The Monkey’s Conditioning - “The Mute Companions”
N.K Narayan writes, “The monkey solved for him the problem of food. He performed his tricks in front of houses and earned for his master rice, edibles and coins. The opening turn, usually, was a walk around, saluting the assembly, which invariably consisted of a boy, a girl carrying a baby, two other small children, and a grandmother; occasionally also the mother, and , very very rarely indeed, the master of the house. Sami was particular that the monkey should salute everyone assembled, including the young one in the girl’s arms. If he omitted anyone he received a tug at his waist which made his teeth chatter.” Although Sami is dumb, he thrives in conditioning the monkey to be a remarkable entertainer. The communiqué between Sami and the monkey is overseen by gestures. Sami rises above his muteness based on how he leverages the potential of the monkey to advance his economic and social well-being.
‘Professional Equipment’ - “An Astrologer’s Day”
R. K Narayan explicates, “Punctually at midday he opened his bag and spread out his professional equipment, which consisted of a dozen cowrie shells, a square piece of cloth with obscure mystic charts on it, a notebook and a bundle of Palmyra writing.” The astrologer’s ‘tools of trade’ render it a vocation like all the other conformist professions. Through the tools, the astrologer implements his errands in the Astrology profession. Clients’ persuasion would upsurge when the astrologer involves the equipment before diagnosing a subject. Accordingly the equipment supplements the astrologer’s abilities.
