1.1 An Astrologer’s Day
The
Title of the text:
1) 'An astrologer's Day' arouses curiosity as something might
have taken place on a particular day. It attracts the readers to go through the
text.
2) 'An astrologer's Day' - Here ‘a day’ is a specific day in
life that can be a turning point of somebody's life. The title is very
interesting and creates curiosity in the mind of the readers. The writer
extended the word with a particular purpose as it was used by Churchill...
'Everyone has his day'.
3) The title creates curiosity in the mind of the reader
about astrology and astrologer’s life. It also creates interest in reading to
find out what is that particular day of the astrologer in the story.
Ice
Breakers:
1)
Complete the activity. What are your strengths?
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Strengths
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Why do you feel so?
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Dream career
|
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painting
and drawing
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can
visualise, express
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commercial
artist, cartoonist
|
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dancing
|
passion,
expression
|
choreographer,
artist
|
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singing
|
voice
modulation
|
Singer
|
|
music
|
passion
for musical instruments or to get peace and relaxation
|
music
composer / Musician
|
|
acting
|
enacting
as per situations
|
actor
|
|
making
various kinds of dishes
|
love
to make food
|
chef
|
|
ask
questions
|
can
raise critical issues
|
News
anchor, Journalist
|
|
write
stories
|
can
arrange different ideas and events
|
Writer
|
|
persuade
|
can
convince anyone
|
salesman/
businessman
|
|
weaving
and sewing
|
can
design clothes
|
dress
designer
|
2)
The scene in a local market of a village/town/city is very attractive. People
with different occupations sell their wares. Give the variety of activities at
the local market.
1. selling flowers, selling
grocery.
2. selling sweets, namkeens, bangles, artificial jewelries,
homemade medicines, fruits, vegetables, home utensils, beauty products, clothes
etc.
3. bantering, bargaining, discussing, joking,
shouting etc.
4. transport of goods and other products.
5. movement of persons and hand carts,
6. use of different dialects or languages.
3) In a village /town /city it is quite a common sight to see an
astrologer sitting by the roadside with his professional equipment.
Give
a list the requirements for his trade.
1)
parrot, cards etc.
2)
cowrie shell, obscure things, clothes ,mala, beads, flowers etc
3)
lemon, green chillies, sindoor, books, photos of deity, wand, etc.
4)
Panchang, mystic charts, palmyra writing, stick, mat,
etc.
4)
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)
To cut the nails at night.
3)
To see the women carrying empty pitchers.
4)
To scratch the left hand.
5)
To kill the cat.
6)
To take salt on the palm.
7)
To sit on the threshold.
8)
To blow the burning diya.(oil lamp)
9)
To touch the trees at night.
10)
To remove the foot wears in front of the door.
11)
To hear the caws of crow.
12)
To blink the left eye.
13)
Howling of dog.
14)
Boiled milk overflowing from vessel.
15)
Belief in supernatural powers.
16)
Sacrifice of animals toward of evil.
17)
Marriage of animals to ward off drought and bring rain.
18)
Hang lemon and chillies.
19)
Hang black doll on the door.
20)
Seeing owl on the way.
21)
Donating amount in figure of 11, 21, 51 and so on.
22)
Breaking of mirror brings bad luck.
23)
Sweeping of home at night.
24)
Painting black spot to the infant.
Means
to eradicate the superstitions:
1.
By keeping scientific attitude.
2.
Finding rationale behind them.
3.
By exposing their falsehood.
4.
By creating social awareness drive.
5.
Through literacy campaigns
6.
Through stage shows, films, songs, plays and TV programmes.
7.
Taking help of local NGOs.
8.
Organising Workshops, seminars and scientific forums at school and
colleges.
9.
By Scientific thinking
10.
By doing practical analysis
11.
By doing tie up with organisation that exposes the truth through analytical
thinking.
Guess
the meaning:
1)
pies -
a former monetary unit of India and Pakistan equal to 1/12 of an anna
2) tilting -
move or causing to move in sloping position
3) bluffing -
trying to deceive someone as to someone's abilities or intentions
4) glimpse -
a momentary or partial view
5) passer-by -
a person who happens to be going past something, especially on foot
6) peep -
look quickly and furtively at something especially through a narrow opening
7) overwhelmed -
overpowered or have strong emotional effect on
8) groaned-
made a deep, inarticulate sound conveying despair or pain
9) surging –
(crowd) moving suddenly and powerfully forward
10) cosmos -
coloured flowers and pinnate leaves (Mexican herb)
11) dahlia -
name of a flower plant (a tuberous-rooted Mexican plant of the daisy family,
which is cultivated for its brightly coloured single or double flowers.)
12) din -
a loud, unpleasant and prolonged noise
13) transacted -
carried out or conducted (business dealings)
14) careworn -
tired or unhappy because of prolonged worry
15) gasped -
panted, catch one's breath with an open mouth, owing to pain or astonishment.
Brainstorming
activities:
(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 or (Cosmology or Astrophysics)
(c)
A prediction of what will happen in the future.
-
Prophet or Foreteller or Oracle
(d)
Scientific discipline that studies mental states and processes and behaviour 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. List the exceptional qualities of
the place.
a) A
surging crowd
b) A
variety of trades and occupations.
c)
An auctioneer of cheap cloth created enough din to attract the whole town.
d)
Vociferousness of a vendor of fried groundnut.
e)
It does not have the benefit of municipal lighting.
f)
The place was lit up by shop lights.
g)
Bewildering crisscross of light rays and moving shadows.
h)
The astrologer transacted his business by the light of a flare.
(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)
The information given by people provided him enough stuff for a dozen answers
and advices
c)
He got a chance to analyze the troubles of his customer.
d)
He worked on the policy those who hear a lot learn a lot.
e)
He won the confidence of the customer.
f)
He got enough time for searching answers and giving advice.
(A2)
(i)
The tactics used by the astrologer to earn his wages are...
a)
Analysis of human troubles
b) A
good presence of mind, experience and perception
c)
Use of equipment and shrewdness.
\
d)
Comment on the customer's nature, affairs, efforts and fate.
e)
Creation of fear in the mind of the customer.
f)
Use of general statements to endear the customers and win their hearts.
(ii)
An astrologer's appearance helps to create an impression on his clients.Complete
the following:
|
a) The turban on
his head
b) Sacred ash
and vermilion on forehead
c) Dark
whiskers, sparkling eyes, dark mustache etc.
d) Other
equipment
|
(iii)
Read the following sentences and choose the correct one .
(a)
The astrologer says that if Nayak leaves his village again, he would -
(1)
return the money
(2)
face danger
(3)
go back home and stop looking for the man who tried to kill him
(4)
not find the killer.
Answer:
face danger
(b)
According to the narrator the astrologer's success in his profession is
primarily due to -
(1)
luck
(2)
the bargains he drives
(3)
his appearance
(4)
his understanding of people.
Answer:
his understanding of people.
(c)
The story suggests that the astrologer's comments and observations please
people by -
(1)
promising them success and good fortune
(2)
proving, as time passes, to have been true
(3)
flattering them or supporting their own views
(4)
helping them to learn to solve their own problems.
Answer:
flattering them or supporting their own views
(d)
Guru Nayak consults the astrologer because he wants to -
(1)
understand the past
(2)
find out who the astrologer is
(3)
make some money through a bet
(4)
get the answer to a specific question
Answer:
get the answer to a specific question
(e)
Guru Nayak is looking for the man who tried to kill him -
(1)
to take revenge
(2)
to get an apology
(3)
to demand an explanation
(4)
to prove that the man was unsuccessful.
Answer:
to take revenge
(f)
The astrologer's remark makes Guru Nayak feel all of the following except-
(1)
relieved
(2)
suspicious
(3)
impressed
(4)
disappointed.
Answer:
suspicious
(g)
Reactions of the astrologer's wife to his news suggest that she -
(1)
was unaware of his past
(2)
has been worried about his safety
(3)
has known him since he was young
(4)
is concerned about her future with him.
Answer:
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
(The astrologer demanded more money to tell about the client’s past)
(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.
Answer: When astrologer was a silly
youngster, he quarreled with Guru Nayak and tried to kill him in wrath. He
thought that he had murdered Guru Nayak. So he left the village and settled in
the distant city where no one was familiar with him. He changed his attire and
also changed the complete appearance and persona so that no one could recognise
him and his offence of killing Guru Nayak would not be revealed.
(vi)'The
darkness load that was inside the astrologer has disappeared'. Through this
sentence, explain the significance of the title 'An Astrologer's Day'.
Answer: An astrologer was living under
the burden of thought that he had the blood of man on his hands all those days.
But one day he saw a stranger before him. He identified Guru Nayak. When he saw
Guru Nayak was alive, he became tension free. The day on which he was relieved
from that load, was a special day for him. So that day is called An Astrologer's
Day.
(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.
Answer: An astrologer was living under
the load of thought that he had murdered Guru Nayak. So he felt himself guilty.
But one day when he saw Guru Nayak before him alive, he felt relieved from the
burden of that thought means he was not dead.
(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.
Answer: The Astrologer gets the
sympathy of the readers because he was guilty of his deed and wanted to get
away from it. His smartness and the tricks of his trade had saved him from his
past crime. He had accepted his mistake and already started living a new life.
Acceptance of mistake is a great quality which is difficult to find. His
perception, presence of mind, self-confidence and shrewdness helped him to
overcome the problem. He had learnt a lesson hence the astrologer got sympathy
from the readers.
(ix)
If we have to eradicate the superstitions and other ill practices from our
society, what steps would you like to suggest?
Answer: I would like to suggest the
following steps for eradicating the superstitions and other ill practices from
our society.
a) To make the people aware of the
things which are good and which are bad for our development and also for the
development of our society.
b)To tell them about the ill effects
of superstitions on our health.
c)To try to develop the scientific
views in the people.
d)To make aware them how common
persons are deceived under the names of blind beliefs by some so called Sadhus.
e) To tell the people not to believe
in unknown persons who come
to your doorstep and ask you to make
double the money or ornaments.
f)To take the help of the
organizations who are working in the field of eradication of superstitions.
These organizations will arrange programmes to show the ill impacts of
superstitions.
g)To try develop scientific thinking
within common people through practical experiences.
etc.
(x)
In the story, astrologer has a great listening power. Listening helps in
developing good relations with people. Express your opinion.
Answer: Yes, listening helps in
developing good relations with people. a) If we listen carefully what the
person before us telling, he / she will respect us.
b) If we listen someone's agony, we
can console him / her. It helps us to build good relationship.
c) Listening also helps us to sort
out the misunderstanding.
d) Listening is skill which helps one
to communicate successfully.
e) If we don't listen others and
speak to the people all the time, they get bored and try to avoid us which
affects the relations.
f) A good listener is always alert and
can judge things in correct perspective. Such person takes proper steps to
maintain the relationship.
A3)
(i)
In the story, the following characters reveal their qualities through words and
actions. Pick out the words that describe them and write before the characters.
|
Astrologer
|
Guru
Nayak
|
Astrologer's
wife
|
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(1)
shrewd
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manipulative
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caring
|
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(2)
|
|
|
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(3)
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|
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(4)
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Answer
(ii) Match the suffixes with the words and make nouns. One is done for you.
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Word
|
suffix
|
noun
|
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auction
|
able
|
auctioneer
|
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enchant
|
ure
|
|
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know
|
ment
|
|
|
prepare
|
eer
|
|
|
proceed
|
ance
|
|
|
appear
|
ledge
|
|
|
remark
|
tion
|
|
|
Answer:-
|
|
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)
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 been 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)He had a working analysis of
mankind's troubles.
c)Within five minutes he understood
what was wrong.
d)Guru Nayak came to the astrologer
for help in finding the man who nearly killed him--and the astrologer himself
was the very man he was looking for but he couldn’t recognize him.
e)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.
f)Nayak learnt that his attacker was
dead. The astrologer learnt that he did not commit murder.
g)The very fact that such pious and
sanctimoniously sacrosanct activities are carried out in busy market lanes
where day to day businesses are carried out makes quite a few eyebrows to get
raised and worry about the real underpinnings of these businesses.
(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.
Examples
of code – mixing:-
Raja's
Delicacy, Bombay ice cream, Delhi Almond, three pies, eight annas, half annas,
jutka drivers, lit a cheeroot etc.
Textual Activities given
in the margin:
By Prof. Sanjay D. Patil,
Dnyandeep Vidya Mandir, Khed Dist. Ratnagiri
1) If the astrologer had
stayed in the village then he would have carried on
Ans- tilling the land, living,
marrying and ripening in his cornfield and ancestral home.
2) The astrologer could
understand the problem in five minutes. How?
Ans – The astrologer had a working
analysis of mankind's troubles like marriage, money, and the tangles. Long
practice of astrology had sharpened his perception. He was good at reading
people. He won the confidence of the people after a talk with them. It is
therefore within five minutes he could understand what was wrong with his
customers.
3) How could the
astrologer tell the person about his life?
Ans - The astrologer had a working
analysis of mankind's troubles. Long practice of astrology had sharpened his
perception. He had his own way to deal with his customers. He allowed his
customers to talk first. He gave them ten minutes to speak which provided
enough time for searching answers and giving advices to them. Even he could
tell them about their nature, family tangles just by looking at their palms.
4) The man was left for
dead because….
Ans - When the astrologer was young,
he had a quarrel with Guru Nayak. He stabbed him with a Knife. He thought that
he had killed him. He was afraid of it. As he didn’t want anyone to know it, he
pushed him in the well and left him for dead.
5) What was the load on
the astrologer’s mind?
Ans-
When astrologer was a silly youngster, he quarreled with Guru Nayak and tried
to kill him in wrath. He thought this act of killing or murdering Guru Nayak as
the load on his mind.
Model
Activity Sheet No.1
Q1. Read the following extract and complete the activities given
below. (12)
Punctually (promptly) at midday, he opened his bag and spread out his
professional equipment,(tools) which consisted of a dozen cowrie
shells,(conch of small snell) a square piece of cloth with obscure(unclear)
mystic(supernatural) charts on it, a notebook and a bundle of palmyra (tree)
writing. His forehead was resplendent(splendid/Shinning) with sacred ash
(residue) and vermilion (red colour/Sindur), 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 (foresighted) light and felt comforted.(pleased)
The power
of his eyes was considerably enhanced (improved) by their
position—placed as they were between the painted forehead and the dark whiskers
(mustache hairs) which streamed down (coursed down) his cheeks:
even a half-wit's eyes would sparkle in such a setting. To crown (culminate/coronate/heighten/exalt)
the effect he wound a saffron-colored; (orange-yellow colored) turban (cap/hat/Pagadi)
around his head. This color scheme never failed. People were attracted to him
as bees are attracted to cosmos or dahlia (flowers) stalk. (axis/shaft/shoot)
He sat under the boughs (branch) of a spreading tamarind tree which
flanked(boarder/side/line) a path running through the Town Hall Park.
It was a
remarkable place in many ways: a surging (rising/increasing) 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 hard ware and junk, magicians and, above
all, an auctioneer of cheap cloth, who created enough din all day to attract
the whole town.
A1. Web (2)
A2. Describe (2)
Describe the market place as a centre of attraction for the
sellers and the whole town.
A3. Find out (2)
Find out any two instances of the appearance of the prophet
mostly suitable to his profession.
A4. Personal Response (2)
Write in 50 words about the career you like to choose in your
life.
A5. Language study – (Do as directed) (2)
i) Punctually at midday, he opened his bag.
(Make it compound)
ii) The power of his eyes was considerably enhanced by
their position.
(Change the voice)
A6. Vocabulary (2)
Find from the passage the adjectives used to describe the
following words. (2)
i) turban- ………
ii) equipment - ………
iii) forehead - ……..
iv) place - ………
