Ranga's Marriage - Snapshots Story By Masti Venkatesha Lyengar
When you see this title , some of you may ask , " Ranga's Marriage ? " Why not " Ranganatha Vivaha " or " Ranganatha Vijaya ? " Well . yes , I know I could have used some other mouth - filling one like " Jagannatha Vijaya " or " Girija Kalyana . " But then , this is not about Jagannatha's victory or Girija's wedding , It's about our own Ranga's marriage and hence no fancy title , Hosahalli is our village . You must have heard of it . No ? What a pity ! But it is not your fault , There is no mention of it in any geography book . Those sahibs in England , writing in English , probably do not know that such a place exists , and so make no mention of it . Our own people too forget about it . You know how it is - they are like a flock of sheep . One sheep walks into a pit , the rest blindly follow it . When both , the sahibs in England and our own geographers , have not referred to it , you can not expect the poor cartographer to remember to put it on the map , can you ? And so there is not even the shadow of our village on any map.
Sorry , I started somewhere and then went off in another direction . If the state of Mysore is to Bharatavarsha what the sweet karigadabu is to a festive meal , then Hosahalli is to Mysore State what the filling is to the karigadabu .. What I have said is absolutely true , believe me . I will not object to your questioning it but I will stick to my opinion . I am not the only one who speaks glowingly of Hosahalli . We have a doctor in our place . His name is Gundabhatta . He agrees with me . He has been to quite a few places . No , not England . If anyone asks him whether he has been there , he says , " No , annayya , I have left that to you . Running around like a flea - pestered dog , is not for me . I have seen a few places in my time , though . " As a matter of fact , he - has seen many .
We have some mango trees in our village . Come visit us , and I will give you a raw mango from one of them . Do not eat it . Just take a bite . The sourness is sure to go straight to your brahmarandhra . I once took one such fruit home and a chutney was made out of it . All of us ate it . The cough we suffered from , after that ! It was when I went for the cough medicine , that the doctor told me about the special quality of the fruit .
Just as the mango is special , so is everything else around our village . We have a creeper growing in the ever - so - fine water of the village pond . Its flowers are a feast to behold . Get two leaves from the creeper when you go to the pond for your bath , and you will not have to worry about not having leaves on which to serve the afternoon meal . You will say I am rambling . It is always like that when the subject of our village comes up . But enough . If anyone of you would like to visit us , drop me a line . I will let you know where Hosahalli is and what things are like here . The best way of getting to know a place is to visit it , don't you agree ?
What I am going to tell you is something that happened ten years ago . We did not have many people who knew English , then . Our village accountant was the first one who had enough courage to send his son to Bangalore to study . It is different now . There are many who know English . During the holidays , you come across them on every street , talking in English . Those days , we did not speak in English , nor did we bring in English words while talking in Kannada . What has happened is disgraceful , believe me . The other day , I was in Rama Rao's house when they bought a bundle of firewood . Rama Rao's son came out to pay for it . He asked the woman , " How much should I give you ? " " Four pice , " she said . The boy told her he did not have any " change " , and asked her to come the next morning . The poor woman did not understand the English word " change " and went away muttering to herself . I too did not know . Later , when I went to Ranga's house and asked him , I understood what it meant.
This priceless commodity , the English language , was not so widespread in our village a decade ago . That was why Ranga's homecoming was a great event . People rushed to his doorstep announcing , “ The accountant's son has come , " " The boy who had gone to Bangalore for his studies is here , it seems , " and " Come , Ranga is here . Let's go and have a look .
" Attracted by the crowd , I too went and stood in the courtyard and asked , " Why have all these people come ? There's no performing monkey here .
" A boy , a fellow without any brains , said , loud enough for everyone to hear , " What are you doing here , then ? " A youngster , immature and without any manners . Thinking that all these things were now of the past , I kept quiet.
Seeing so many people there , Ranga came out with a smile on his face . Had we all gone inside , the place would have turned into what people call the Black Hole of Calcutta . Thank God it did not . Everyone was surprised to see that Ranga was the same as he had been six months ago , when he had first left our village . An cld lady who was near him , ran her hand over his chest , looked into his eyes and said , " The janewara is still there . He hasn't lost his caste . " She went away soon after that . Ranga laughed .
Once they realised that Ranga still had the same hands , legs , eyes and nose , the crowd melted away , like a lump of sugar in a child's mouth . I continued to stand there . Mter everyone had gone , I asked , " How are you , Rangappa ? Is everything well with you ? " It was only then that Ranga noticed me . He came near me and did a namaskara respectfully , saying , " I am all right , with your blessings .
" I must draw your attention to this aspect of Ranga's character . He knew when it would be to his advantage to talk to someone and rightly assessed people's worth . As for his namaskara to me , he did not do it like any present - day boy with his head up towards the sun , standing stiff like a pole without joints , jerking his body as if it was either a wand or a walking stick . Nor did he merely fold his hands. He bent low to touch my feet. May you get married soon, I said, blessing him. After exchanging a few pleasantries, I left.
That afternoon , when I was resting , Ranga came to my house with a couple of oranges in his hand . A generous , considerate fellow . It would be a fine thing to have him marry , settle down and be of service to society , I thought .
For a while we talked about this and that . Then I came to the point . " Rangappa , when do you plan to get married ? "
" I am not going to get married now , " he said .
" Why not ? "
" I need to find the right girl . I know an officer who got married only six months ago . He is about thirty and his wife is twenty - five , I am told . They will be able to talk lovingly to each other . Let's say I married a very young girl . She may take my words spoken in love as words spoken in anger . Recently , a troupe in Bangalore staged the play Shakuntala . There is no question of Dushyantha falling in love with Shakuntala if she were young , like the present day brides , is there ? What would have happened to Kalidasa's play ? If one gets married , it should be to a girl who is mature . Otherwise , one should remain a bachelor . That's why I am not marrying now .
" Is there any other reason ? "
" A man should marry a girl he admires . What we have now are arranged marriages . How can one admire a girl with milk stains on one side of her face and wetness on the other , or so young that she doesn't even know ] ; low to bite her fingers ? "
" One a neem fruit , the other , a bittergourd . "
" Exactly ! " Ranga said , laughing.
I was distressed that the boy who I thought would make a good husband , had decided to remain a bachelor . After chattering for a little longer , Ranga left . I made up my mind right then , that I would get him married.
Rama Rao's niece , a pretty girl of eleven , had come to stay with him . She was from a big town , so she knew how to play with the veena and the harmonium . She also had a sweet voice . Both her parents had died , and her uncle had brought her home , Ranga was just the boy for her , and she , the most suitable bride for him .
Since I was a frequent visitor to Raffia Rao's place , the girl was quite free with me . I completely forgot to mention her name ! Ratna , it was . The very next morning I went to their house and told Raffia Rao's wife , " I'll send some buttermilk for you . Ask Ratna to fetch it . "
Ratna came . It was a Friday , so she was wearing a grand saree . I told her to sit in my room and requested her to sing a song . I sent for Ranga . While she was singing the song -Krishnamurthy , in front of my eyes -Ranga reached the door . He stopped at the threshold . He did not want the singing to stop , but was curious to see the singer . Carefully , he peeped in . The light coming into the room was blocked . Ratna looked up and seeing a stranger there , abruptly stopped . Suppose you buy the best quality mango . You eat it slowly , savouring its peel , before biting into the juicy flesh . You do not want to waste any part of it . Before you take another bite , the fruit slips out of your hand and falls to the ground . How do you feel ? Ranga's face showed the same disappointment when the singing stopped.
Ratna stood at a distance , her head lowered . Ranga repeatedly glanced at her . Once , our eyes met , and he looked very embarrassed . No one spoke for a long while.
" It was my coming in that stopped the singing . Let me leave . "
Words , mere words ! The fellow said he would leave but did not make a move . How can one expect words to match actions in these days of Kaliyuga ? Ratna ran inside , overcome by shyness .
After a while , Ranga asked , " Who is that girl , swami ? ”
" Who's that inside ? " the lion wanted to know . The he - goat who had taken shelter in the temple replied , " Does it matter who : ' I am ? I am a poor animal who has already eaten nine lions . I have vowed to eat one more . Tell me , are you male or female ? " The lion fled the place in fear , it seems .
Like the he - goat , I said , " What does it matter to either of us who she is ? I'm already married and you aren't the marrying kind .
" Very hopefully , he asked , " She isn't married , then ? " His voice did not betray his excitement but I knew it was there .
" She was married a year ago .
His face shrivelled like a roasted brinjal . After a while , Ranga left , saying , " I must go , I have work at home ,
I went to our Shastri the next morning and told him , " Keep everything ready to read the stars . I'll come later . " I tutored him in all that I wanted him to say.
I found no change in Ranga when I met him that afternoon .
" What's the matter ? You seem to be lost in thought , " I said .
" Nothing , nothing's wrong , believe me . "
" Headache ? Come , let's go and see a doctor . "
" I have no headache . I'm my usual self . "
" I went through the same thing when the process of choosing a girl for me was going on . But I don't think that that could be a reason for your present condition .
" Ranga stared at me .
" Come , let's go and see Shastri , " I suggested . " We will find out whether Guru and Shani are favourable for you or not . "
Ranga accompanied me without any protest . As soon as Shastri saw me , he exclaimed , " What a surprise ,
Shyama ! Haven't seen you for a long time . " Shyama is none other than your servant , the narrator of this tale.
I got angry and shouted , " What ? Only this morning ... " Shastri completed my sentence , " You finished all work and are now free to visit me . " Had he not done so , I would have quined our pla our plan by bursting like grains that are kept in the sun to dry . I was extremely careful of what I said afterwards.
Shastri turned to Ranga. " When did the young son of our accountant clerk come home? What can I do for him? It's very rarely that he visits us."
" Take out your paraphernalia . Our Rangappa seems to have something on his mind . Can you tell us what's worrying him ? Shall we put your science of astrology to the test ? "
There was authority in my voice as I spoke to Shastri . He took out two sheets of paper , some cowries and a book of palmyra leaves , saying , " Ours is an ancient science , ayya . There's a story to it ... But I won't tell you that story now . This is not a harikatha which allows you to tell a story within a story ... You may get bored . I'll tell it to you some other time . "
Shastri moved his lips fast as he counted on his fingers and then asked , " What's your star ? " Ranga didn't know . " Never mind , " Shastri indicated with a shake of his head . He did some more calculations before saying in a serious tone , " It's about a girl . "
I had been controlling my laughter all this while . But now I burst out laughing . I turned to Ranga . " Exactly what I had said . "
" Who is the girl ? " It was your humble servant who asked the question . Shastri thought for a while before replying , " She probably has the name of something found in the ocean .
" Kamala ? "
" Maybe.
" Could it be Pachchi , moss ? "
" Must it be moss if it's not Kamala ? Why not pearl or ratna , the precious stone ?
" Ratna ? The girl in Rama Rao's house is Ratna . Tell me , is there any chance of our negotiations bearing fruit ? "
" Definitely , " he said , after thinking for some time . There was surprise on Ranga's face . And some happiness . I noticed it . " But that girl is married ... " I said . Then I turned to him . His face had fallen .
" I don't know all that . There may be some other girl who is suitable . I only told you what our shastra indicated , " Shastri said .
We left the place . On the way , we passed by Rama Rao's house . Ratna was standing at the door . I went in alone and came out a minute later .
" Surprising . This girl isn't married . it seems . Someone told me the other day that she was . What Shastri told us has turned out to be true after all ! But Rangappa , I can't believe that you have been thinking of her . Swear on the name of Madhavacharya and tell me , is it true what Shastri said ? "
I do not know whether anyone else would have been direct . Ranga admitted , " There's greater truth in that shastra than we imagine . What he said is absolutely true.
Shastri was at the well when I went there that evening. I said , "So Shastrigale, you repeated everything I had taught you without giving rise to any suspicion. What a marvellous shastra yours is!" He did not like it at all.
" What are you saying ? What you said to me was what I could have found out myself from the shastras . Don't forget , I developed on the hints you had given me . "
Tell me , is this what a decent man says ?
Rangappa had come the other day to invite me for dinner . " What's the occasion ? " I asked .
" It's Shyama's birthday . He is three.
" It's not a nice name - Shyama , " I said . " I'm like a dark piece of oil - cake . Why did you have to give that golden child of yours such a name ? What a childish couple you are , Ratna and you ! I know , I know it is the English custom of naming the child after someone you like ... Your wife is eight months pregnant now . Who's there to help your mother to cook ? "
" My sister has come with her .
" I went there for dinner . Shyama rushed to me when I walked in and put his arms round my legs . I kissed him on his cheek and placed a ring on his tiny little finger .
Allow me to take leave of you , reader. I am always here , ready to serve you .
You were not bored , I hope ?