Class 11 commerce students can refer to Chapter 3 Rangas Marriage notes given below which is an important chapter in the class 11 English book. These notes and important questions and answers have been prepared based on the latest CBSE and NCERT syllabus and books issued for the current academic year. Our team of English teachers has prepared these notes for class 11 English for the benefit of students so that you can read these revision notes and understand each topic carefully.

Rangas Marriage Notes Class 11 English

Refer to the notes and important questions given below for Rangas Marriage which is really useful and has been recommended by Class 11 English teachers. Understanding the concepts in detail and then solving questions by yourself will help you to learn all topics given in your NCERT Books.

• The story is about a boy who returns to his village after receiving education in English medium from Bangalore.
• The boy is the son of the accountant of the village. They live in the village Hosahalli in Mysore.
• When the boy returns, the whole village floods over him to see if there is any change in his appearance.
• The courtyard turns black with heads of villagers. This incident has been compared with a historical event known as the “Black-hole of Calcutta”
• Shyama, the narrator too goes inside the courtyard to see Ranga. The young boy recognizes him and greets him respectfully. The narrator is deeply impressed with his manners and immediately decides to find a suitable match for his marriage.
• But Ranga has starkly opposite views about marriage. He tells Shyama that he had no interest in getting marred as he believed in equality of age and maturity for getting married.
• Shyama meets disappointment, yet, he gets determined to get him married to Ratna, an eleven year old girl, the neice of his friend Rama Rao.
• She was from a big town and knew how to play veena and harmonium.
• He came up with a plan. He asked Rama Rao’s wife to send Ratna to his place to fetch
  some buttermilk. So she came on Friday wearing a grand saree. He requested Ratna to sing and sent for Ranga.
• Ranga reached the narrator’s place and stopped outside the room as he did not want to disrupt the singing but was curious to see he: face so peeped in.
• Ratna noticed the stranger and stopped abruptly. Ranga came in and the girl left.
• Curiously he inquired about the girl and narrator cleverly played at his words. He told Ranga that the girl was married off a year ago and noticed that Ranga’s face had shriveled up like a roasted brinjal out of disappointment.
• Ranga was attracted to the girl but was yet to admit this. Shyama was happy as his plan was waking.
• Later, the narrator takes Ranga to Rama Rao’s home and asks him to wait outside. When he comes outside he confirms that Ratna was not married.Light returns to Ranga’s face.
• Then Shyama takes Ranga to the house of his astrologer friend Shashtri with whom he has already hatched a plan to know Ranga’s feelings for Ratna.
• Ranga falls into the trap and admits his attraction towards Ratna.
• The story moves forward ten years. Ranga has come to invite the narrator at his son Shyama’s third birthday. Obviously, Ratna and Ranga had been married. They have named their son Shyama as a tribute for the efforts he made to get the two of them married.
• Ranga is an educated boy with exposure to English, which is a rare achievement in those days. He proclaims to be modern and open-minded about equality in marriage. Yet, he marries a girl merely eleven years old. It clearly exposes his hypocrisy (double standards) and indicates that child marriage is as much prevalent in educated families.

Short Answer Type Questions

Question . Why were the villagers disappointed on seeing Rangappa?
Ans. The villagers had anticipated that he would be a changed from after going to Bangalore. But they were disappointed when they saw that he was not changed. Even his Janewara
was intact. He was the same person with the same features.

Question . Who was Ratna? why did Ranga decide to marry her?
Ans. Ratna was Rama Rao’s niece, who come to stay with him after the death of her parents. Ranga was so impressed by her melodious voice that he decided to marry her.

Question . Why was Hosahalli famous?
Ans. The village Hosahalli was famous for mangoes which were extremely sour and hugeleaves of a creaper to serve meals.

Question . Who was Ranga? Why was he sent to Bangalore?
Ans. Ranga was the son of the village accountant Rama Rao. He sent Ranga to Bangalore to study.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question. What steps did the narrator take to get Ranga married to Ratna?
Answer: The narrator was intimate with Rama Rao’s family. He knew that his niece Ratna would be a suitable wife for Ranga. He proceeded systematically. First he created an opportunity where Ranga might listen to Ratna’s song and have a glimpse of her. He arranged this sudden encounter of two strangers at his home. The reaction of two youngsters was on expected lines. Ranga felt interested in her. Ratna felt shy, lowered her head and went to the other room. In order to test the intensity of Ranga’s feelings towards Ratna, the narrator said that she had been married a year ago. Ranga looked crestfallen. Then the narrator tutored an astrologer and took Ranga to him. Shastri, the astrologer, gave sufficient assurance that there was no hitch in his marriage to a girl whose name was that of something found in the ocean. While returning from the Shastri’s house, they saw Ratna standing alone in her uncle’s house. The narrator went in for a moment and brought the news that Ratna was not married. After ascertaining Ranga’s views, the marriage was settled

Question. Comment on the title of the story ‘Ranga’s Marriage’.
Answer: The title of the story is quite appropriate and suggestive. It at once sums up the theme of the story. The whole story has one central issue Ranga’s marriage. It begins with
Ranga’s refusal to marry just then and ends with his blissful married life. All the incidents contribute to the central theme. The writer has presented the working of a young educated Indian’s mind and heart. He is easily influenced by the English way of life and customs. He wants to adopt them in his own life as well. The narrator, who is his well-wisher takes deep interest in him and takes active steps to wean Ranga away from the fantasy of love-marriage. By arousing his interest and fascination in a young girl. Ratna, he makes Ranga agree to marry her. Thus Ranga’s one condition for marriage is fulfilled — he knows the girl and loves her. She does not fulfil the other condition of being a mature girl in twenties — she is just eleven at that time.

Question. What was special about Rangappa? How did the villagers react to it?
Answer: Ten years ago, there were not many people in Hosahalli village who knew English. Rangappa, the accountant’s son enjoyed a unique distinction. He “^s the first one to be sent to Bangalore to pursue his studies. This was considered an act of courage on the part of his father. It was an important event in the village — a sort of first of its type. Naturally, Ranga’s homecoming was a great event. The crowds of villagers milled around his house to see whether he had changed or not. People were quite excited because Ranga had returned home after studying English at Bangalore. An old lady ran her hand over Ranga’s chest. She looked into his eyes. She was satisfied to find the sacred thread on his body. She felt happy that he had not lost his caste. People disappeared from the scene, once they realised that Ranga had not undergone any material change.

Question. Write a brief note on the ending of the story ‘Ranga’s Marriage’.
Answer: The ending of the story is superb. Like all the tales of romance where the hero and heroine are finally united, the caption “….and they lived happily ever after” is usually displayed. The writer goes here one step further. He presents Ranga as a happily married husband, a proud father and a good member of the joint family. He has a three year old son, a golden child, whom he had named Shyam’ after the narrator to express his love and gratitude to the elderly person. We also learn that Ratna is about to deliver another child and Ranga’s sister has come there with his mother. They will not only look after household affairs but Ratna as well. The scene of a toddler putting his arms round the legs of an elder and the latter kissing him on his cheek and placing a ring on his tiny little finger as a birthday gift presents a lovely emotional scene full of tender affection and love. What a happy ending.

Question. Give a brief account of the narrator’s two meetings with Ranga after the latter’s return from Bangalore. What opinion did he form about the young man?
Answer: When Ranga returned home after getting his education in Bangalore people collected round his home to see him. The narrator was attracted by the crowd. He too went and stood in the courtyard. Ranga came out smile on his face. After every one had gone, the narrator asked Rangappa how he was. Ranga noticed him and came near him. He folded his
hands and touched narrator’s feet. He said that he was all right, with the narrator’s blessings. The narrator blessed him and wished that he might get married soon. They exchanged some polite friendly remarks. Then the narrator left. That afternoon, when the narrator was resting, Ranga came to his house with a couple of oranges in his hand. The narrator thought that Ranga was a generous, considerate fellow. He was of the opinion that it would be fine to have him marry, settle down and be of service to the society.

Question. What were Ranga’s ideas about marriage? Do you find any change n them during the course of the story?
Answer: Ranga was influenced by the English way of life in the matter of marriage. He was not in favour of arranged marriages of the time where the brides we are quite young. He told the narrator that he was not getting married just then. He gave two reasons. First, he must find the right girl. She must be mature enough to understand his love-talk. Avery young girl might take his words spoken in love as words spoken in anger. He gives examples of a thirty year old officer who married a twenty-five year old lady and that of king Dushyanta falling in love with Shakuntla. The second reason he gave was that one should marry a girl one loves. During the course of the story we find a change in Ranga’s ideas about marriage. Not only is he fascinated by Rama Rao’s eleven year old niece Ratna, he also marries her in the old traditional way of arranged marriages.