Ranga's Marriage Objectives

Narrative Style Narrator-Shyama Rangas character Character of Ratna and Shastri Rangas return to village-the reception Rangas views on Marriage English and Indian society Hosahalli-description

2 marks 1. How did the narrator carry out his resolve to get Ranga married to Ratna? The narrator felt that Ranga and Ratna was a suitable match for each other. He arranged a meeting in which Ranga could meet Ratna and get impressed with her quality of singing. He manipulated things in a clever way and made Ranga fall in love with her. He finally got them married. 2. What are the special features of Hosahalli and in what respect are they so? In the village of Hosahalli the mango trees produce sour mangoes whose sourness go straight to the skull bones. There is also a creeper growing in the ever-so-fine water of the village pond. The flowers are a feast to behold and the leaves can be used to serve afternoon meals. 3. What was special about Rangappa? How did the villagers react to it? After his return from Bangalore where he had been studying for six months, much to everyones surprise, he was just the same. His homecoming became a great event for the villagers. People rushed to his door step wanting to have a look at him. An old lady even ran her hand over his chest, looked into his eyes and remarked that the janewara was still there. He hadnt lost his caste. 4. Why does the narrator refer to the Black Hole of Calcutta? During the British rule, in Calcutta, hundreds of people were herded together in one room, hence leading to the death of many due to suffocation. The narrator compares the crowd to the Black Hole of Calcutta saying that so

many people who had come to see Ranga, would have turned the place into a black hole if they had all gone inside. 5. What exactly had happened ten years ago? Ten years ago, the village accountants son was the first one to be sent to Bangalore to study. At that time, not many in the village knew English and no English words were used while talking in the native language. 6. What does the narrator tell the reader about his village Hosahalli? According to the narrator, the village Hosahalli is important to Karnataka as Karigadabu is to a festive meal. It has mango trees which produce sour fruit. It is a place that has not been mentioned in any geography book, yet the author is proud of his village. 7. Who was Ranga? What was special about him? Ranga was the village accountants son who had gone to Bangalore to study. People thought that city education would change him but they were wrong. He still showed respect towards elders in the village and wore the sacred thread. However, his views on marriage had changed. 8. What are the narrators views on English Language? The narrator did not like English Language. English was not spoken by the villagers. Ranga was the first person to go out of the village to study English. People felt that he would be a changed person after getting English education. 9. What impression do you form of the narrator? How does he add to thehumour of the story? The narrator appears to be a very talkative man. He jumps from one topic to another. There are too many digressions in his narration. He takes a lot of interest in village affairs. He decides to get Ranga married to Ratna as soon as he realises that they seem suitable for each other. His narration evokes the humour in the story when he manipulates the situation in a clever way. The astrologers remarks and the meeting between Ranga and Ratna add to the humour of the story. 10. Why is there no mention of Hosahalli in any Geography book?

The village of Hosahalli had not been mentioned in any geography book. The Sahibs in England, writing in English, perhaps did not know that such a place existed. 11. Give an example to show that the narrator is proud of his village. The narrator seems to be very proud of his village. He says that Hosahalli is to Mysore State what the sweet Karigadabu is to a festive meal. 12. Why was Rangas homecoming a great event? Rangas homecoming was a great event because he had gone to Bangalore to study. He was the first person in the village to have done so. His homecoming was a delight for the villagers and they all thronged to his house to see if city education had changed him or not. 13. What were Rangas views on marriage? Ranga was of the view that one should not marry a very young girl. A person should marry a girl who is mature. According to him, a man should marry a girl whom he admires. 14. Did Ranga select his bride according to the views he held on the subject of marriage? No, Ranga did not select his bride according to his ideas on marriage. He fell in love with an eleven year old girl Ratna and got married to her. 15. Why does the narrator compare himself to a he-goat and Ranga to a lion? The narrator referred to a story in which a clever he-goat was able to scare away a lion. Here, he compares himself to the shrewd goat who has laid a plot for Rangas marriage. Just as the lion was unable to escape the clever moves of the goat, Ranga was also taken in by his manipulations. 16. What arrangements did the narrator make with Shastri, the astrologer? The astrologer had been briefed by Shyama about what to say. He acted accordingly. Ranga was already interested in Ratna. He told her that he could possibly marry the girl he was thinking of marrying. 17. This is a humorous story. Which part did you find the most amusing?

The description of the village of Hosahalli evokes some humour in the story. The narrator and Rangas visit to the astrologer and their conversation produce a few comic moments in the story. 18. How did the narrator arrange that Ranga should meet Ratna? The narrator was a frequent visitor to Rama Raos place and Ratna was quite free with him. On a Friday, he called Ratna to his house to deliver the buttermilk made by Rama Raos wife. He asked Ratna to sing for him and sent for Ranga at the same time. Ranga arrived while Ratna was rendering the melodious song. In this way, Ranga was able to meet her there. 19. Words, mere words! The fellow said he would leave but he did not make a move. How can one expect words to match actions in these days of Kaliyuga? Who said these words and in what context? The narrator spoke these words when Ranga came to his house only to find Ratna singing beautifully. Ratna stopped singing when she saw Ranga watching her. Ranga felt guilty that his arrival had made her stop singing. It was then that the narrator spoke these words. 20. Character sketch of the narrator. Shyama, the narrator of the story Rangas Marriage is also the central character. His style of narration evokes a lot of humour in the story. He is an elderly gentleman and refers to himself as a dark piece of oil cake. He is passionately in love with his village and the villagers and rambles incessantly while describing it. He is a keen observer of his surroundings and uses a colourful style of narration. He feels it is disgraceful to use English words in the native tongue. He is a good judge of people and regards Ranga as a generous and considerate fellow. He is conservative at heart and feels unhappy at Rangas decision to remain single. He means well and his intentions are good. He schemes to get Ranga married. He calls Ranga when Ratna was singing. He also arranges a meeting with Shastri whom he had tutored thoroughly. He had decided that Ratna would be a suitable bride for him. He is a shrewd contriver as he tells Ranga that Ratna was married. This he does in order to rouse Rangas desire for the unattainable.

The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse Objectives 2 marks 1. This was that part that wouldnt permit me to believe what saw. What part does the narrator mean? Aram refers to their poverty. They lived in extreme poverty and it was difficult to understand how they got food to satisfy their hunger. He frankly admits that every branch of the family was living in the most amazing and comical poverty in the world. 2. What conflicting thoughts passed through the narrators mind on seeing Mourad on a beautiful white horse early one morning? The narrator was surprised. He knew that his cousin Mourad couldnt have bought the horse. He obviously must have stolen it. However, family pride came in the way. He refused to believe that Mourad was a thief. 3. How did Aram define stealing when he had to decide whether or not to ride the horse? It seemed to him that stealing a horse for a ride was not the same thing as stealing something else such as money. Since he and Mourad were quite crazy about horses it wasnt stealing. He convinced himself with the thought that it would become stealing only when they offered to sell it. 4. What traits of the Garoghlanian family are highlighted in the story? The Garoghlanian family though now poor was famous for their honesty even when they were wealthy. They were proud first, honest next and after that they believed in right and wrong. None of them would take advantage of anybody in the world. They would not steal. No member of this family could be a thief. 5. Why could little Aram not believe his eyes when his cousin Mourad called him early one summer morning? Little Aram thought that he was dreaming when he saw his cousin Mourad sitting on a magnificent white horse. It was an unbelievable sight because they belonged to the poor families and buying such a beautiful horse was beyond their means. 6. What two character traits of Mourad are mentioned by the narrator in the initial part of the story? Mourad was considered crazy by everybody who knew him except the narrator. He was impulsive, daring and reckless. He followed his heart more than his mind. He was quite crazy about horses and had a way with animals. Secondly, he enjoyed being alive more than anybody else.

7. What were the peculiarities in uncle? Uncle Khosroves crazy streak was famous. He was a big man with a powerful head of black hair and very large moustache. He was quite furious in temper, very irritable and impatient. He would stop anyone from talking by roaring his pet phrase. It is no harm; pay no attention to it. 8. I have a way with a horse. How do you think had Mourad developed an understanding with the horse? Mourad had been quite sensitive, tender and affectionate towards the horse. He would put his arms around it, press his nose into the horses nose and pat it. It was not easy to tame a strange horse and get it to behave nicely. Even John Byro, the rightful owner admitted that the horse had become better tempered, stronger and wellmannered. 9. What do you think induced the voice to return the horse to its owner? The boys were impressed by John Byros attitude towards their parents and families. He knew their parents very well and so believed whatever the boys said. Secondly the fame of their family for honesty was well-known to him. The boys returned the horse to him for the sake of family's pride and dignity. Their conscience did not allow them to keep the horse any longer. They were afraid to lose a family reputation which was known for honesty and integrity. 10. Why had Mourad and Aram taken the horse? Why did they return it? They had taken the horse with the intention of riding it and also they were too poor to buy it. They loved riding but since they were not thieves, they had no desire to sell it. They returned the horse because they became conscious of their reputation of honesty and realised their mistake. 11. Do you think John Byro recognized his horse? Why did he not accuse the boys of stealing the horse? Yes, John Byro did recognize his horse. He examined his teeth and knew for sure that the horse was his own. He did not accuse the boys and indirectly told them that it was wrong to steal. He talked about the familys reputation for honesty and said that he would never suspect them of stealing. 12. We had been famous for our honesty for something like eleven centuries. The narrator describes his family in these words. Do you think Mourad and Aram were honest too? Give examples to prove your point.

Mourad and Aram were also very honest. They took the horse with the sole intention of riding it and could not afford to buy one of their own. Their intention was to return the horse. Mourad was only thirteen years old and was not mature enough to resist the temptation. The talk with John Byro and the need to safeguard the family's reputation made them return the horse. 13. Mourad had the crazy streak of the family in him. What do you learn about him in the story? Mourad, a thirteen year old boy, fond of riding to the point of looking crazy- sang joyfully as he rode the stolen horse. He was considered the natural descendent of a crazy uncle Khosrove. He said he had a way with horses and farmers. 14. Which other characters of Mourads family had the crazy streak in them? Write briefly about their behaviour. Mourad and Uncle Khosrove both were crazy persons. Mourad was a young boy, fond of horses and riding while Uncle Khosrove was furious, impatient, and irritable. He would roar and stop everyone from talking and say It is no harm, pay no attention to it. When his son came and told them that the house was on fire, he silenced him by saying enough. It is no harm. 15. How can we say that Aram and Mourad were very fond of riding? Mourad had brought a horse which did not belong to him. He would wake up at 4:00 am and ride the horse when it was still very dark. He used to race the horse across the fields and vineyards. 16. What did John Byro say to the boys when he found them walking with it one morning? John Byro met the boys walking with the horse which they had stolen. He studied the horse carefully and examined its teeth and was certain that the horse was his own horse. Yet he said that if he did not know their parents honesty, he would swear that it was his horse. He only called it his horses twin. 17. Why did John Byro visit Arams house in his surrey after getting his horse back? John Byro visited Arams house in his surrey to show that the stolen horse had been returned. He just wanted to tell them the horse was stronger and better tempered now. 18. Describe Mourads parting from the beautiful white horse?

Mourad looked at the horse for some time as he had grown fond of him. When he had gone to return it, in John Byros vineyard, he had tried to put his arms around his neck, pressed his nose into the horses nose and patted him. The horse was stronger now and better behaved after being with Mourad for some days. 19. What? he roared. Are you inviting a member of the Garoghlanian family to steal? The horse must go back to its true owner. Who said these words and to whom? What do we learn about the speaker from these lines? Mourad said these words to Aram when Aram suggested that they should keep the horse for a year. Mourad was annoyed and said these words. This shows that he was honest and sincere enough to guard the familys reputation of being honest. 20. What kind of a family did Aram and Mourad come from? Do you think they possessed the familys special traits in their character? Aram and Mourad came from a family which was well-known for its honesty. Though they were very poor, they were proud, honest and believed in right and wrong. Yes, the boys possessed the family traits in their character because despite the temptation to steal the horse, they had the honesty to go and return it to its master, John Byro. 7 marks 21. Discuss the character sketch of Mourad. Mourad, the central character in the story The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse is depicted as a young boy, who enjoyed being alive and having fun. He had a crazy streak in him which he had inherited from his family. He belonged to a tribe that was poor, had no money and lived in an acute form of poverty. As a young lad he upheld the family customs and traditions. He believed in all the values that his tribe and family had tried to inculcate in him. He could not resist the temptation to ride a horse and stole a horse from John Byro, hid it and then went for horse riding early in the morning at 4:00 am along with his nine year old cousin Aram. He justified his act by saying that it wasnt stealing because they had no intention of selling it for money. Mourad was crazy and fun loving. While riding the horse, he sang loudly and joyfully. He was confident about his riding abilities and said that he had a way with a horse. It was only when John Byro touched his conscience when he declared that if he had not trusted the honesty of their tribe. He would have sworn that the horse belonged to him. Mourad realised his mistake. His conscience pricked him and he

returned the horse. The fun loving boy had had his fun and then his honesty urged him to uphold his family values and traditions. 21. What message is conveyed through the story The Summer of the Beautiful Horse? The primary message of the story, The Summer of the Beautiful Horse, is that despite social or economic challenges, there are some truths which are absolute and should be practiced under and all conditioned. It is undeniable that the story is set within a family that is poor. Their poverty is not used as a crutch or something that limits the emotional quotient of the boys or the people in the community. The boys' love for the horse is genuine and sincere, not motivated out of some ulterior motive of greed or economic want. Their love for the animal is quite authentic. When they return the horse, they have a genuine understanding that they need to return what is not theirs. They are not motivated by anything else other than the highly human reaction of wanting to make right what is wrong. The reaction of the horse's owner, John Byro, is also very real and valid. He knows very well the boys have taken the horse, but gives multiple opportunities for the boys to recognize the consequences of their action. Ironically enough, the owner shows a sense of charity and good will and this benefits him, as the horse is much more manageable and well conditioned as a result of the boys' work with the horse. In the final analysis, when we examine the encounter of the boys, the horse, and the owner, there is a trend that while economic hardships are a strong factor in how we behave, they are not a determinant one. There is a realm of human action that can lie outside the strictly causal world of economics. The setting of the story seems to be Depression time California, which makes the economic reading even more intriguing. 22. What is the religion and culture of Garoghlanian tribe in "The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse"? The Garoghlanian tribe is Armenian. The culture of these people, known for their honesty, is at the heart of the story. Hospitality is also an important function in the Armenian culture. Social gatherings revolve around large amounts of food. The religion of most Armenian people is Christianity, which is structured around forgiveness of sins and, in this story focuses on tolerance. So therefore, when the horse is returned, the farmer does not tell the Garoghlanian family that the two boys had the horse all along. 3 marks 23. Why did Aram find it hard to believe that Maurad had stolen the horse?

Because their tribe Garoghlanian had an unshakeable reputation for honesty no member of their tribe could steal.

What traits of Garoghlanion are highlighted in this story? What do you think induced the boys to return the horse to its owner? What was Khosroves reaction when his house was on fire? Did the boys return the horse because they were conscious stricken orbecause they were afraid. How did little Aram define stealing when he had to decide whether or not to ride the horse? Describe Mourads parting from the beautiful white horse. Though Aram is younger than Mourad but considerate and understanding. Justify. The narrator mentions a crazy-streak running in his family. Whichcharacters showed this streak in their behaviour and words? Support your answer the examples from the text.

MARQA MiNCO Marga Minco (born 1920) grew up in a Jewish family of five children in Breda. Unlike her sisters, brothers and parents, she escaped being arrested and went into hiding during World War II. In 1957 she made her literary debut with the short novel Bitter Herbs, the laconic and devastating story of a young girl who gets away when her parents are arrested, and finally discovers that she has lost everyone who was close to her. Minco lives and works in Amsterdam. Minco's entire oeuvre is informed by the dreadful facts of the Holocaust. The inability to let go of the past is undeniably the overarching theme in Marga Minco's work. SUMMARY The story is divided into pre-war and post-war times. A young girl goes in search of her mother's belongings after the war in Holland. A woman whom she had known opens the door but at first refuses to recognise her. When she is reminded of having known her mother the woman refuses to talk to her and asked her to come some other time. The narrator remembers what her mother had told her about this woman Mrs Dorling, an acquaintance who had renewed contact suddenly with her. Everytime she visited she would take some item or the other suggesting that they would lose everything if the Nazis came to take them away. Her mother had

introduced her to Mrs Dorling and even told her the address. After the liberation the narrator remembered the address and being curious about her mother's possessions, had gone over there. When the first visit proved futile she went a second time. This time Mrs Darling's daughter opened the door as her mother was not at home. She invited the narrator inside. In the living room the narrator saw all the familiar things her mother had once possessed. The objects evoked memories of the past but she decided to leave everything behind. She realised that once you are severed from objects of the past they lose their value. I. Answer the follozving questions in about 30-40 words each. (Solved) (a) "Have you come back?" said the woman, 'I thought that no one had come back'. Does this statement give some clue about the story? Ans. Yes, these words by Mrs Dorling to the narrator shows that she least expected such a visit. She had presumed that all of them were dead. This lead to the conclusion that the story is set against the tragic circumstances of a War in which families lost their lives and belongings. (b) What helped the narrator to confirm that she was speaking to the right person? Ans. Mrs Dorling was wearing the green knitted cardigan that belonged to the narrator's mother. The wooden buttons were pale from washing. When the woman tried to hide behind the door in order to avoid being seen the narrator was sure that she had come to the right place. The summary of The Address The story is a touching account of a girl who goes in search of her mother's belongings after the war, in Holland. But, most significantly, even on finding what she so much longed to see, touch , feel and remember, she leaves them all behind, only to move on and live a bleak life sans all former attachments, with only the memories of the former times to haunt her in the postwar days. The story categorically lays bare the epiphany of wars and their aftermath painstakingly. The daughter, the protagonist of the tale, is torn between two worlds: the one which was her own world with her mother and all kith and kin of her prewar life and the one that is strange, unfamiliar and devoid of all sorts of physical attachments with her former world, a tragic existence she came to terms with after the war. Significantly, though the war has left her alone in every sense and respect, yet she accepts the stark realities of her post-war life and resolves not to escape from them. She could have committed suicide after losing her loved ones in the war. But she determines to live her life though it is hard for her to forget everything of her

past life. Therefore, she decides to forget-the easiest thing-the address of a nonJewish neighbour's house, where her family's belongings were stored. She collects nothing from that address and instead resolves to forget it. She knows there is nothing that the address can return to her. It can return neither her loved ones nor the peace of her mind nor the former state of well being. The address that held so much importance to her lost all value as she realised that it could give her nothing but pain. Therefore the address was no longer useful to her. The story starts with an illusion of a girl about the seeming normalcy returning to her country after the war. But soon she is disillusioned on visiting Mrs. Dorling's house. In fact, behind the facade of so called normalcy the grim realities of the postwar situations were looming large