Ranga’s Marriage
By- Maasthi Venkatesa Iyengar
Important Long/ Detailed Answer Type Questions- to be answered in about 100 -150 words each Value based questions-
1. Give a brief account of Ranga’s education, his views on marriage and finally how he got married.
Ans. Ranga was the son of an accountant of Hosahalli village. He made news when he went to Bangalore to study further. In those days, not many people could speak or even understand English. So when he returned home after six months, a curious crowd of villagers gathered at his house to see the change in the boy. They were disappointed.
Ranga was unwilling to marry a very young and immature girl. He was willing to remain a bachelor until he found the right girl. He was opposed to arranged marriage. A man should marry a girl he admired—that was his clear-cut philosophy. But the narrator resolved to get Ranga married at the earliest. He so manipulated the situation that Ranga saw young Ratna got attracted to her and with the sanction of Shastri’s astrology, married her.
2. Why and how does the narrator conspire to get Ranga married?
Ans. Ranga was a young educated, generous and promising boy. But he was adamant on not marrying a very young and immature girl, selected by his parents. He was bent upon staying single until he found the right girl whom he admired. The narrator resolved to get him married. lie thought of Rama. the eleven-year-old niece of Rama Rao. She could play the harmonium and even had a sweet voice. The narrator brought Ratna and Ranga face to face at his own house. He roused the boy’s interest in the girl. He declared that the girl was already married. But it was a lie. He conspired with Shastri to further Ranga’s interest in Ratna. Ranga was made to believe that even according to the Shastras he was destined to marry Ratna.
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3. Briefly narrate the main events of the story ‘Ranga’s Marriage’.
Ans. Ranga is the son of a village accountant. He becomes a hero when he goes to Bangalore for studies. When he returns to Hosahalli village, after six months, the people make a crowd at his house. They are curious to see the change in him. But they go back disappointed. Ranga’s views about marriage are now quite different after his stay in the city. He declares he would marry a mature girl whom he himself selects and admires. The narrator Shyama is provoked to get him married to the young 11-year-old niece of Rama Rao. He calls both of them to his house. Ratna comes to fetch buttermilk. Ranga hears her sing and becomes interested in her. Shyama tutors the village Shastri who declares that the girl called Ratna is the right match for him. The marriage is solemnised soon. Ranga names his firstborn son after Shyama. It is his tribute to the narrator.
4. The institution of child marriage is deep-rooted in our society. Laws are present to check it but it is still prevalent in society. It is an evil which laws alone cannot annihilate. Something more is to be done. Discuss.
Ans. Child marriage is prohibited by law in our country. Strangely enough, this social tradition is still prevalent in society. Child marriage is a social evil. Thus, this social evil needs treatment at the social level and this responsibility lies on the shoulders of the social organisations. They should carry out intensive awareness programmes against child marriage. To fight this evil, young boys and girls should willingly come forward to oppose this tradition. They should not give consent to such marriages. Child marriage snatches away childhood and its dreams. It makes a girlchild’s life a virtual hell. Motherhood at a tender age leaves her weak physically and mentally. As she is not well educated she does not know how to look after her children efficiently. The girls who become mothers at a tender age often die a premature death.
Those who try to perpetuate child marriage should be severely punished. The custodians of law, if found negligent, should be equally punished. More and more girls should be educated. Moreover, the girls must have more say when the question of their marriage crops up. Such measures can provide the only way to uproot this most heinous of the social evils.
5. To decry any language and any culture is not good. The bad thing is the unmindful aping of other cultures. Elucidate.
Ans. The widening influence of the western culture is all pervasive. Every culture has positive as well as negative points. Soaping any culture blindly is never good. English education has changed our lifestyle. It is good that it has made us broad-minded and we have rejected many age-old and outdated rites and rituals. Today, our women are no longer the slaves of men. They have their own say. But under the influence of western culture, we have ignored the good of our own culture. Junk food has replaced our healthy food. Materialism has made us forget the values of human relations. Cut-throat competition, a product of western culture has made us insensitive and brutish. Old Morals and values are forgotten. Marriage is a union of two families. So while having the right to choose one’s life partner one’s family’s role should not be ignored. We can conclude that we should try to form an amalgamation of positive points of different cultures and make this world a better place to live in.
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