An Astrologer's Day

An Astrologer’s Day

Advertisement

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 halfwit’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 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 groundnuts, 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. †e 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

A N A S T R O L O G E R ’ S D A Y ƒ103

it did not have the benefit of municipal lighting. †e 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’s, managed without lights of their own. It

was a bewildering criss-cross of light rays and moving shadows. †is

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.

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 and 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.’ †is endeared

him to their hearts immediately, for even the mildest of us loves to

104 ƒT I M E L E S S M A L G U D I

think that he has a forbidding exterior.

†e nuts-vendor blew out his flare and rose to go home. †is

was a signal for the astrologer to bundle up too, since it left him in

darkness except for a little shaft of green light which strayed in from

somewhere and touched the ground before him. He picked up his

cowrie shells and paraphernalia and was putting them back into his

bag when the green shaft of light was blotted out; he looked up and

saw a man standing before him. He sensed a possible client and said:

‘You look so careworn. It will do you good to sit down for a while and

chat with me.’ †e other grumbled some vague reply. †e astrologer

pressed his invitation; whereupon the other thrust his palm under

his nose, saying: ‘You call yourself an astrologer?’ †e astrologer felt

challenged and said, tilting the other’s palm towards the green shaft

of light: ‘Yours is a nature…’

‘Oh, stop that,’ the other said. ‘Tell me something worthwhile…’

Our friend felt piqued. ‘I charge only three pies per question, and

what you get ought to be good enough for your money…’ At this the

other withdrew his arm, took out an anna and flung it out to him,

saying, ‘I have some questions to ask. If I prove you are bluffing, you

must return that anna to me with interest.’

‘If you find my answers satisfactory, will you give me five rupees?’

‘No.’

‘Or will you give me eight annas?’

‘All right, provided you give me twice as much if you are wrong,’

said the stranger. †is pact was accepted after a little further argument.

†e astrologer sent up a prayer to heaven as the other lit a cheroot.

†e astrologer caught a glimpse of his face by the matchlight. †ere

was a pause as cars hooted on the road, jutka drivers swore at their

horses and the babble of the crowd agitated the semi-darkness of the

park. †e other sat down, sucking his cheroot, puffing out, sat there

ruthlessly. †e astrologer felt very uncomfortable. ‘Here, take your anna

back. I am not used to such challenges. It is late for me today…’ He

made preparations to bundle up. †e other held his wrist and said,

‘You can’t get out of it now. You dragged me in while I was passing.’

†e astrologer shivered in his grip; and his voice shook and became

A N A S T R O L O G E R ’ S D A Y ƒ105

faint. ‘Leave me today. I will speak to you tomorrow.’ †e other thrust

his palm in his face and said, ‘Challenge is challenge. Go on.’ †e

astrologer proceeded with his throat drying up. ‘†ere is a woman…’

‘Stop,’ said the other. ‘I don’t want all that. Shall I succeed in

my present search or not? Answer this and go. Otherwise I will not

let you go till you disgorge all your coins.’ †e astrologer muttered

a few incantations and replied, ‘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.’ After a good deal

of haggling the other agreed. †e astrologer said, ‘You were left for

dead. Am I right?’

‘Ah, tell me more.’

‘A knife has passed through you once?’ said the astrologer.

‘Good fellow!’ He bared his chest to show the scar. ‘What else?’

‘And then you were pushed into a well nearby in the field. You

were left for dead.’

‘I should have been dead if some passer-by had not chanced to

peep into the well,’ exclaimed the other, overwhelmed by enthusiasm.

‘When shall I get at him?’ he asked, clenching his fist.

‘In the next world,’ answered the astrologer. ‘He died four months

ago in a far-off town. You will never see any more of him.’ †e other

groaned on hearing it. †e astrologer proceeded.

‘Guru Nayak—’

‘You know my name!’ the other said, taken aback.

‘As I know all other things. Guru Nayak, listen carefully to what I

have to say. Your village is two days’ journey due north of this town.

Take the next train and be gone. I see once again great danger to your

life if you go from home.’ He took out a pinch of sacred ash and held

it out to him. ‘Rub it on your forehead and go home. Never travel

southward again, and you will live to be a hundred.’

‘Why should I leave home again?’ the other said reflectively. ‘I was

only going away now and then to look for him and to choke out his

life if I met him.’ He shook his head regretfully. ‘He has escaped my

hands. I hope at least he died as he deserved.’ ‘Yes,’ said the astrologer.

‘He was crushed under a lorry.’ †e other looked gratified to hear it.

106 ƒT I M E L E S S M A L G U D I

†e place was deserted by the time the astrologer picked up his

articles and put them into his bag. †e green shaft was also gone,

leaving the place in darkness and silence. †e stranger had gone off

into the night, after giving the astrologer a handful of coins.

It was nearly midnight when the astrologer reached home. His wife

was waiting for him at the door and demanded an explanation. He

flung the coins at her and said, ‘Count them. One man gave all that.’

‘Twelve and a half annas,’ she said, counting. She was overjoyed.

‘I can buy some jaggery and coconut tomorrow. †e child has been

asking for sweets for so many days now. I will prepare some nice

stuff for her.’

‘†e swine has cheated me! He promised me a rupee,’ said the

astrologer. She looked up at him. ‘You look worried. What is wrong?’

‘Nothing.’

After dinner, sitting on the pyol, he told her, ‘Do you know a great

load is gone from me today? I thought I had the blood of a man on

my hands all these years. †at was the reason why I ran away from

home, settled here and married you. He is alive.’

She gasped. ‘You tried to kill!’

‘Yes, in our village, when I was a silly youngster. We drank,

gambled and quarrelled badly one day—why think of it now? Time

to sleep,’ he said, yawning, and stretched himself on the pyol.