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Class 11, Snapshots, Ranga’s Marriage, By Masti Venkatesha Iyengar, Introduction, The story revolves around Ranga, the accountant‘s son who got the opportunity to go out of the, village to study. The narrator takes you through a journey where he changes Ranga’s perception about, marriage, how he staged their union with the help of a Shastri and what role English has played in their, village. The entire story involves funny instances and references for the narrator has made sure your, mind stays occupied with the story., Summary, It all begins when Ranga, the accountant‘s son comes back to his village Hosahalli after six months. He, had gone to Bangalore to pursue his studies, which to mention, not many in the village get this, opportunity. The whole village gets excited to see Ranga and thus, they gather around his home only to, see how he would have changed., The narrator has beautifully elaborated about their village Hosahalli and how every authority, responsible forgot to mention it in the maps. Moving on, he admires Ranga and wants to get him, married but to his dismay, Ranga has very different views about marriage at that point. The Narrator, stages the entire union of Ranga and Ratna, Rama Rao’s eleven-year-old niece., The girl has a very sweet voice and can play Veena and harmonium. At first, the narrator tells him that, she is married to see how it affects Ranga. As expected, Ranga was disappointed. The narrator then, manipulated the village Shastri to say things in his favor., He then took Ranga to visit him where he predicted that Ranga has a girl on his mind and her name, resembles something found in the ocean. Shyama, the narrator guesses her name to be Ratna but again,, she is married. On their way back, they confirmed that Ratna is not married only to find Ranga happy, and full of hope., On the other hand, the Shastri disagreed on having staged anything predetermined. He claims to have, said whatever his predictions showed. However, at the end, Ranga and Ratna are happily married with a, three- year old son named after the narrator. Ratna is also pregnant with another child. To conclude, the, narrator makes sure that he didn’t bore his readers, Vocabulary words, Vijaya- Victory
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Girija- female (here), Kalyana- beautiful, lovely,auspicious in Sanskrit, Sahib- a polite title or form of address for a man, Like a flock of sheep- a group of people behaving in the same way or following what others are doing, Cartographer- a person who draws or produces maps, Bharatvarsha- India, Karigadabu- a South Indian fried sweet filled with coconut and sugar, Annayya- (in Kannada) a respectful term for an elder, Flea-pestered dog- A flea- pestered dog does not stick to one place but keeps roaming everywhere.Fleapestered means being infested by fleas and ticks which can cause uncontrollable itching in animals, Behold- see or observe (someone or something, especially of remarkable or impressive nature), Rambling- (of writing or speech) lengthy and confused or inconsequential, Janewara- (in Kannada) the sacred thread worn by Brahmins, Troupe- a group of dancers, actors or other entertainers who tour to different venues, Betray- portray (here), Shrivelled- shrunken and wrinkled; especially as a result of loss of moisture, Paraphernalia- trappings associated with a particular institution or activity that are regarded as, superfluous, Cowries- a marine mollusc which has a glossy, brightly patterned domed shell with a long, narrow, opening, Palmyra- palm tree, Harikatha- Story of Lord, Madhavacharya- an exponent of Vedantic philosophy from South India, Question Answers, Reading with Insight, 1. 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?
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A. The story talks about the influence English language had decades ago in his village. Not, many people in the village at that time could understand or talk in English. Only a few, courageous people would send their children to study in cities like the village, accountant sent Ranga to Bangalore. When Ranga came back to the village, everyone, was keen on seeing how their culture had transformed him., As far as cultural influence is concerned, the story mentions how Ranga wanted to marry a girl who was, mature, someone who understands him and is compatible with him. This is completely in opposition to, the arranged marriages that were widely prevalent in those times., The narrator finds it disgraceful when people mix Kannada language with English. He recounts how one, day a lady delivered firewood to Rama Rao’s place and he told her to come the next morning because he, had no “change”. The lady did not know what “change” meant and left while muttering to herself., The narrator confesses that he too did not know what it meant until he asked Rama Rao., 2. 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., A. The story throws light upon how Shastri predicted what was going on in Ranga’s mind., He did it using two sheets of paper, some cowries and a book of palmyra leaves in the, form of his paraphernalia. He even revealed that Ranga has some girl on his mind whose, name related to something that belonged to the ocean. All this made Ranga believe in, the power of Astrology., B. While in reality, it was our narrator Shyama, who had tutored Shastri to say so in a, meeting prior to the one with Ranga. Shastri made it seem like no big deal when Ranga, left and Shyama called it “his marvellous shastra”. He said he could have guessed it, with his numbers even if Shyama had not staged it for him., Hence, the story portrays Astrologer’s perceptions to be based more on hearsay and conjecture than, what they learn from the stars., 3. Indian society has moved a long way from the way the marriage is arranged in the story. Discuss., A. It is true that Indian society has moved a long way from the way the marriage is, arranged in the story. Earlier, there was no concept of love marriage and only arranged, marriages took place like the one being talked about in the story. Ranga’s marriage was, arranged by his uncle Shyama. In present times, the bride and the groom have a say in, the matter unlike decades ago where even their consent was not considered important., B. Our society has come a long way since then, especially when it comes to the rights of, females., Earlier, the bride’s families were pressurized into paying dowry which has been illegalised now. It is also, against the law to marry individuals who have not yet attained a specific age; 18 in case of girls and 21 in, case of boys., 4. What kind of a person do you think the narrator is?
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A. The narrator is a man of his land as he introduces his village with such enthusiasm that, every reader would want to visit it at least once. His hospitality can also be appreciated, as he promises to take good care of his readers. He is someone who believes in, maintaining the authenticity of his culture that is why, he thinks it’s a disgrace to mix, Kannada with English., B. He is a man with good judgement of character. He knew what type of man Ranga was, and that Rama Rao‘s niece Ratna would be a perfect partner for him. Shyama seemed, like someone who knows how to make his own way. The whole set-up he staged with, the village Shastri in order to get Ranga and Ratna married, pose as evidence for that., He is also funny by way of which he teased the village Shastri. Although clever, he seems, to be a man with best intentions at heart.
