Bring out the role of fate in shaping the events of "An Astrologer's Day."

Fate may be defined as an event or happenstance that
unavoidably befalls, or occurs to, a person. The major instances of the presence of fate
in "An Astrologer's Day" are the lighting the astrologer uses; the cheroot the customer
lights; the recognizability of their faces. Narayan spends a great deal of time in the
pages of his story describing the setting and the astrologer. Part of the reason for
this is so that the reader recognizes the role of fate regarding the lighting, cheroot,
and the astrologer's face.

His face is described as being resplendent
with "sacred ash and vermilion" and topped by a "saffron-coloured turban" wound around
his head. In between these were his sparkling, powerful eyes and his long heavy dark
whiskers:

The
power of his eyes was considerably enhanced by their position--placed as they were
between the painted forehead and the dark whiskers which streamed down his cheeks : even
a half-wit's eyes would sparkle in such a
setting.

It is this way of
presenting himself--and the change to the quality of his eyes, with their "sharp
abnormal gleam"--that made his face unrecognizable. In this way fate intervenes to shape
events and to allow the astrologer to remain a stranger in the presence of the man whom
he had wronged so many years ago. 

In contrast, it is the lighting of
the customer's cheroot (i.e., open-ended cigar) "by the matchlight" that illuminates the
customer's face allowing the astrologer to recognize him. Narayan describes the lights
of the market with specific detail and makes it clear that the astrologer is bathed in
shadow touched only by ambient light. By these features, fate intervenes to shape events
through the physical lighting and the lighting of the cheroot to allow the customer to
be recognized by the hidden astrologer.