1.1. An Astrologer’s Day
Ice
Breakers
Ø
Discuss
with your partner and complete the activity.
What are your strengths?
Strengths
|
Why do you
feel so?
|
Dream career
|
Painting and
drawing
|
Can
visualize, express
|
Commercial
artist, cartoonist
|
Dancing
& acting
|
Can do the
steps and also enacting according to situation
|
Dancer,
choreographer, actor
|
singing
|
Good voice ,
voice modulation
|
Singer
|
Writing
poems and stories
|
Can imagine
, visualize
|
Writer or
poet
|
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.
Ans. – 1. Selling flowers, selling grocery
2. Selling
clothes, dresses.
3. selling
agricultural equipments.
4. selling
vegetables & fruits.
5. variety of
persons in the market and their behavior.
6. different
language used by people.
Ø
In
village/town/city it is a quite a common sight to see an astrologer sitting by
the roadside with professional equipment.
Discuss with your partner and
list the requirements for his trade.
1.
Parrot,
cards 5.
Palmyra writing
2.
Cowrie
shells 6. Lemon,
green chilies etc.
3.
Almanac 7. Panchang.
4.
Mystic
charts 8.
Different malas.
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 eradiction.
Answer.
–
1.
A
cat crossing your path.
2.
Do
not cut nails after sunset.
3.
To
see women carrying empty pitchers (a narrow shaped pot made by soil)
4.
Itchiness
in left palm.
5.
To
take a salt on the palm.
6.
Howling
of dog.
7.
To
blink the left hand.
Means to eradicate the superstitions
1.
By
keeping scientific attitude
2.
Lectures
on superstitions.
3.
By
creating social awareness
4.
Tell
the scientific reason behind the superstitions.
5.
Give
education to illiterate people.
BRAINSTORMING
A 1) 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 objects in it, including stars, planets,
nebulae and galaxies – Astronomy
b)
The
study of movements of the planets, sun, moon and stars in the belief that these
movements can have an influence on people’s lives – Astrology / Cosmology
c)
A
prediction of what will happen in the future – Prophet or oracle
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) A surging crowd
b) A variety of trades and occupations
c) An auctioneer of cheep cloth created
enough din to attract the whole town.
d) Vociferousness of vendor of fried
groundnut.
e) The place was lit up by shop lights.
f) It dies not have the benefit of
municipal
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
has skill of reading the people.
b)
When
the people speak about his problems, he gets enough stuff for a dozen answers
and advices.
c)
He
got enough time to understand his customer’s problems and got a chance to
analyze it.
d)
He
got enough time for searching answers & giving advice.
e)
He
worked on the policy those who hear a lot learn a lot.
A2) (i) the tactics used by the
astrologer to earn his ways are…..
1. analysis of human troubles
2. correct use of equipment
3.understanding, experience & perception
The
tactics 4.presence
of mind
5.Comment
on the customer’s affairs, fate & nature
6. Creation
of fear in the mind of the customer
7.Use
the general statements to win their heart
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 & vermillion on forehead.
c)
Dark whiskers & dark
mustache.
d)
Sharp & gleaming eyes
e)
Some equipments.
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
Correct sentence –
The astrologer wanted the client to know that the man who had tried to kill him was dead.
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 mistake. – True.
v) The astrologer has changed his
appearance and his persona when he arrived in the city. Give reason.
Ans. – When the astrologer was living
in his village he was a silly youngster and tried to kill Guru Nayak. He
thought that he killed him. So he left the village and settled in the city and
changed his attire because no one could recognize him. And also he want earn
money by doing his work of telling astrology. So he changed his appearance to
attract the people towards him.
vi) ‘The darkness load that was inside
the astrologer has disappeared’. Through this sentence, explain the
significance of the title ‘An Astrologer’s day’.
Ans. – An astrologer was living under
the burden that he had murdered Guru Nayak. He felt guilty; he always thought
that he had committed crime. But when he saw that man alive in front of him, he
was relived from his burden that he had killed a man. That was the special day
when get relief from his burden. So the title is significant.
vii) The astrologer feels relieved that
Guru is not dead as it relieves a great burden from him. Critically justify the
statement and explain.
Ans. - An astrologer was living under
the burden that he had murdered Guru Nayak. He felt guilty; he always thought that
he had committed crime. But when he saw that man alive in front of him, he was
relived from his burden that he had killed a man. That was the special day when
get relief from his burden.
viii) The astrologer wins/ets the sympathy
of criticism of the reader in the end. Express your opinion with the support of
the main story.
Ans. – I think the astrologer didn’t
get sympathy at the end because when he saw Guru alive, he got the relief from
his burden. But his relief is for his self interest that he was not a murderer.
But he never felt so much guilt about his mistake.
ix) If we have to eradicate the
superstitions and other ill practices from our society, what steps would you
like to suggest?
Ans. - Means to eradicate the superstitions
1.
By
keeping scientific attitude
2.
Lectures
on superstitions.
3.
By
creating social awareness
4.
Tell
the scientific reason behind the superstitions.
5.
Give
education to illiterate people.
x) In the
story, astrologer has a great listening power. Listening helps in developing
good relations with people. Express your opinion.
Ans.
– Yes, listening helps in developing
good relationships in following ways –
1)
If
we listen other, he will respect us.
2)
If
we listen other’s agony, we can console him. It helps to develop good
relationship.
3)
Listening helps to sort out the
misunderstandings.
4)
If
we speak only without listening other, they get bored & try to avoid us.
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.
Ans.-
Astrologer
|
Guru Nayak
|
Astrologer’s wife
|
Shrewd
|
Manipulative
|
Caring
|
Clever
|
Arrogant
|
Demanding
|
Suspicious
|
Gullible
|
Protective
|
Skeptical
|
Antagonistic
|
Rational
|
Mystical
|
Quarrelsome
|
Humanistic
|
Smart
|
Overconfident
|
|
Sharp
|
Aggressive
|
|
Mean
|
||
Intuitive
|
||
Worried
|
||
Cunning
|
||
Impetuous
|
ii) Match the
suffixes with the words and make nouns. One is done for you.
Ans. -
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 been done for
you.
Ans. -
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)
Guru
Nayak did not recognize the astrologer that he had tried to kill him.
c)
The
astrologer thought that he had killed a man but he is alive.
d)
The
astrologer did not know what will happen to him in next minute but he predicted
that he knew everything.
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.
Ans.- a) cowrie shells b) dahlia stalks
c) Bombay Ice-cream d) Delhi Almond
e) Raja’s Delicacy f) anna
g) pies h) cheroot
i) jutka drivers.
v) There are
some phrases where the word crown is used with different shades of meanings.
Use the following phrases to complete the sentences meaningfully. One is done
for you.
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 decaded. But his 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 throns.
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 being.
A4) i) Word
usage
Use the words given in the brackets
and rewrite the sentences.
Ans. -
a)
There
was considerable enchantment of the power of his eyes.
b)
He
had worked fro analyzing mankind’s troubles.
c)
He
knew what would happening to himself next minute.
d)
If
you have satisfaction with my answers, will you give me five rupees?
e)
He
shook his head in regret.
f)
The
crisscross of light rays bewildered.
g)
“I
should have been dead if some passer-by had not chanced to peep into the well,”
exclaimed the other, enthusiastically overwhelmed.
h)
You
tried killing him.
i)
I
will make some nice preparation for her.
j)
The
other groaned when he had heard it.
