Short story - "An Astrologer's Day" by R.K.Narayan :-
Welcome readers! This blog is written in response to the thinking activity on the study of R.k.Narayan's short story - 'An Astrologer's Day' and the one short film based on it. This task is assigned by Megha Ma'am, Department of English MKBU. In this blog I am going to answer all the questions given by Ma'am which is based on the reading of original short story and watching a Hindi short film based on it.
Before discussing Further let us first look at the Introduction of R.K.Narayan and the short story itself.
R.K.Narayan ( 10th October 1906 - 13th May 2001) in full name Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanswami. He was an Indian writer and novelist known for his work set in the Fictional South Indian town Of Malgudi. He was a leading author of early Indian literature in English along with two others Mulk Raj Anand and Raja Rao.
Narayan's greatest achievement was to make India accessible to the outside world through his writing and Powerful words in his literature. The Fictional town of Malgudi was first introduced in his work :- 'Swami and Friends.'
■ Major Works :-
Novels :-
• Swami and Friends (1935)
• The Bachelor of Arts (1937)
• The Dark Room (1938)
• The English Teacher (1945)
• Mr.Sampath (1948)
• The financial Expert (1952)
• Waiting for the Mahatma (1955)
• The Guide (1958)
Short story Collections :-
- Malgudi Days (1942, Indian thought Publications ).
- An Astrologer's Day and Other Stories ( 1947 , Indian thought Publications).
- A Horse and Two goats (1970)
- Under the Banyan Tree and Other Stories (1985)
- The Grandmother's Tale and Selected Stories
(1994)
■ Awards and Honours :-
R.K.Narayan won numerous awards during the course of his literary career. He won his first major award, in 1960, the Sahitya Akademi Award for 'The Guide'. When the Book was made into a film, he received the Filmfare Award for the Best Story. In 1964, he received the Padma Bhushan. In 1980, he was awarded the Ac Benson Medal by the Royal society of English Literature. He was one of the finest Indian authors of his generation writing in English.
Here I am embedding the video of Introductory Group Presentation on R.k.Narayan :-
We Watched one Hindi short film based on R.k.Narayan's story an Astrologer's Day from Malgudi Days. " A normal Day in the life of an Astrologer reveals a lot about him." This movie prepared by Pocket films and it is easily available on You tube, Produced and directed by Sushant Bhatt. Click here to watch the movie.
■ About An Astrologer's Day :-
An Astrologer's Day is a thriller, Suspense short story by author R.K.Narayan. It was the titular story of Narayan's fourth collection of short stories published in 1947 by Indian Thought Publications. It was the first chapter of the world famous collection of stories Malgudi Days which was later Telecasted on television in 2006.
The Story revolves around an Astrologer who lives in a Small town and offers his services to people seeking guidance and Predictions about their lives. An Astrologer starts his day at Midday and attracting a range of Customers with his clever guessing.
Through R.k.Narayan's vivid storytelling, as a reader we introduced about Astrologer's routine, interactions and the profound impact he had on People's lives. Each Customer comes with the problem and the Astrologer cleverly combines his knowledge of astrology with his skill to satisfy his customer's expectations. The story takes an unexpected turn when a man named Guru Nayak approaches the astrologer. As the conversation begins an Astrologer soon realised that Guru Nayak is an old acquaintance who believes he had killed him many years ago in a dark valley.
The climax of the story reveals that the Astrologer's deceptive Identity and profession - both were means to escape from his troubled past. The encounter with Guru Nayak forces him to confront his past actions and the consequences that continue to haunt him in his present life.
'This short story deals with the complex interplay between the past and present '.
Overall, An Astrologer's Day is a Capitaving and thought - provoking story that delves into the depths of human nature, offering insights into the complexities of life and the Potential for redemption.
☆ Further I will explore some of the questions :-
1. How Faithful is the movie to the original short story?
Answer :- The short film An Astrologer's Day is generally Faithful to the original story. While there may be some differences and the way story is Presented visually. But the overall narrative and themes of the short story very well maintained in the movie adaptation. Movie maintaining the central plot and character dynamics. Moreover, short film effectively conveys the themes of fate, deception, Fear and Guilty present in the Original story, making it a faithful adaptation that retains the essence and impact of R.k.Narayan's work.
2. After Watching the movie, has your perception of the short story, Characters, or situation changed?
Answer :- Yes Certainly. Watching the movie has changed my Perception of the short story, Characters and Situations Presented in it. Especially In the description of Characters I would like to explain few things. When we read the original short story by R.K.Narayan the Character of Astrologer's wife is not revealed until the end. But when we see the Hindi short film we can observe the Character of Astrologer's Wife named Usha and feels her presence from the Beginning to the end. While we read the story we can only Imagine the different things in our mind but when we watched the movie adaptations it always gives us a better understanding.
3. Do you feel "Aesthetic delight" While watching the movie? If yes When did it happen? If no, you can explain why?
Answer :- I feel more relief rather than Aesthetic delight. Aesthetic delight refers to the feeling of pleasure or satisfaction that arises from experiencing something beautiful or visually pleasing. The experience of Aesthetic delight can vary from person to person. In watching the movie I Personally do not found such concepts which provides an Aesthetic delight. I felt a kind of relief at the end of the story looking that finally Astrologer was free from his guilty feeling and also his clever and intelligent escape from Guru Nayak.
4. Does the movie screening help you in a better understanding of the short story?
Answer :- when a short story is adapted into a film, it can offer a different medium for experiencing the narrative. Movies have the advantages of visual and auditory elements. With the help of that elements it will enhance our understanding of the original short story. Moreover In the short story when an Astrologer described his past it does not look very interesting but the movi presentd it in a more
Perfect way. It shows the Flashback of An Astrologer and Guru Nayak , which enhance our understanding in a better way. So Screening of the movie helped a lot in understanding the original short story.
5. Was there any Particular scene or moment in the Story that you think was Perfect?
Answer :- Yes there is one Particular scene or moment in the Story that I think was perfect. Guru Nayak 's revelation to an Astrologer. When we saw the movie as a Viewers we came to know that he ( an Astrologer) saw the face of Guru Nayak in the lightning of Cigarette. So this scene is perfectly taken in the movie. Therefore this scene is my Favorite. The flashbacks are also shows perfectly in the movie. In the scene of Guru Nayak 's revelation to an Astrologer we can observe the facial expression of both the Characters.
6. If you are Director, What changes would you like to make in the remaking of the movie based on the short story 'An Astrologer's Day' by R.K.Narayan?
Answer :- If I would be the Director of the movie based on this short story. I will make few change. The First change I would like to do is about Lightning. Another change is about the setting of the place where an Astrologer used to sit and start up his business. So these are some
changes that I will do as a Director.
I hope that my blog will be helpful to you..
Thank you for Visiting...✨️😊
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