Ranga’s Marriage

Introduction to the author:

Maasthi Venkatesa Iyengar, popularly known as Masti, was an administrator, professor and a
popular writer in Kannada language. Right from early on in life he wrote both in English and in
Kannada. His literary works include novels, poetry, drama, criticism, journalism and short
stories. His first work was Rangana Maduve (meaning marriage of Ranga) in 1910 and his last
work was Maatugara Ramanna (meaning talkative Ramanna in1985) both in Kannada. He won
the prestigious Jnanpith Award in 1983 for his novel Chikkavira Rajendra.

Synopsis of the story:

The story highlights life in Indian villages at a time when child marriages were common.
Ranga's Marriage is an interesting account of how a person manipulates a young boy in order to
get him married to an eleven-year-old girl. The story dates back to the early days of the British
rule when the English usage wasn’t so common. Rangappa, the son of a village accountant,
returns from Bangalore after completing his studies. His homecoming after six months becomes
an event for celebration with curious onlookers gathering outside his home to see how much
city-life has changed him. They are surprised to see that English education has not corrupted
their old Ranga and he still conforms to the age old traditions and customs. Ranga, however, has
his personal views about marriage. The narrator, on his part, decides to get the boy married after
hearing the same. He settles for an immature girl of eleven, Ratna, for Ranga and with the help
of Shastri’s astrology he goes about the task of match-making. Eventually the two get married
and settle down happily.

Theme of the story:

The story holds a mirror to the society in villages a long time back ---- a time when people did
not know English. According to the author the “priceless commodity”, the “English language”
was not so widespread in villages. It also stresses on how astrologers held a place of reverence in
society. Their words had unquestionable acceptance. The author also harps on the theme of marriage in
society. He depicts the role neighbours and well-wishers had to play in a rranged marriages. Ranga's
marriage is a conflict between traditional thought and modern thought. The conflict occurs when
Ranga, against his rationality, falls in love with Ratna, an eleven-year-old girl and finally
gets married to her.

Characterization:
Shyama: According to the story, the narrator is a very simple and kind- hearted person. He has a
lot of admiration for his village and knows even the smallest details about his village Hosahalli.
He often rambles away digressing from the main point but he is extremely proud of his native
village and its geography, its flora and fauna.
The narrator seems to have a clever perception and is a good judge of people. He likes Ranga for
the fact that the boy has not forgotten his roots. He is traditional in his outlook and is impressed
when in spite of a city education, Ranga touches his feet. Ranga’s good character makes Shyama
decide that he will not let the boy settle elsewhere, even though Ranga harbours ultramodern
views about marriage. Then he begins to hatch a plot in order to get Ranga married and settle in
the village. Very cunningly he crafts an opportunity to make Ranga and Ratna meet. Thereafter,
he conspires with the astrologer and gets Ranga thinking about marriage. In the end he cleverly
gets the two married. Thus Shyama comes across as a benevolent man who wants everybody to
be happy. Even though he is cunning in some cases, the reader still finds him interesting.

Ranga: Ranga was the son of the village accountant. He had gone to Bangalore for studies and
returned after six months. All villagers rushed to see whether Ranga had changed in his looks or
manners. Even the author joined them. He was a well- educated and well-mannered boy. A
traditional kid, he was quite different from the other boys of his age. Ranga was very generous
and considerate. Even after the Bangalore education, he still touched the elders' feet while
greeting them.
But a change in outlook was inevitable after being educated in a big city. As a result, Ranga had
modern ideas about life and marriage. Not one to rush into marriage, he wanted to settle down
with a sufficiently old girl, so that they would not have a communication gap. He wanted a love
marriage in which the couple would know each other thoroughly.
But in spite of having such clear and well-defined views of marriage, he fell prey to an arranged
marriage and that too with an eleven-year-old girl.

Ratna: Ratna was Rama Rao’s niece. A sweet girl of 11, she was from a big city. She had come
to live with her uncle in Hosahalli after her parent’s death. She was beautiful and had an innocent
face. She knew how to play the harmonium and veena and sang very sweetly. Her sweet and
endearing nature made Shyama choose her as Ranga’s bride.

Shastri: The village astrologer Shastri plays a vital role in arranging Ranga's marriage with
Ratna. He is tutored by Shyama initially but then he, in his own clever way, moulds Ranga’s
heart so that he falls for Ratna. He is smart enough to cut the narrator short when he refutes his
allegations of not having met in a long time. The hints given by the author were skilfully
developed by him. He is the one who is able to get Ranga’s confession about being in love with
Rama Rao’s niece.

Title of the story:

The title gives a peek into what the story deals with, that is, Ranga’s marriage. Hence, the title
seems appropriate. It sums up the theme of the story which has one central issue. Ranga is a boy
who is reluctant to marry initially. But the narrator vows to have him married. He hatches a plan
and successfully executes it with the help of Shastri. In the end we see Ranga and Ratna happily
married, all thanks to the narrator’s efforts. All the incidents thus contribute to the central theme.
The writer presents the workings of the young educated Indian’s mind and heart. He is easily
influenced by the English ways of life and wants to adopt them. The narrator, however, wants to
wean Ranga away from the fantasy of love-marriage. By arousing his interest and fascination for
the young Ratna, he makes Ranga agree to marry her. Thus Ranga’s one condition for marriage
is fulfilled, he loves her. But his other condition of marrying a mature girl is side stepped.

The Black Hole tragedy:

It was a small prison or dungeon, known as the "Black Hole", in Fort William where troops of
Siraj ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, held British prisoners of war for three days on 20 June
1756.
The dungeon was a strongly barred room, and not intended for the confinement of more than two
or three men at a time. There were two windows, a projecting veranda outside and thick iron bars
within impeded the ventilation. The prisoners were packed so tightly that the door was difficult
to close. “The black hole” in soldiers' slang measured 4.30m. × 5.50 m (14 feet × 18 feet).
One of the soldiers stationed in the veranda was offered 1,000 rupees to have them removed to a
larger room. He went away, but returned saying it was impossible. The bribe was then doubled,
and he made a second attempt with a like result; the nawab was asleep and no one dared wake
him.
By nine o'clock several had died, and many more were delirious. There was a frantic cry for
water and one of the guards arranged for some where John Zephaniah Holwell, one of the British
prisoners and an employee of the East India Company, and two or three others received it in their
hats, and passed it on to the men behind. In their impatience to secure it nearly all was spilt, and
the little they drank seemed to increase their thirst. Those in remote parts of the room struggled
to reach the window and a fearful tumult ensued, in which the weakest were trampled or pressed
to death. They fought, prayed, blasphemed, and many then dropped exhausted on the floor,
where suffocation put an end to their torments.
At six in the morning, Siraj-ud-Daulah ordered the door to be opened. Of the 146 only 23,
including Mr. Holwell [from whose narrative, published in the Annual Register & The
Gentleman's Magazine for 1758, this account is partly derived], remained alive, and they were
either stupefied or raving.
Afterwards, when the prison of Fort William was opened, the corpses of the dead men were
thrown into a ditch.
Historians, however, offer different numbers of prisoners and casualties of war; Stanley Wolpert
reported that 64 people were imprisoned and 21 survived. D.L. Prior reported that 43 men of the
Fort-William garrison were either missing or dead, for reasons other than suffocation and shock.

Questions and Answers:

What does the narrator say about Hosahalli?
Answer: Hosahalli village is the scene of action. There is no mention of it in geography books
written by the sahibs in England or Indian writers. No cartographer has put it on the map. The
narrator highlights its importance by comparing it to the filling of the karigadubu—a South
Indian fried sweet filled with coconut and sugar.

What are the two special produce of Hosahalli?

Answer: The first is raw mango. The sourness of its bite is sure to get straight to the
brahmarandhra, i.e. the soft part in a child’s head where the skull bones join later. The second is
a creeper growing in the water of the village pond. Its flowers are a feast to behold. One can
serve an afternoon meal to the whole family on its two leaves.

What had happened ten years ago? How important was it then?
Answer: Ten years ago there were not many people in the village who knew English. The
village accountant was the first one to send his son, Ranga, to Bangalore to pursue his studies. It
was quite an important event then. The narrator highlights it by saying that the village accountant
was the first one to have enough courage to send his son to Bangalore.
What happened when Ranga returned to his village from Bangalore?
Answer: Ranga’s homecoming was a great event. The crowds milled around his house to see
whether city life had changed him. People could not contain their excitement as the boy was
returning home after studying English in Bangalore. Everyone was surprised to see that Ranga
was the same as he had been six months ago, when he had first left the village.

How did the old lady satisfy herself about Ranga?

Answer: The old lady ran her hand over Ranga’s chest and looked into his eyes. She was
satisfied to find the sacred thread still on him. She was happy that he had not lost his caste.

“What has happened is disgraceful, believe me” says the narrator. What does he refer to?
How does he illustrate his point of view?
Answer: The narrator refers to the practice of young persons talking in English or bringing in
English words while talking in Kannada. He calls this mixing up of languages ‘disgraceful’. He
gives the example of the use of the English word ‘change’ by Rama Rao’s son when conversing
with the old lady who had brought firewood. The illiterate lady did not understand the word and
on being asked to come the next day, went away disgruntled.

Why does the narrator refer to the Black Hole of Calcutta?

Answer: During the British rule, hundreds of prisoners of war were kept inside a single room.
The next morning most of them were found dead due to suffocation. The narrator uses the
expression ‘Black Hole of Calcutta’ to suggest that if the large number of people who had turned
out to see Ranga, had gone inside the house, it would have resulted in the Black Hole effect.

How did Ranga greet the narrator? How did he differ from the present- day boys?
Answer: Ranga greeted the narrator with full devotion. He not only folded his hands, but also
bent low to touch his feet. A present-day boy would have stood stiff like a pole without joints,
keeping his head towards the sun and jerking his body as if it were a hand or a walking stick.

When did Ranga plan to marry and why?

Answer: Ranga did not want to get married at an early age. He wanted to find the right girl. She
had to be mature enough to understand his talk of love. Secondly, he wished to marry a girl he
admired. He was against marrying young girls who had no manners or paid no attention to their
face or figure.

What examples did Ranga give to explain the importance of marrying late?
Answer: Ranga said that a thirty something officer married a girl of about twenty- five. Ranga
hoped that they would be able to talk lovingly to each other. The second example was that of
Dushyantha falling in love with Shakuntala, who was quite mature. Had she been young, it
would not have been possible to fall in love with her.

“Ranga was just the boy for her and she the most suitable bride for him,” says the
narrator. Who is ‘she’? What led the narrator to come to this conclusion?
Answer: ‘She’ here stands for Ratna, the niece of Rama Rao. She was a pretty girl of eleven.
Both her parents had died and her uncle had brought her to the village. Being a girl from a big
town, she knew how to play the veena and the harmonium. She also had a sweet voice. All these
qualities made her a suitable bride for Ranga

How did the narrator let Ranga have a glimpse of Ratna?

Answer: The narrator arranged the meeting very cleverly. First, he told Rama Rao’s wife that he
would send some buttermilk for her and suggested that she send Ratna to fetch it. When she
came, Shyama asked her to sing a song. Meanwhile Ranga, whom he had sent for, reached the
door. He became curious to see the singer and peeped in. His presence at the door blocked the
light and Ratna stopped singing abruptly.

How did Ranga and Ratna react at their unexpected encounter?

Answer: Ratna stopped singing abruptly on seeing a stranger outside the room. Ranga felt
disappointed when the singing stopped. Ratna stood at a distance with her head lowered. Ranga
repeatedly glanced at her. He blamed himself for making Ratna stop her singing and offered to
leave. Ratna became shy and ran inside.

How did the narrator handle Ranga’s inquiries about Ratna?

Answer: The narrator did not give him a straightforward reply. He said casually that it did not
matter to either of them who she was. The narrator was already married and Ranga was not the
marrying type. This aroused Ranga’s interest and he expressed the hope that she was unmarried.
His face showed signs of disappointment on learning that she was married a year ago.

Why did the narrator tell Ranga that the girl was married a year ago?
Answer: The narrator had made up his mind that he would get Ranga married. First he brought
Ranga and Ratna face to face to arouse his interest in her. In order to test the strength of his
emotions, he told Ranga that she was married. Ranga’s shrivelled face betrayed his feelings.

Why did the narrator visit the village astrologer?

Answer: The narrator knew that people trusted astrologers. So, he went to the village astrologer
and told him to be ready to read the stars. He tutored him in all that he wanted the astrologer to
say when he would revisit him with Ranga.

In what mental /emotional state did the narrator find Ranga? What solution did he offer?
How did Ranga react to it?
Answer: Ranga seemed to be lost in thought. It might be that he was emotionally upset to learn
that Ratna was already married. The narrator offered to take him to Shastri to learn about the
stars — whether Guru and Shani were favourable for him or not.

“What? Only this morning…” Why was this sentence cut off and by whom? What would
have been the likely impact if the speaker had completed the sentence?
Answer: The narrator got angry when the astrologer said that he had not seen the former for a
long time. Then the narrator shouted these words. The astrologer cut this sentence off and
completed it in his own way. If he had not done so, the narrator would have ruined their plan of
getting Ranga married by blurting out everything.
What according to the astrologer was Ranga’s cause of worry? How did the name Ratna
crop up?
Answer: According to the astrologer the cause of Ranga’s worry was a girl. She probably had
the name of something found in the ocean. When asked if it could be Kamla the astrologer did
not rule out the possibility. When suggested if it could be Pacchi, moss, the astrologer put a
counter question: “Why not pearl or ratna, the precious stone?” Thus the name Ratna cropped up.

“There was surprise on Ranga’s face. And some happiness.” What caused these feelings?
Answer: When the narrator learnt from Shastri — the astrologer, that the name of the girl Ranga
was worried about could be Ratna, he was reminded of Ratna. He asked the astrologer if there
was any chance of a marriage alliance between the two and the astrologer gave an assurance.
This caused happiness and surprise on Ranga’s face.

How did the narrator test the sincerity of Ranga’s feelings about Ratna?
Answer:The narrator first mentioned that the girl had been married a year ago. Ranga’s face fell
on being told so. When the narrator was sure of Ranga’s sincerity about Ratna, he disclosed that
she wasn’t married.

“There’s greater truth in that shastra than we imagine,” says Ranga. What truth does he
refer to and how was he made to admit it?
Answer: After their visit to Shastri, the narrator disclosed to Ranga that Ratna was not married.
He observed that Shastri’s words had indeed proved to be true. Still he could not believe that
Ranga had been thinking of her. When Ranga was asked to blurt out his feelings, he confessed
that he was thinking of her.

What did the narrator tell Shastri about his performance? How did the Shastri react to it?
Answer: The narrator told Shastri that he had repeated everything he had told him without
giving rise to any suspicion. Shastri, however, retorted that he could have found out Ranga’s fate
himself from the Shastras.

Comment on the ending of the-story ‘Ranga’s Marriage’.

Answer: The story has a happy ending. Ranga is married to Ratna and they have a three year-
old golden boy, Shyama, named after the narrator. Ratna is eight months pregnant with her
second child.

Long Questions and Answers

Astrologers’ perceptions are based more on hearsay and conjecture than what they
learn from the study of the stars. Comment with reference to the story.
Answer : This is highlighted through the character of shastri. It is said that astrology is a science
and all calculations are based on the movement of celestial bodies. However, the common belief
is that all that the astrologers predict is based on hearsay and it is only rarely that they make
accurate predictions.
In the story, Shyama went to the astrologer to tutor him beforehand as he was keen on an alliance
between Ranga and Ratna. Later when he returned with Ranga and asked him to predict Ranga’s
future, Shastri pretended to make certain calculations and said that Ranga was contemplating
marrying a girl whose name's initial is 'R', which was Ratna. He added that the name of the
girl was something found in the ocean. Then Shyama said that the girl in Rama Rao’s house
was Ratna and Shastri was very positive about the proposal working out. Thus, it is difficult
to say whether astrologers' predictions are based on mere hearsay or are actually what they
learn from the movements of stars.

Indian society has moved a long way from the way the marriage is arranged in the
story. Discuss.
Answer: Indian society has evolved a lot. The way Shyama arranged Ranga's marriage is not
how it happens today. In the story, Shyama decides everything when it comes to Ranga’s
marriage. Right from choosing a girl for Ranga to setting up their meetings such that eventually
Ranga can fall in love with her, Shyama plays a key role. Ranga too falls for it even though he
harbours some notions about marriage. After meeting Ratna, his ideas of marrying a mature girl
and being in love with that girl, falls flat.
In comparison, youngsters, today, are no longer dependent on their parents when it comes to
choosing their life partners. They take the decision themselves. Society too is much more lenient
towards love marriages.

Practice Questions:
1 What was Ranga’s ideas of marriage?
2 Why did Shyama decide to get Ranga married?
3. What role did Shastri have to play in Ranga’s marriage to Ratna?
4. “I need to find the right girl,” Who said this and to whom? Why does he need to find the right
girl?
5 How do we come to know that Ranga was grateful to Shyama for his marriage alliance?