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The Astrologer
Guru Nayak is the man whom the astrologer tried to murder several years before the story takes place. Very little is said about Guru Nayak other than that he has left his village and gone searching for the man who tried to kill him so that he can strangle him to death. Guru Nayak is introduced merely as an aggressive stranger who is immediately skeptical of the astrologer and his supposed wisdom. Though he is standing in front of him, due to the darkness of the evening and the paint, turban, and long beard that the astrologer wears, he does not recognize his attacker. He eventually believes that the astrologer is a prophet when the astrologer tells him the specifics of his attack and even Guru Nayak’s own name. He is disappointed when he is told that his attacker died under the tires of a vehicle some months before, but satisfied enough that he promises to return home and never venture to this village again. Although Guru Nayak is positioned as the antagonist in the structure of the story, he actually could be considered as occupying the role of the hero in the relationship between the two characters. Although the story was written in English, Guru Nayak’s name is actually two Hindi terms: “Guru” meaning teacher or spiritual initiator and “Nayak” meaning hero.
Guru Nayak Quotes in An Astrologer’s Day
The An Astrologer’s Day quotes below are all either spoken by Guru Nayak or refer to Guru Nayak. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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An Astrologer’s Day Quotes
“Stop,” said the other. “I don’t want all that. Shall I succeed in my present search or not? Answer this and go. Otherwise I will not let you go till you disgorge all your coins.” The astrologer muttered a few incantations and replied: “All right. I will speak… You were left for dead. Am I right?”
“Ah, tell me more.”
“A knife passed through you once?” said the astrologer.
“Good fellow!” He bared his chest to show the scar. “What else?”
“And then you were pushed into a well nearby in the field. You were left for dead.”
“I should have been dead if some passer-by had not chanced to peep into the well,” exclaimed the other, overwhelmed by enthusiasm. “When shall I get at him?” he asked, clenching his fist.
“In the next world,” answered the astrologer. “He died four months ago in a far-off town. You will never see any more of him.”
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Guru Nayak appears in the marketplace and bets the astrologer that he cannot tell him anything worthwhile. The astrologer realizes who he is speaking to only after Guru Nayak steps into the light, and—though the reader does not realize it at the time—uses his personal history with Guru Nayak to feign wisdom. Guru Nayak stands as a foil to the astrologer. Not only are their goals diametrically opposed—the astrologer hopes to survive by escaping justice, Guru Nayak hopes to do justice and kill the man who tried to kill him—but their characters are as well. Guru Nayak is an instant Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad t
After dinner, sitting on the pyol, he told her: “Do you know a great load is gone from me today? I thought I had the blood of a man on my hands all these years. That was the reason why I ran away from home, settled here, and married you. He is alive.”
She gasped. “You tried to kill!”
“Yes, in our village, when I was a silly youngster. We drank, gambled, and quarreled badly one day—why think of it now? Time to sleep,” he said, yawning, and stretched himself on the pyol.
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With Guru Nayak deceived and dealt with, the astrologer returns home. His rejection of sincerity and responsibility for his past are complete. When he tells his wife of his day, he also offhandedly tells her that he tried to commit murder, and indeed thought that he was a murderer for all of the years that she had known him. He does not consider the shock that this news may be to her, realizing that the man she has slept next to and had a child with tried to kill someone. Even she expresses her brief shock and dismay, the astrologer Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetu
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Guru Nayak Character Timeline in An Astrologer’s Day
The timeline below shows where the character Guru Nayak appears in An Astrologer’s Day. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
An Astrologer’s Day
As the astrologer is packing his garb and equipment, a stranger blots out the green light. The astrologer summons him to sit down, hoping to make...
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The stranger offers a large sum on the cynical wager that the astrologer cannot tell him anything...
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The stranger strikes a match to light his cheroot, and the brief light of the flame illuminates...
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...to offer the same vague, placating advice that has satisfied other customers in the past. The stranger , however, will have none of it. The astrologer says a silent prayer and then...
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The stranger is now filled with enthusiasm, convinced that the astrologer must truly possess cosmic wisdom. He...
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The astrologer reveals that he knows the man’s name is Guru Nayak as well, crediting his own omniscience. He warns Guru Nayak to return to his village...
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...His wife is angry at him until she sees the money he has made from Guru Nayak , though the astrologer curses Nayak when he realizes that Nayak has slightly underpaid him....
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