Astrologer in Malgudi

Ramesh came to Malgudi as an astrologer with his wife. They rented a house on the outskirts of the village and the astrologer started sitting under the banyan tree in the middle of the village. He wasn't an expert at astrology but possessed great wit. He would guess common problems of people and suggest common solution to solve them, in this way he would earn his living. He would see someone coming to him with a painful face and he would tell him that he's sick, the person would be shocked to know about astrologer's insightfulness but the truth was that he was only using his common sense.

Once a man went to visit him with his friend after coming to know about him. He didn't believe in astrology and hence, he told the astrologer that he would pay him a thousand rupees if you can tell something true about him.

"You are a non-believer," astrologer said. "You do not believe in luck."

"That's obvious. Tell me something about me that is of any substance." the man replied.

Astrologer looked at him with a keen eye. The man oddly looked familiar to him.

"You are satisfied with your life." The astrologer said.

"Any man with a little brain can tell it as one of the reasons of me being a non-believer." he replied.

The astrologer again looked at him. He had seen him before.

"You have been stabbed and left in a well to die in a well." the astrologer commented.

That was true and hence the astrologer got the thousand rupees and an extra hundred rupees.

When his wife asked him how did he know about the man's past, the astrologer said, "I was the one who stabbed him years ago."