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What kind of a person do you think the narrator is?


The narrator appears to be a gentleman. He enjoys helping others and takes pains to make people happy around him. He is a villager and is mighty proud of his village Hosahalli. He says that Hosahalli is to Mysore State what the sweet ‘Karigadabu’ is to a festive meal. He speaks glowingly of his village. The narrator is a good judge of men and matters. He is quick to judge that Ranga can be the best boy for Rama Rao’s niece Ratna. Time proves that his choice is sound. The narrator is a great manipulator. While Ratna sings, he calls for Ranga. So the boy sees the girl and silently develops liking for her.

The narrator is very vocal. He doesn’t mince words. He can’t be brief. His descriptions are lengthy and heavy. His description of his village is overstretched and overstated. But he is a realist. Ranga’s homecoming is a great event in the village. It may appear to be a little exaggerated today but not a century ago. The narrator seems to have developed fascination for English language. He calls English language ‘a priceless commodity’.

The narrator impresses us with his presence of mind. He is pragmatic and cares for results only. He knows that the marriage needs the blessings of a priest and astrologer. Shastri is tutored to facilitate the marriage of Ranga and Ratna. This is his master stroke. Naturally, he earns the respect of Ranga and Ratna. The couple names their child Shyama as a mark of respect for him.

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Indian society has moved a long way from the way the marriage is arranged in the story. Discuss.


Ranga’s marriage was performed at a time when old values and customs still dominated our social scene. The twenty first century is not the age of arranged marriages. No doubt, villages are the last citadels of superstitions. They continue practising arranged marriages in one form or the other. In the modern world of science and technology, there is little room for conservative practices. These days boys and girls don’t need a helper. They meet frequently. They try to understand each other. They judge all pros and cons. Then they resolve to become life-partners. Their parents simply give their approval. If they oppose, the marriage is still solemnised in the court. Even in the villages things are now different. Certainly the Indian society has moved a long way from the way the marriage is arranged in the story.

It was the narrator who thought that Ranga would make a good husband for Rama Rao’s niece Ratna. Hence, the initiative comes not from the boy or the girl. Ratna is ‘a pretty girl of eleven’. People could think of marrying off a girl of this tender age only in Hosahalli village of Ranga’s time. Today it is unimaginable. Child marriage is legally prohibited and banned.

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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.


People suffer from many superstitions. One of the popular superstitions is the perception of arstrologers towards astrology. Whether astrology is science or not may be a debatable issue. It is true that astrologers don’t base their perceptions on the study of stars. Nor do they care much for the movement of the planets and their effect on man’s life. They are like Shastri of the story. All their predictions are based on hearsay and conjecture. They are not based on any scientific or rational study of stars.

The attitude of Shastri in the story is self-explanatory. He is merely a parrot. He utters what the narrator asks him to say. Shastri replies that ‘a girl’ is the cause of Ranga’s unhappiness. The narrator asks Shastri if there is any chance of their negotiations for Ratna bearing fruit. The astrologer replies “definitely”.

Sometimes astrologers are tutored by their clients. They move their lips and count on their fingers just to impress unsuspecting persons. Shastri exactly does so to impress Ranga. The poor fellow doesn’t know that Shastri has repeated what he has been tutored. He only knows that whatever the astrologer says is “absolutely true”.

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Comment on the influence of English—the language and the way of life—on Indian life as reflected in the story. What is the narrator’s attitude to English?


The story ‘Ranga’s Marriage’ takes us to those times when there were few people in villages in India who knew English. The village accountant was the first one who had enough courage to send his son to Bangalore to study. Those days people didn’t speak in English in the village. Nor did they bring English words while talking in Kannada. To support this, the narrator gives an instance. Rama Rao’s son bought a bundle of firewood. The woman asked for four pice, the price of firewood. The boy told her that he did not have any ‘change’. The poor woman did not understand the English word ‘change’. She went away muttering to herself.

However, English was considered to be a ‘priceless commodity’. That was why Ranga’s home coming in the village was a great event. The people wanted to have a look of the boy who had gone to Bangalore to study English. Many people believed that those who received education in English lost their caste. Ranga was still wearing the sacred thread, ‘the janewara’. He had not lost his caste and culture.

The attitude of the narrator to English is quite positive. He considers English to be ‘a priceless commodity’. But he wants to show that English doesn’t have any adverse influence on the religious and cultural practices of the people. Ranga wears the sacred thread and bends low for ‘namaskara’ to his elders.

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