Hello readers! This is the response blog to Yesha Bhatt ma’am’s assigned task. This blog deals with R. K. Narayan’s short story An Astrologer’s Day from Malgudi Days, in this I am answering the questions based on the reading of the original short story and watching a short film based on it.
We watched a short film on An Astrologer’s day Prepared by Pocket Films on You tube; directed and produced by Sushant Bhat. CLICK HERE to watch the Movie
About the Author:
An Astrologer’s day is Written by R.K. Narayan, his full name is Rasipuram Krishna swami Iyer Narayana swami (10 October 1906 – 13 May 2001). He was a leading India author along with Aulk Raj Anand and Raja Rao. He was known for his work set in the fictional South Indian town Malgudi. A winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award (1960) and the Padma Vibhushan (2000), he was nominated for a term in the Rajya Sabha. His work ‘The Guide’ was adapted for the film. He contributed to Indian Literature around 15 novels along with 100 short stories.
He declared, "Only the story matters that is all … if a story is in tune completely with the truth of life, truth as I perceive it, then it will be automatically significant."
R.K. Narayan on a 2009 stamp of India
What is a short story?
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood.
A short story is a voyage of discovery of self - discovery, self - realization for the character as well as a reader. A short story has to have a formal plot or structure. An ideal structure of a short story makes it interesting and true to life, it builds suspense and arouses reader’s curiosity. A good short story strives for a unity of effect - a "single effect" and must be complete in itself. Stories also convey psychological reality.
About An Astrologer’s Day:
An Astrologer’s Day is a short story from the collection Malgudi days by R.K. Narayan. It is a thriller and suspense story. It was the titular story of Narayan's fourth collection of short stories published in 1947 by Indian Thought Publications.
An Astrologer’s day deals with a Day’s event in an imposter’s life who earned his livelihood through his clever guessing. The setting of the story is a town, Malgudi which is located in South India, near to Madras. Astrologer’s life is a story of a man who ran from his native because of his delusion of murdering someone and pretended to be an astrologer. Due to the irony of fate he runs into a man to whom he thought of being murdered.
This short story brings darker psychological realities of human nature like hypocrites, shrewdness, vengeful nature and selfishness. Every character in the story goes through these feelings. It is the cleverness of an astrologer that he could fool the man in his search and misguide in such a way that he never has to face him again.
Further I will deal with the questions of the worksheet:
How faithful is the movie to the original short story?
The movie based on this short story we watched was prepared by pocket films as discussed before. The movie is hugely faithful to the short story but still we find many changes done in the movie. The storyline and the plot is wonderfully maintained along with the overall theme and sound.
Let's discuss the major and minor differences made in the movie:
Setting in the film and the description of the setting in the short story has minor changes like the description talks about nut vendors under whose lights Astrologers used to word after sunset and also ‘The place was lit up by shop lights’. But in the movie we don't find many shops around the astrologer’s place.
An Astrologer in the movie has not worn the saffron turban which is described in the original short story.
The movie also has the glimpse of a cat which can be interpreted as or read as a symbol of human nature. Astrologer’s deed or double standard of living life which is later revealed in the movie.
The unit of currency used in the short story is annas while the movie uses rupees.
The movie shows the astrologer's detailed conversation, his clever guessing with his one customer in the beginning of the novel and later various customers are shown as a montage. But the original short story has no such described conversation with any of this customer other than Guru Nayak.
The Movie has revealed the name and gender of the astrologer couple's child, they have a daughter named Chutki while the original short story denotes her/ him as a child only. The movie also gives the name to the wife, Usha, which is not mentioned in Original text.
Movie presents the wife, Usha on the screen twice while in the original short story once. Usha and Astrologer were spotted twice in the movie having a conversation. Once they had a conversation about their daughter and wife and discussed her whole day remembering their family and at last when astrologers disclosed his truth, the original story has only the second one.
Wife in the original story is described to be waiting on the door when the astrologer gets late. We don't find scenes this similar in movies.
The question also arises though the original short story doesn't reveal the region or state family belong to but we can interpret that the story is set in madras. It might be a Madrasi family but the movie used a Marathi family.
Last line of the original story is `Time to sleep," he said, yawning,and stretched himself on the pyol.’ and the movie has ‘tell Chutki abba uske liye mithai laya’.
But all these changes are accepted as it is the work of the movie to present more to the audience with the help of cameras and every literary maker has his own rights to produce whatever they want, it is free from the bondages.
After watching the movie, has your perception about the short story, characters or situations changed?
Yes, after watching the movie our perception for an Astrologer changes to some extent which can also be read in the original story but visual elements help us more to see precisely. Initially we feel An astrologer is doing this work because of greed of early earning or poverty but later we get an idea about his bad deed, his past. Along with two minor characters his wife and daughter are also grown.
There is no major change in short story’s perception the one scene or situation when suddenly astrologer’s refuses for the deal with Guru Nayak was a suspense while reading a short story but through movie the pause they used in the movie on the lightning of cigarette by Guru Nayak gave idea or cleared out the situation and fear of An Astrologer.
Do you feel ‘aesthetic delight’ while watching the movie? If yes, exactly when did it happen? If not, can you explain with reasons?
On the personal grounds the story provided a kind of relief but not aesthetic delight. We feel aesthetic delight when we see something closely related to our personal life but I don't find any such aspects in this story. I felt a kind of relief looking at the guilt of Astrologer and his precise/ intelligent escape from Guru Nayak. And yes I can feel aesthetic delight watching his real world of fake astrology in the movie.
Does the movie screening help you in better understanding of the short story?
Yes, we find no major change in watching and reading short stories but what camera is able to say, it gives words to the silence, is not possible in reading the original story. And the best example of this which was easily understood in the movie was Guru Nayak’s introduction or his revelation as guru Nayak. In reading we just realized that something happened and the astrologer tried to pull off his deal but after watching the movie we realized that he tried to pull off because he saw guru Nayak’s face in light, lightening of cigarette, Nayak and decided to safeguard himself. This gave a clear reading of the story and An astrologer’s character.
Also in the short story An astrologer describes his past which doesn't seem too interesting but the movie presents it in flashback, black and white which is also fascinating.
Was there any particular scene or moment in the story that you think was perfect?
The perfect scene in the story as well as the movie is Nayak’s revelation to An astrologer. The scene is perfectly cinematographed adding to it it provides the moral and comprehension of the whole story. The flashbacks shown in the movie are also perfectly shown. I liked them too.
If you are the 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?
If I would be the director of movie based on this short story the changes i would like to make is about the setting because, first, it is not according to short story and secondly as described it is a crowded place but in movie we feel in to be chaotic. I would also try to change lighting compared to this movie.
All the above answers are my personal interpretations. If you want to add or change something, write in a comment box. I hope it was useful to you thanks for visiting.
[words- 1620]
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