Head of the astrology department R P Dubay (right) and students look through books at the jyotirvigyan department library in Ranchi University. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, Sept. 13: If you are thinking of buying shares or investing in property or a new project don?t dial your financial advisor, seek an appointment with an astrologer instead.

Sounds regressive, yes. But that?s exactly what an increasing number of people are doing as figures from the jyotirvigyan department of the Ranchi University shows.

The wannabe astrologers from the university are in great demand for detecting everything from new underground water sources to forecasting the weather. They seem to have mastered every art to precision.

Name any field, banking, soil conservation, share market to information technology, the astrologers are hot favourites, said the department head, R.P. Dubay.

Sounds incredible but they even claim to predict company stocks by studying the movement of planets.

?Mercury is the controller of shares and the position of the planet determines which shares to invest in. Saturn and Jupitor also influence the share market,? said Dubay.

Since the state is undergoing a water crisis, the students can help Jharkhand discover new water resources, Dubey suggested.

The department also plans to install a gem-cutting machine in the department.

Established in 2002 with just 3 rooms, after much controversy, it has been demanding more rooms to be added and its vacant faculty seats to be filled up. With a library already stocking more than 3,000 books, some of them rare and expensive, it has recently further upgraded the place with books worth Rs 11 lakh, which was purchased by the department.

Some of these books include Arya Bhattya?s and Varaha Mihir?s. Arya Bhattya Tantra, Shani Siddhant, Siddhant Siromani, Vrihat Sanghini, Rihat Parasat, Hora Shastra, Grah Laghav and Jyotir Ganit Kaumudi books range from Rs 400 to Rs 600 and even more. The library also has a very costly book called the Ravan Sangita, costing Rs 5,000, supposedly written by Ravana himself.

The admission process is direct, without any entrance test or interview. Although the eligibility criteria is graduate in any discipline, more from the science stream are attracted towards the subject.

What?s impressive is that one of the reasons given by the students joining this course is that they are, in the meantime, preparing for civil services and other competitive examinations. There are 16 papers in total, of which theory papers are 12. The department also has facility for Ph.D and D.lit. The funds are made available by the University Grant Commission and the Ranchi University.

The varsity provides the department a maintenance cost of Rs 13,000 per month, while UGC also provides funds from time to time. That speaks a lot for the faith the university has in the course its runnng.