UNIT 9 PROSE
AN ASTROLOGER’S DAY
Comprehension :
C1. Get into pairs / groups and discuss the answers to the following questions :
1.) What articles did the astrologer carry?
Answer: The astrologer carried a dozen cowry shells, a square piece of cloth with obscure mystic charts on it, a notebook, and a bundle of palmyra writing with him.
2.) What were the different names given by the nuts vendor for his business?
Answer: The nuts vendor gave fancy names like “Bombay Ice Cream”, “Delhi Almond,” “Raja’s Delicacy”, etc.
3.) What kind of life would the astrologer have in his own village?
Answer: If the astrologer had continued to live in his own village then he would have carried on the work of his forefathers – namely, tilling the land, living, marrying, and ripening in his cornfield and ancestral home.
4.) How much did the astrologer charge for his new clients?
Answer: The astrologer charged three paise per question for his new clients.
5.) Why did the astrologer remain silent for at least ten minutes, initially?
Answer: The astrologer remain silent for at least ten minutes, initially listening to the people because till then he was provided with enough stuff for a dozen answers and advices.
6.) What was the signal for the astrologer to bundle up?
Answer: The astrologer didn’t have track of time. When the nuts vendor blew out his flare and rose to go, it was the signal for the astrologer to bundle up.
7.) How much did the astrologer demand from his new client to answer his question?
Answer: The astrologer demanded eight annas from his new client to answer his question.
8.) What did the astrologer ask Guru Nayak to do?
Answer: The astrologer asked Guru Nayak to return to his village. He also asked him to rub sacred ash on his forehead and not to travel southward again.
C2.) Working in pairs, discuss the answers to the following questions and write them in your notebook.
1.) Why did the astrologer have no light of his own for his business?
Answer: The astrologer transacted his business by the light of a flare which crackled and smoked up above the groundnut heap nearby. He didn’t have the municipal lighting. The place was lit up by shop lights. One or two had hissing gaslights, some had naked flares stuck on poles.
2.) Why did the astrologer close his business when the nuts vendor blew out his flare?
Answer: The astrologer didn’t any source of light for himself. When the nuts vendor blew out his flare and rose to go home, it was then the astrologer would close his business. He had to close the business else he would have left him in darkness except for a little shaft of green light which strayed in from somewhere and touched the ground before him.
3.) How efficient was the astrologer in his business?
Answer: The astrologer was not professional. In fact, he was a stranger to the stars. He just said things that would please and astonished his customers. He did that just by practice and guessing. He would let his customers speak for ten minutes so that it would provide him with enough stuff for answers and advices. By letting others speak, he would guess the other things and satisfy his customers.
4.) “When shall I get him?”
a) Who was this question asked to?
Answer: This question was asked to the astrologer.
b) Whom does “I” refer to?
Answer: “I” refers to Guru Nayak.
c) Why does the speaker want to get him?
Answer: The speaker wanted to get the astrologer to get the person who tried to kill him, to take his revenge.
5.) “You look worried. What is wrong?”
a) Who is the speaker?
b) Whom does “you” refer to?
Answer: “You” refers to the astrologer’s wife.
c) Why was he worried?
Answer: He worried because he had met the person whom he thought that he had killed him when he was a youngster.
C3.) Working in pairs, discuss the answers to the following questions and write them in your notebook.
1.) Why did the astrologer run away from his village?
Answer: When the astrologer was young, he had been drunk; he gambled and quarreled with a man. In that situation the astrologer pushed him into the well and ran away. He escaped from the village to get away from the punishment.
2.) In the story, do you think the astrologer should be punished for his crime?
Answer: What the astrologer did with Guru Nayak was totally wrong and he deserves to be punished. Though Guru Nayak didn’t die but astrologer did make a mistake. The astrologer too feels guilty for his act.
3.) Describe how the astrologer felt at the end of the story?
Answer: The astrologer felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from him when he got to know that the person whom he pushed into the well was alive. He had been living in guilty ever since he quarrled with the man (Guru Nayak) and pushed him into the well thinking that he was dead. But when the same man came to him asking about the revenge to the man who tried to kill him, it was then that the astrologer got relived because the man was very much alive. At the end of the story, we can see how stress free he becomes.
4.) Describe the role of fate and chance in the story.
Answer: Fate and chance had a big and crucial role in the story. The astrologer quarreled and pushed a man into a well when he was young. He thought that the man was dead and to escape the punishment, he escaped from his village without telling anyone. He started living in another village and started to earn through astrology. As it was written in his faith that he would meet the man whom he tried to kill one day. The man named Guru Nayak came to the astrologer asking him about the man to take revenge from him. But Guru Nayak couldn’t really identify that the man whom he was trying to revenge was the same man reading his palms. As destiny was in the favour of the astrologer he cleverly suggests Guru not to go southwards. The astrologer is much relived by getting to know that the man whom he tried to kill was alive and he was out of the guilt.
5.) Does the story make you think that all astrologers are false? Write about it.
Answer: No, all the astrologers are not false.There are some astrologers who have deep knowledge about their study and predict well.
6.) How has R.K. Narayan portrayed the attractive appearance of the astrologer?
Answer: The astrologer had an attractive personality which attracted many people towards him. His forehead was resplendent with sacred ash and vermilion, and his eyes sparkled with a sharp, abnormal gleam. 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 half-wit’s eyes would sparkle in such a setting. To crown the effect he wound a saffron-coloured turban round his head.
C4.) Read the following sentences from the story and arrange them in the sequential order as they appear in the story.
Answer:
Correct Sequence :
5.) The place was lit up by shop lights.
3.) He was as much a stranger to the stars as were his innocent customers.
7.) The nuts vendor blew out his flare and rose to go home.
2.) The astrologer pressed his invitation.
4.) The astrologer got a glimpse of his face by the matchlight.
1.) Take the next train and go home.
6.) The child has been asking for sweets for so many days.
LANGUAGE ACTIVITIES:
Vocabulary
V1.) Word formation
Make new words by adding the ending given in the box to the root words. Fill in the table with the new words. You may have to add/drop a letter from the root word to make a new word. Put a cross(x) where the ending and the root word do not match
Ed Ing Er Ly Ful less
1.) Help
Helped
Helping
Helper
Helpful
Helpless
2.)
End
Ended
Ending
Endless
3.) Hope Hoped Hoping Hopeful Hopeless
4.) Enjoy Enjoyed Enjoying
5.) Shape Shaped Shaping Shaper Shapeless
6.) Smile Smiled Smiling Smiless
7.) Run Running Runner
V2.) Fill in the blanks with suitable letters to arrive at the given meaning. Refer to the dictionary for the words.
a) Present = gift
b) Resent = hate
c) Consent = agreement
d) Assent = approval
V3.) You know homophones are words that sound similar but have different spellings and meanings.
Here are a few words:
1.) Peace- Indian is known for its peace.
2.) Piece- I want to eat a piece of cake.
3.) Hour – She takes an hour to get ready.
4.) Our- Our country is rich in cultural heritage.
5.) Fore- She had a big forehead.
6.) Four- I have four siblings.
7.) Bear- I love bears.
8.) Bare- Don’t go bare in the sun.
9.) Pair- I lost my favorite pair of socks.
10.) Pear- I have eaten pear.
11.) Lone- The road was lone.
12.) Loan- I need to take an education loan.
13.) Raze- They have razed the old building.
14.) Raise- Don’t raise your voice.
15.) Break- Don’t ever break the rules.
16.) Brake- She brake her vehicle on time.
17.) Role- I have played the role of Draupadi in our school drama.
18.) Roll- Don’t roll those oats.
V4.) Match the meanings with the following phrases and use them in sentences of your own. HRASES
MEANINGS
a) on account of – owing to
b) to bear with – to put up with
c) in the midst of – in the middle of
d) to be accustomed to – to get used to
e) to take a new turn – to begin a new course
f) bereft of – deprived of
1.) On account of Christmas there will be holiday tomorrow.
2.) I have to bear with her stupid chatter.
3.) She disturbed me in the midst of my meeting.
4.) I am accustomed to getting up early.
5.) She has decided to take a new turn in her career.
6.) She is bereft of confidence.
G1.) Now complete the following sentences:
DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH
1.) He said, “I live in New York.”
Answer: He said that he lived in New York.
2.) She said: “I’m going to go shopping.”
Answer: She said that she was going to go shopping.
3.) He said, “I’ll see you later.”
Answer: He said that he would see me later.
4.) Anu said, “I went to a movie last night.”
Answer: Anu said that she had gone to a movie the previous night.
5.) James asked “Do you want to go to come out tonight?”
Answer: James asked if I wanted out that night.
G2) After observing the changes from direct into reported speech, now change the following sentences into reported speech. First few are done for you.
Imagine that you had decided to pay a surprise visit to some friend’s house last week. Report the questions that your host asked you, using the phrases given below.
1.) Hello! Welcome! Did you have a good journey?
Answer: He welcomed me. He wondered if I had a good journey.
2.) When did you arrive?
Answer: He tried to find out when I had arrived.
3.) Are you all right?
Answer: He wanted to know if I was all right.
4.) Have you had lunch yet?
Answer: He wanted to know if I had my lunch yet.
5.) Do you want coffee?
Answer: He asked me if I wanted coffee?
6.) Why don’t you phone us?
Answer: He inquired me why I don’t phone them.
G3.) Error corrections
I.) Punctuate the following sentences:
1.) Rashmi said, “Yamuna, you are late today.”
2.) What a beautiful garden it is!
3.) People enjoyed the cricket match, didn’t they?
4.) Unless he improves his bowling, he cannot be selected for the match
II.) Spot the errors in the following sentences and re write them correctly.
1.) They are going to Himalayas.
Answer: They are going to the Himalayas.
2.) Raju prefers idly than chapati.
Answer: Raju prefers idly to chapati.
3.) One of the boy looks sad.
Answer: One of the boys looks sad.
4.) Mathematics are my favourite subject.
Answer: Mathematics is my favourite subject.
5) A bunch of keys were found in my room.
Answer: A bunch of keys was found in my room.
6.) My neighbour is a honest man.
Answer: My neighbour is an honest man.
7.) Rafi wanted an one rupee.
Answer: Rafi wanted one rupee.
8.) Kiran’s brother is a M.L.A.
Answer: Kiran’s brother is an M.L.A
9.) Our school bought a lot of furnitures.
Answer: Our school bought a lot of furniture.
10.) I met an European.
Answer: I met a European.
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