Word Meanings
1. Rare-breed – uncommon persons
2. Mill around – throng
3. Pursue – continue
4. Mouth-filling – long or complicated
5. Cartographer – a person who makes or draw maps
6. Karigadabu – sweet coconut samosas
7. Glowingly – with much praise
8. Sure to go straight to your brahmarandra – very sharp
9. Rambling – talking aimlessly
10. Rice – a unit of coinage in India before 1957
11. Muttering – complaining in a low tone
About the Author
Maasthi Venkatesa Iyengar was a well-known writer in Kannada language. He was born on 6 June, 1861 at Hungenahalli in Kolar district of Karnataka in a Tamil language speaking Sri Vaishnavaite family. He spent his early childhood in Maasti village. He obtained a master’s degree in English literature in 1914 from Madras University. After joining the Indian Civil Service, he held various positions of responsibility in different parts of Karnataka, rising to the rank of District Commissioner. After 26 years of service, he resigned in 1943, as a protest when he did not get the post equivalent to a Minister, which he deserved and a junior was promoted ahead of him. He wrote some pieces in English and then switched over to write in Kannada language. He used pen name Srinivasa to write short stories and novels in Kannada.
A prolific writer, he wrote more than 123 books in Kannada and 17 in English, for over seventy years. He won the Jnanpith Award in 1983 for his novel Chikkavira Rajendra.
He died on 6 June, 1986 on his 95th birthday.
Points:
1. Ranga is a boy living in the village of Hoshali in Mysore. He goes to Bangalore to receive English Medium education. Upon returning to the village, all the villagers’ flood to his place to notice any change in the boy. However, to their disappointment, Ranga is the same as he was before.
2. He even greeted everyone with a Namaskar and thus everyone left. The village of Hoshali is a nice village with very good mangoes. Hoshali is a small village which is not even that famous. After the villagers leave Ranga’s house, the narrator stays back at his place to talk with him.
3. Thus, they started talking and the narrator thought it would be a good idea to find a suitable girl for Ranga is not thinking of marriage just yet and wishes to marry to only a mature and admirable girl. Thus, the narrator decides that he will surely get Ranga married. He feels that Ratna would be a perfect match for Ranga. Ratna belongs to a big town and is an expert in playing musical instruments like veena and harmonium.
4. Thus, he decides to call Ratna deliberately when Ranga was visiting. Upon seeing Ratna, she mesmerizes Ranga. However, the narrator plays a game and lies to Ranga that she is married. This disappoints Ranga as he starts liking her. As per the narrator’s plan, he takes Ranga to an astrologer.
5. Ranga has already made arrangements with astrologer and everything was pre-planned. So, the astrologer asks questions to Ranga which helps him admit the fact that he likes Ratna. The problem of her marriage was at the head. Nonetheless, the astrologer tells Ranga that he is in love with a girl whose name resembles Ratna. Upon hearing this, Ranga gets very happy, but sad again because she is not available.
6. Thus, upon confirmation that Ranga loves Ratna, he decides to set up their marriage. The narrator goes to Ratna’s house to ask her hand in marriage for Ranga. Finally, the story fast forwards to ten years later. Ranga is visiting the narrator to his son’s third birthday. We learn that Ranga and Ratna got married and Ranga named their son after the narrator, who made the marriage happen.
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