Abstract:

"An Appointment with the Astrologer: Personal Consultations in Hindu Society shows four highly-regarded astrologers in Varanasi (Banaras) meeting some of the people coming to them for consultations: a woman whose husband has been missing for over a year, an actor confronting a major law suit, a woman whose marriage arrangements have been broken off three times because of her horoscope, the Maharaja of Banaras who needs to know auspicious times to sign important documents, a politician debating whether or not to stand in an election, a young man seeking a second opinion on his forthcoming marriage, and a rickshaw driver who wants to cure his suicide-prone son."