Students can Download English Lesson 9 An Astrologer’s Day Questions and Answers, Summary, Notes Pdf, Activity, KSEEB Solutions for Class 9 English helps you to revise the complete Karnataka State Board Syllabus and to clear all their doubts, score well in final exams.
Karnataka State Syllabus Class 9 English Prose Chapter 9 An Astrologer’s Day
An Astrologer’s Day Questions and Answers, Summary, Notes
Comprehension:
C1. Get into pairs/groups and discuss the answers to the following questions:
Question 1.
What articles did the astrologer carry?
Answer:
The astrologer carried With him a dozen cowrs shells, a square piece of cloth with obscure mystic charts on it, a notebook, and a bundle of palmyra writing.
Question 2.
What were the different names given by the nuts vendor for his business?
Answer:
The nut vendor had different names for his business each day like ‘Bombay Ice Cream’, ‘Delhi Almond’, ‘Raja’s delicacy’ etc.
Question 3.
What kind of life would the astrologer have in his own village?
Answer:
If the astrologer had stayed back in his village he would have carried on the work of his forefathers-namely tilling the land, living there, marrying and settling down.in his ancestral home.
Question 4.
How much did the astrologer charge for his new clients?
Answer:
The astrologer charged three paise per question.
Question 5.
Why did the astrologer remain silent for at least ten minutes, initially?
Answer:
The astrologer remained silent for at least ten minutes initially listening to. the customer as by then customer would have provided him enough stuff for a dozen answers and advices.
Question 6.
What was the signal for the astrologer to bundle up?
Answer:
The astrologer had no way of knowing the time. When the nuts vendor blew out his lamp and rose to go home, it was the signal for the astrologer to bundle up.
Question 7.
How much did the astrologer demand from his new client to answer his question?
Answer:
The astrologer initially demanded five rupees to answer his question but when his client refused, he demanded eight annas.
Question 8.
What did the astrologer ask Guru Nayak to do?
Answer:
The astrologer asked Guru Nayak to return to his village immediately. He said that Guru Nayak would face great danger if he left his village and advised him not to travel southwards.
C2. Working in pairs, discuss the answers to the following questions and write them in your notebook:
Question 1.
Why did the astrologer have no light of his own for his business?
Answer:
The place where the astrologer conducted his business did not have municipal lighting. The place was lit up by shop lights. One or two had gaslights and some had flares stuck on poles, some were lit up old cycle lamps. Some like the astrologer managed without lights of their own. It also without having to spend any money on lighting added more enchantment to his profession.
Question 2.
Why did the astrologer close his business when the nuts vendor blew out his flare?
Answer:
The astrologer did not have any source of light of his own. When the nuts vendor blew out his flare and rose to go home, the astrologer had to bundle up too. Otherwise, he would be in darkness except for a little shaft of green light which strayed in from somewhere.
Question 3.
How efficient was an astrologer in his business?
Answer:
The astrologer was not a professional one who had learnt his profession. He had taken it up just to sustain himself. He was as much a stranger to the stars as his customers. He had learnt to say things which pleased everyone, through practice, study and clever guesswork.
He would wait for the person to pour out enough stuff and then speak in such a way that they would be very much satisfied. Thus, the astrologer with his intelligence was able to sustain his business well.
Question 4.
“When shall I get him?”
Question a.
Who was this question asked to?
Answer:
The question was asked to the astrologer.
Question b.
Who does Prefer to?
Answer:
I refer to the man whose palms the astrologer was reading, namely Guru Nayak.
Question c.
Why does the speaker want to get him?
Answer:
The speaker wants to get him – the person who had tried to kill him – so that he could take revenge on him.
5. “You look worried. What is wrong?”
Question a.
Who is the speaker?
Answer:
The speaker is the astrologer’s wife
Question b.
Who does ‘you’ refer to?
Answer:
You refer to the astrologer.
Question c.
Why was he worried?
Answer:
He was worried because he had met the person whom he thought, he had killed. When he was a youngster.
C3. Working in pairs, discuss the answers to the following questions and write them in your notebook:
Question 1.
Why did the astrologer run away from his village?
Answer:
When he was a youngster, while he was drunk, he had attacked a man, stabbed him, pushed into well and left to die. He ran away from the village in order to escape the punishment.
Question 2.
In the story do you think the astrologer should be punished for his crime?
Answer:
No crime should go scot-free. So, the astrologer deserves to be punished. However, we don’t know what provoked him to push Guru Nayak into the well. Secondly, we see that the astrologer repents his wrong-doing. Thirdly, Guru Nayak is not dead after all. Hence, at the end of the story, we don’t feel very strongly about the astrologer getting away with his crime.
Question 3.
Describe how the astrologer felt at the end of the story?
Answer:
The astrologer felt greatly relieved knowing that the man whom he thought he had killed was still alive. When the astrologer was young, he used to drink and quarrel with people. He had attacked a man and stabbed him and left him for dead. He ran away from his village to escape punishment and settled in a town in the guise of an astrologer.
As a strange coincidence, the same man came to him after many years to know whether he would succeed in his search for locating his enemy to take revenge. When the astrologer came to know that the man was not dead, he felt as if a great load had gone from him.
Question 4.
Describe the fate and chance in the story.
Answer:
Fate and chance play a very significant role in this story. The astrologer had escaped from his village because he had stabbed a man in a drunken binge. He settled in a distant town and became an astrologer there. One day, he came across the man whom he thought he had killed. It was late which brought these two together.
Since the astrologer had changed himself so much and dressed up the man was not able to recognize him. The astrologer told him that his killer was already dead and told the man not to leave his village as he was safe only there. The man believed the words and went away. Though that man was given a chance to meet his attacker, fate saved the astrologer.
Question 5.
Does the story make you think that all astrologers are false? Write about it.
Answer:
The story is about one particular man who took up to astrology as his profession. He had taken this to earn a living and therefore disguised himself and pretended to be an astrologer without any proper knowledge. Good Astrologers know their subject in depth and are almost perfect in their predictions. Therefore, it is not right to say that all the astrologers are false and they do not know anything.
Question 6.
How has R. K. Narayan portrayed the attractive appearance of the astrologer?
Answer:
The astrologer had a very imposing appearance. His forehead was resplendent with sacred ash and vermilion, he had sparkling eyes and their sparkle was enhanced by their position – placed as they were between the painted forehead and the dark whiskers which streamed down his cheeks. He wound a saffron-colored turban around his head. His imposing appearance attracted people towards him.
C4. Read the following sentences from the story and arrange them in the sequential order as they appear in the story:
- Take the next train and go home.
- The astrologer pressed his invitation.
- He was as much stranger to the stars as were his innocent customers.
- The astrologer got a glimpse of his face by the match light.
- The place was lit up by shop lights.
- The child has been asking for sweets for so many days.
- The nuts vendor blew out his flare and rose to go home.
Answer:
1 – 5, 2 – 3, 3 – 7, 4 – 2, 5 – 4, 6 – 1, 7 – 6
Vocabulary:
V1. Word formation:
Make new words by adding the ending given in the box with 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(×) where the ending and the root word do not match.
V2. Fill in the blanks with suitable letters to arrive at the given meaning. Refer to the dictionary for the words:
- sent = gift – Present
- sent = hate – Resent
- sent = agreement – Consent
- sent = approval – Assent
V3. Homophones: (Examples – No exercise)
V4. Match the meaning of the following Phrases and use them in sentences of your own:
Answer:
a – iv, b – iii, c – vi, d – v, e – i, f – ii
- On account of: The school will remain closed tomorrow on account of the Ugadi festival.
- to bear with: We have to bear with intolerable heat this summer.
- in the midst of: We saw a cute puppy wailing in the midst of a pack of howling wolves.
- to be accustomed to: They have to be accustomed to preparing their own notes.
- to take a new turn: With the arrest of the driver, the case took a new turn yesterday.
- bereft of: Bereft of its mother, the child started weeping bitterly.
Grammar and Usage:
G1. Complete the following sentences:
Direct Speech:
- He said, “I live in New York”
- She said: “I’m going to go shopping.
- He said, “I’ll see you later.”
- Anu said, “1 went to the movies last night.”
- James asked:” Do you want to come to come out tonight?”
Reported Speech:
- He said that in New York.
- She said that going to go shopping.”
- He said
- Anu said, that she to the movies night.
- James asked if to go out tonight.
Answer:
- he lived
- she was
- that he would see me later
- had gone to the movies, the previous
- I wanted.
G2. After observing the changes from direct to indirect speech, now change the following sentences from direct to indirect:
First one is done for you. Imagine that you decided to pay a surprise visit to some friends last week. Report the questions that your host asked you, using the phrases given below.
Question 1.
When did you arrive?
Answer:
He tried to find out when I had arrived.
Question 2.
Are you all right?
Answer:
He wanted to know if I was alright.
Question 3.
Have you had lunch yet?
Answer:
He wanted to know if I had my lunch yet.
Question 4.
Do you want to cofee?
Answer:
He asked me if I wanted coffee.
Question 5.
Why don’t you phone us?
Answer:
He inquired me why I do not phone them.
G3. Error Corrections:
I. Punctuate the following sentences:
Question 1.
Rashmi said the Yamuna you are late today
Answer:
Rashmi said, “The Yamuna, you are late today.”
Question 2.
what a beautiful garden it is
Answer:
What a beautiful garden, it is!
Question 3.
people enjoyed the cricket match didn’t they.
Answer:
People enjoyed the cricket match, didn’t they?
Question 4.
unless he improves his bowling he cannot be selected for the match
Answer:
“Unless he improves his bowling, he cannot be selected for the match.”
II. Spot the errors in the following sentences and rewrite them correctly:
Question 1.
They are going to Himalayas.
Answer:
They are going to the Himalayas.
Question 2.
Raju prefers idly than Chapati.
Answer:
Raju prefers idly to chapatti.
Question 3.
One of the boy looks sad.
Answer:
One of the boys looks sad.
Question 4.
Mathematics are my favourite subject.
Answer:
Mathematics is my favourite subject.
Question 5.
A bunch of keys were found in my room.
Answer:
A bunch of keys was found in my room.
Question 6.
My neighbour is a honest man.
Answer:
My neighbor is an honest man.
Question 7.
Rafi wanted an one rupee.
Answer:
Rafi wanted a one rupee. / Rafi wanted one rupee.
Question 8.
Kiran’s brother is a M.L.A.
Answer:
Kiran’s brother is an M. L. A
Question 9.
Our school bought a lot of furnitures.
Answer:
Our school bought a lot of furniture.
Question 10.
I met an European.
Answer:
I met a European.
Speaking skill activity:
An Astrologer’s Day Additional Questions and Answers
Question 1.
What did the astrologer do punctually every day?
Answer:
Every day, in the afternoon, the astrologer would punctually open his bag and spread out his professional equipment of a dozen cowries shells, a square piece of cloth with obscure mystical charts on it, a notebook, and a bundle of palmyra writing. Then he would wait for the customers.
Question 2.
What was the actual reason for a sparkle in his eyes?
Answer:
His eyes would be continually searching for customers with a result his eyes would have a sharp, abnormal gleam that the customers mistook for prophetic light.
Question 3.
Why was the place where he sat a remarkable place?
Answer:
The astrologer sat under the branches of a spreading tamarind tree which flanked a path running through the town hall park. It was a remarkable place because there was a continuous movement of people, a variety of traders sold their wares there.
Question 4.
Give a few examples of traders one would find in the street.
Answer:
Medicine sellers, sellers of stolen hardware and junk, magicians, auctioneers, a vendor of fried groundnut are some examples of traders found in the street.
Question 5.
What had the astrologer analysed well?
Answer:
The astrologer had the working analysis of mankind’s troubles, regarding marriage, money and the tangles of humanities.
Question 6.
What were the general set of questions the astrologer used to ask the customers?
Answer:
The set of questions he would ask the customers were if the person was not getting results for his efforts, if there was any woman in the customer’s family not wel I disposed to the person, if most of the troubles were due to the rough exterior of the customers.
Question 7.
What did the astrologer say when he saw the stranger’s face?
Answer:
When the astrologer saw the stranger’s face, he shivered and his voice shook and in a faint voice said that he would speak to him the next day.
Question 8.
What did the astrologer tell the man?
Answer:
The astrologer said that someone had stabbed the man and left him for dead. He was pushed into a well and left for dead.
Question 9.
What did the astrologer tell the man about the killer?
Answer:
The astrologer told the man that the man had died four months before as he was crushed under a lorry.
Question 10.
What did the astrologer’s wife say she would do with the money?
Answer:
The astrologer’s wife said that she would buy some jaggery and coconut the next day as their child had been asking for sweets for so many days.
Annotations:
Question 1.
“Is there any woman in your family, may be even a distant relative who is ‘ not well disposed towards you?”
Answer:
This sentence is taken from the lesson ‘The Astrologer’ written by R.K. Narayan. The man who w’as actually not a professional astrologer, was an astute student and learnt the basic traits of human behaviour. He would always ask such questions which would invariably make the customers reveal a lot about themselves. The above sentence in one such question.
Question 2.
“I have some questions to ask. If I prove your are bluffing, you must return that anna to me with interest.”
Answer:
This sentence is taken from the lesson ‘The Astrologer’ written by R.K. Narayan. One evening the astrologer saw .a man standing before him and offered to read his palm for him. The man grumbled some reply and when the astrologer pressed his invitation, the man taunted if he was a real astrologer. The astrologer replied that he charged only three paise per question, then the man said the above sentence.
Question 3.
“I thought I had the blood of a man on my hands all these years.”
Answer:
This sentence is taken from the lesson ‘The Astrologer’ written by R.K. Narayan. The astrologer returned home late after his encounter with the man. His wife wondered why he looked worried. After dinner, he sat and told his wife that langago he had stabbed a man in his village and feeling punishment had escaped to this city. He was all the while feeling guilty about his act and now felt a great load being lifted from him.
An Astrologer’s Day Summary in English
Everyday punctually, an astrologer used to sit in a path running through the town hall park and do his predictions. He was not a learned astrologer at all, but since the town folk were simple people, he could easily predict after eliciting half their life history from them.
One evening when he was about to pack his wares and leave for the night, a man stood before him in the shadow. The astrologer asked him if he wanted his palm to be read. The man didn’t agree, but when the astrologer pestered, the man challenged that he would pay him really well if he told him the truth but would expect the astrologer to pay him back threefold if he did not predict properly.
The astrologer saw his face and hesitated. But when the man mocked at him, he said that someone had tried to kill him and thrown him into a well and vanished. The man was wonderstruck and he agreed that he was indeed left for dead, but some passers-by had helped him. Now he was on the lookout for the person who tried to kill and wanted to take his revenge.
The astrologer called the man by his name – Guru Nayak and told him that the killer was already dead, killed in an accident when he was crushed under a lorry. He advised the man to return to his home town and never return as he was safe as long as he remained in the village. The overjoyed man paid the astrologer a lot of coins and went away.
The astrologer returned home and gave his wife all the money and after dinner told her that a big load had gone from him that day. Until that day, he was under the impression that he had killed a man. That was why he had escaped from his village and settled here. Now that that person was alive, he was relieved. His shocked wife asked him why he tried to kill. The astrologer replied that when he was a silly youngster, in a drunken fight, he had tried to kill another man.
Glossary:
- obscure: unknown, difficult to understand
- mystic: spiritual
- palmyra: leaves of palm tree
- vermilion: kumkum
- enhanced: improved, increased
- boughs: branches
- flanked: on one or both sides frightening
- vociferousness: expressing in a loud and confident way
- transacted: conducted business dealing
- bewildering: confusing
- shrewd: clever, good at judgment
- perception: to see and understand
- disposed: willing, prepared
- forbidding: unfriendly,
- paraphernalia: personal possessions
- piqued: annoyed
- cheroot: cigar with two open ends
- shivered: shook
- disgorge: pour out in large quantities
- incantations: chanting
- overwhelmed: overcame, became emotional
- taken aback: surprised, stunned
- reflectively: thoughtfully