or supporting their own views

            (d) Guru Nayak consults the astrologer because he wants to –

-         Get the answer to a specific question.

              (e) Guru Nayak is looking for the man who tried to kill him-

-              To take revenge

              (f) The astrologer’s remark makes Guru Nayak feel all of the following except-

-               suspicious

(G) Reactions of the astrologer’s wife to his news suggest that she-

-             Was unaware of his past

  (iv) Read the following sentences and find out True and False sentences. Correct the False sentences.

(a)      The astrologer gave a correct prediction to the client about his past that he was stabbed, thrown into a well and left for dead.

-         True

   (B)  When the astrologer came to know that the man whom he killed is alive he felt that he was relieved of his guilt.

-         True

   (C) The astrologer tried to back out of the deal and talked about the client’s past.

-         False

             (d)  The astrologer rescued himself from Guru Nayak’s revenge.

-         True

(e)The moral of the story is that we must be responsible about what we have done and should not run away from our mistakes.

-         True

(v)  The astrologer has changed his appearance and his persona when he arrived in the city. Give specific reasons.

-         One day astrologer and village man drank, gambled and quarreled badly. Then quarrel turned into severe fight. Astrologer had seen blood on his knife and pushed the man into a well nearby in the field. He thought that he might have died. So, to hide this reality he left the village and changed his appearance and his persona and arrived in the city.

(vi) ‘The darkness load that was inside the astrologer has disappeared.’ Through this sentence, explain the significance of the title ‘An Astrologer’s Day.’

-         One day astrologer and village man drank, gambled and quarreled badly. Then quarrel turned into severe fight. Astrologer had seen blood on his knife and pushed the man into a well nearby in the field. He thought that he might have died. That guilt of darkness loaded inside the astrologer. But when he knows the reality that person still alive then his burden disappeared. Thus, the title “An Astrologer’s Day’ is very significant because on that day he understood the reality of his life and released the burden.

vii)  The astrologer feels relieved that Guru is not dead as it relieves a great burden from him. Critically justify the statement and explain it.

-         Yes, the astrologer always felt that Guru was dead and he had taken burden. But when he knew that Guru was alive and sitting in front of him, he felt relived. Here we can understand that astrologer didn’t want to kill Guru but he thought that in his anger he killed Guru. So, he had taken burden and left the village. But at the end of the story we know that definitely he feels relived that Guru is not dead. When he goes home, he tells the story to his wife and he could sleep peacefully that night.

viii) The astrologer wins/gets the sympathy of criticism of the reader in the end. Express your opinion with the support of the main story.

-         The readers don’t have any sympathy for the astrologer. His past misbehavior, his attempt to kill Guru and his present profession which is based on lies, all create hatred in the minds of readers. But when he realizes that the man whom he thought to have killed is alive he feels relieved. It shows that he was always guilty for his deed. He was living a life with no assurance of tomorrow’s bread due to the fear. That day he honestly tells his wife everything. All this create sympathy for him in the minds of the readers.

 

ix) If we have to eradicate the superstitions and other ill practices from our society. What steps would you like to suggest?

-         To eradicate the superstitions and other ill practices form our society, I would like to suggest some steps these are: -

-         1. To know the real knowledge.

-         2. To think in a systematic way.

-          3. To get a science knowledge update.

-          4. To think critically in a systematic manner.

-          5. To develop the prosperity towards science.

-         6. To disperse the blind belief.

-         7. To give the real knowledge of the particular thing.

-          8. To localise the scientific thinking and scientific reasoning

-         9. To make strict rules

x) In the story, astrologer has a great listening power. Listening helps in developing good relations with people. Express your opinion.

              -  According to me, active listening is only a part of the skills. Active empathic listening shows that you also understand what's going on inside the mind of the speaker as if you were that person. When you're empathically listening, you do more than hear, you show that you know how the other person feels. Being able to listen to your partner effectively means you’re able to better understand their perspective. It means you’re more likely to have constructive conversations where you feel your point of view is being considered. So many misunderstandings in relationships are caused by one or both partners feeling like they’re not being heard.  

  (A3) i) In the story, the following characters reveal their qualities through words and actions. Pick out the words that describe them from the box and write in the appropriate columns.

Astrologer	Guru Nayak	Astrologer’s wife
Shrewd	Manipulative	Caring
Clever	Worried	Protective
Cunning	Overconfident	Humanistic
Smart	Aggressive	demanding

             ii) Match the suffixes with the words and make nouns. One is done for you.

Word	Suffix	Noun
auction	able	auctioneer
enchant	Ure	enchantment
know	ment	knowledge
prepare	eer	preparation
proceed	ance	procedure
appear	ledge	appearance
remark	tion	remarkable

 

    iii) ‘An Astrologer’s Day’ has ironic elements where the astrologer pretends to have ‘supernatural Knowledge’ that coincidently turns out to be the truth.

       Irony means a situation or statement characterized by a significant difference between what is expected and What actually happens, or between what is understood and what is meant.

      Find out the examples of irony from the story and write them down. One has done for you.

-                  (a)  He knew no more of what was going to happen to others than he knew what was going to happen to himself the next minute.

          (b)  Never travel southward again, and you will live to be a hundred.

 

          (c) “I was only going away now and then to look for him and to choke out his life if I met him.’

 

         (d) “Yes,” said the astrologer. “He was crushed under a lorry.”

 

  (iv) In the story, many Indian words are used.

         ‘cowrie shells.’ This is an example of code-mixing.

         Find out other such words from the story and write them down.

-         Delhi Almond

-         Bombay ice cream

-         Raja’s Delicacy

 

   (v)  There are some phrases where the word crown is used with different shades of meaning. Use the following phrases to complete the sentences meaningfully. One is done for you.

  Crowning achievement, To crown the effect, crown of thorns, crowning glory,  to crown it all

         To crown the effect, he wound a saffron-coloured turban around his head.

 

(a)        The works of Shakespeare are the crowning glory of English drama.

  

(b)  Amitabh has given us awesome movies throughout five decades.  But to crowning achievement is his performance in the movie ‘Black’.

        (C)  In her pursuit of success, Radha has distanced herself from her family. Her fame has become a real crown of thorns

        (d)  They threw a wonderful party for me with costumes, games and      to crown it all my favourite Kind of ice cream. 

           (e)   Medical science has great inventions, but organ transplantation is definitely a crowning achievement for human beings.

 

 (A4) i) Word Usage

              Use the words given in the brackets and rewrite the sentences.

(a)The power of his eyes was considerably enhanced. (enhancement)

-         There was a considerable enhancement in the power of his eyes. OR

-         The power of his eyes had a considerable enhancement.

 

(b) He had a working analysis of mankind’s troubles. (worked)

-         He had worked on the analysis of mankind’s troubles.

 

(c) He knew what was going to happen to himself next minute. (happening)

-         He knew what was happening to himself next minute.

 

(d) If you find my answers satisfactory, will you give me five rupees?                       (satisfaction)

-         If you find my answers to your satisfaction, will you give me five rupees?

 

(e) He shook his head regretfully. (regret)

-         He shook his head with regret.

 

(f)  It was a bewildering crisscross of light rays. (bewildered)

-         The Crisscross of light rays bewildered. OR

-         It was a bewildered crisscross of light rays.

 

(g) ‘I should have been dead if some passer-by had not changed to peep into the well.’ Exclaimed the other, overwhelmed by enthusiasm. (enthusiastically)

-         ‘I should have been dead if some passer-by had not changed to peep into the well.’ Exclaimed the other, enthusiastically.

       (h) You tried to kill him. (killing)

-         You tried killing him.

 

(i)   I will prepare some nice stuff for her. (preparation)

-         I will have a preparation of some nice stuff for her.  OR

-         There will be a preparation of some nice stuff for her by me.

 

(j)   The other groaned on hearing it. (heard)

-         The other heard it and groaned.  OR

-         The other groaned when he heard it.

                                                                            WALCHAND COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCE,SOLAPUR