What is the theme in An Astrologer's Day by R. K. Narayan?

Fate is definitely a theme in this story. The Hindu idea of karma comes back to the astrologer who had once stabbed a man out of youthful folly. It is ironic that the astrologer recognizes the victim and not the other way around. We learn that although the astrologer had gotten away with his crime, he has been living with guilt for many years. Fate always attends to people regardless of the law and order of man.