Kanaganayakam is an associate professor at the University of Toronto and has written for a wide variety of academic journals. In the following essay, he discusses the themes of irony and cosmic harmony in "An Astrologer's Day."

Among Indian writers in English, R. K. Narayan is probably one of the most prolific, and he has the distinction of having written fiction for more than sixty years. His first novel, Swami and Friends, appeared in 1935, and since then he has written novels, short stories, and essays, totaling more than thirty books in all. Although known predominantly as a novelist in India and the West, his short stories are no less significant than his longer works, and the story "An Astrologer's Day" continues to be a heavily anthologized piece. It is of considerable significance that a story which first appeared in 1947 should retain its appeal after more than fifty...