Chapter 3 - Rangas Marriage

This article will help you to learn about the summary, characters and themes in the short story “Ranga’s Marriage”, written by Masti Venkatesh Iyengar. It will also give you helpful NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Snapshots Chapter 3. For NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Snapshots Ranga’s Marriage, read on.

Synopsis

Ranga’s Marriage, by Masti Venkatesh Iyengar, is a story about a boy who returns to his village after receiving an education in English medium from Bangalore. The boy is the son of the accountant of the village. They live in the village of Hoshahalli in Mysore. When the boy returns, the whole village floods over him to see if there is any change in his personality. However, to their dismay, he still has the same eyes and mouth and everything else. He did the traditional namaskar and all dispersed.

This is an interesting chapter in which the author Iyengar, narrates an episode from his life. In his village, Hoshahalli, which had many unique features, lived a boy named Ranga. He was to the first boy who went to Bangalore to learn English. After his return, the entire village went to see him; the narrator also did. He found Ranga to be an agreeable boy; he enquired Ranga of his marriage plans to which Ranga expressed his views about marriages and preferences. The narrator planned and pledged to get Ranga married. He knew a girl, named Ratna, who was an orphan and living at Ramroa’s house.

He arranged a meeting between Ranga and Ratna. He told Ranga that the girl was married off a year ago and noticed the disappointment flaring Ranga’s face. He was infatuated to the girl. The narrator was happy as his plan was working. As his next step, the narrator took Ranga to an astrologer who he had already told what to say. He had also cautioned the astrologer to make it look like an unplanned meeting. It was the meeting with the astrologer when the narrator’s name is disclosed. Shyama, he was. The astrologer pretended to read the natal chart of Rangappa (Ranga) and declared that the boy was in love with a girl whose name meant something found in the ocean (i.e. Ratna). Shyama said it could be Ratna, Rama Rao’s niece. Ranga’s smile was not hidden from Shyama, but the girl was married!

The narrator then took the boy to Rama Rao’s home and asked him to wait outside. When he came out, he confirmed that the girl was not married and that there had been some confusion (after all, the narrator had to make up something). Ranga then finally confessed his love for Ratna and expressed his desire to be married to her. Their marriage was successfully arranged. And hence, the narrator became the godfather of Ranga’s son, Shyam.

Character List

Given below are some main characters in the story and their small sketch:

Shyama– Shyama the narrator of the story, is an old and experienced man, who has more faith in traditional beliefs than Ranga’s modern notions. He manipulates Ranga in such a manner that he ends up marrying Ratna, an eleven-year-old girl, in spite of his notions about marriage.

Ranga– Ranga was the son of an accountant and went to Bangalore for studies. He was well- educated and well-mannered boy. He was a traditional child, quite different from other boys of his age. He was very generous and considerate about people and was also fond of the English language and customs.

Ratna– Ratna was Ram Rao’s eleven years old niece. She lived in a big town and had come to live at his uncle’s home in Hosahalli after her parents’ death. She was quite pretty and had many qualities. She could play the Veena and harmonium, and could also sing melodiously. Masti Venkatesha Iyengar planned to get Ranga married to Ratna. In the end, he succeeded in his plan and Ratna was happily married to Ranga.

Themes

Ranga’s Marriage is a beautiful story of a quaint South Indian village. It embellishes the scene with the customs and traditions of the place. It also highlights the constant struggle to preserve the endemic culture of the place against the winds of external agents and forces like a foreign language like English.

Thus we can say that the main theme of the story is the conflict between tradition and modernity. The conflict occurs when Ranga, against his rationality, falls in love with Ratna, an eleven-year-old girl and finally gets married to her.

For Ranga’s Marriage Questions and Answers or Ranga’s Marriage NCERT Solutions, check Ranga’s Marriage Extra Questions and Answers PDF.