An Astrologers Day

Punctually at midday he open his bag and spread out his professional equipment ,which consists of a dozen cowrie shells ,a square piece of cloth with obscure mystic charts on it , a notebook , and a bundle of palymyra writing .

His forehead was resplendent with sacred ash and vermillion , and his eyes sparked with a sharp abnormal gleam which was really an outcome of a continual searching look for customers, but which his simple clients took to be a prophetic light and felt comforted .

The power of his eyes was considerably enhanced by their position placed as they were between the painted forehead and the dark whisker's 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 around his head .This colour scheme never failed . people were attracted to Cosmos or rahila stalks . He sat under the boughs of a spreding tamarind tree which flanked a path running through the Town hall park . It was a remarkable place in many ways . A surging crowd was always moving up and down this narrow road from morning till night.A variety of trades and occupations was represented all along its way : medical , sellers of stolen hardware and junk , magician's ,and above all ,an auctioneer of cheap cloth , who created enough din all day to attract the whole town .Next to him in vocieferousness came a vendor of fried ground nut ,who gave his ware a fancy name each day , calling it " Bombay Ice cream "one day on the Next " Delhi almond " and on the third " Raja's Delicacy " and so on and so forth , and people flocked to him .

A considerable portion of this crowd dallied before the astrologer too .The astrologer transacted his business by the light of a flare which crackled and smoked up above the ground nut heap nearby . Half the enchantment of the place was due to the fact that it did not have the benefit of municipal lighting .

The place was lit up by shop lights .One or two had hissing Gaslight , some had ***** flares stuck on poles , some were lit up by old cycle lamps , and one or two ,like the astrologer ,managed without light's of their own .it was a bewildering criss cross of light Ray's and moving shadow's .This suited the astrologer , very well ,for the simple reason that he had not in the least intended to bee an astrologer when he began life ; and he knew no more of what was going to happen to others than he knew what was going to happen to others than he knew no more of what was going to happen himself in the Next minutes . He was as much a stranger to the stars as were his innocent customer's .Yet he said things which pleased and astonished everyone : :that was a matter of study , pratice ,and shrewd guesswork .

All the same ,it was as much an honest man's labour as any other ,and he deserved the wages he carried home at the end of a day .

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