TA1J, “'xl *«l>oiarly-Inoklnt SurnHhranands appear* wry much the retired village schoolmaster that he Is. 1n retirement. the wholar* mind Is busier than ever as he develops a fascinating hobby into a po tenlialty lucrative oitcrprtw

He is rapidly gaining fame not only tn hia email town of Campana. In Sti Lankas Western Province. but also in the rest of the country, as ihe man who has modernised as Irology by reading Ihe stars with the aid of a computer.

Ills Improvised system links a 48-kilobyte home computer to a portable audio cassette player using audio tape* Instead of the more expensive floppy discs, and has an ordi nary 14 inch black and white tek-Tston set as the visual dis piny unH

A Hfetinre of studying as trology as a hobby has made Sumcthrananda quite an expert. However, because the scientific application of astrology requires detailed mathe matteal calculations, he could not during hia teaching days devote aa much time as he liked to this intriguing hobby

The first lime I saw a computer al an exhibition. 1 was fascinated by it." he says. The more I studied comput ers, the more I realised they could be utilised with efficacy in astrological calculations."

After getting his computer in 1979. Sumcthrananda wrote several programmes on various aspects of astrology.

Sri Lanka is by tradition a star-struck nation. Most people neither make major decisions nor begin Important ventures wtlliuut first consulting the planets. So Sutnclh-rananda s modernisation of the

astrological art has tremendous potential

Taking the date, time and place of birth to an Individual he makes the necessary cak u-lattons to ascertain that per son's lagna. or zodiacal sign.

Under ihc Western system of astrology, everyone born during a particular month has the »anK' astrological sign. For example, everybody born be tween March 14 and April 13 would be classified Under Artes, while those born between April 14 May 14 would come under the sign of of Taurus.

The Eastern system of astrology is much more complicated — and therefore, claim Its followers, more scientific and accurate. While the year is divided into twelve signs, each day is In turn divided into twelve two-hour periods, each governed by one of the twelve signs.

So a person born at 8.15 am on July 1 would have a lagna entirely different from somebody born at 10.15 on the

san* day. and diff "ent from somebody born at B IB am on. •ay. July 21.

For an astrojoc r armed with only pencil and paper, the precise calculation of a person s lagna takes consider abk- time, but for a comput crlsed stargazer, all the paperwork can be done 1n a matter of seconds

Once the zodiacal sign is accurately determined. Sumethrananda's computer programme means that pressing a further couple of keys will bring on to the screen a ©•neral reading" — a broad prediction of events within that person's life. ■

Although astrology is Sumcthrunandu's first love. It Is not his main source of In-•unr. He dcpcixi* tor fits daily Imad on his teachers pension and the earnings from a horticultural business he started after he retired. The 25 to 30 people who come to him each month for astrological readings pay 50 rupees each (about US81).

Astrology. claims Sumcthrananda. Is not a matter of guesswork or hocus-pocus: It is a science based on logic He says: "I have observed tliat If something happens to me at a particular time. It will happen again the next time the planet* arc 1n the same position.

"For example, if I buy a lot lery ticket that wins me a prize. I should note down the time I bought 11 and calculate Ihe planetary configurations al the time. If I buy another ticket the next time the plan el* arc In ihe same position, I would be sure to win."

- GEMINI NEWS

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