The Serang of Ranganji Lesson Summary

During the time of British rule in India, a journey from Liverpool to Calcutta is the subject of this narrative. It describes how the narrator and the story's hero, Hasan, the serang of the ship, Ranaganji, secretly and valiantly manages a possible catastrophe.

Characters

• The Ranaganji's doctor serves as the narrator.
• Hasan, the Ranaganji's Indian serang
• The Ranaganji's captain is Captain Hamble.
• Miss Jope-Smith, was a wealthy and prominent woman who traveled on the Ranaganji.

The Ship Leaves Port

A well-educated and stylish woman enquired of her friend whether he had ever seen such a hideous beast. They were standing in front of the narrator on the upper deck of the Ranaganji when it was preparing to set sail from Liverpool for the protracted voyage to Calcutta. They were indicating the serang, or quarter-master, of the ship, an ugly Indian seaman.

The trip started out smoothly. They successfully traversed the Mediterranean and arrived in the Arabian Sea. The Ranaganji, a sturdy older ship, had white officers and an all-Indian crew. The ship's doctor served as the narrator. The ship was packed with visitors as usual and had a large number of Anglo-Indian army officers traveling with their wives and families.

The person who had made fun of the spring's appearance was Miss Jope-Smith. She was quite boring, but she was a really social person.

Spread of smallpox among the crew

Two sick deck laborers were brought to the narrator one morning by the serang, Hasan, for a checkup. When the narrator learned they had smallpox, they were horrified. He briefed Captain Hamble on the predicament.

Because of their workloads and staffing shortages, Captain Hamble claimed he was unable to give the doctor any of his officers. He would, however, give him the sprang. He advised him to prevent the disease from spreading and to avoid informing the passengers because doing so would drive them to worry.

They needed to isolate the men; the doctor informed the sprang. Hasan constructed a sizable canvas shelter on the afterdeck since there was no spare cabin room on board to do this. There, the two patients were transported. The entire crew was then convened for a medical examination. A man was segregated from the others after displaying symptoms. The storyteller was assisted in caring for the patients by Hasan.

However, they discovered three further instances among the crew the following morning and four more in the afternoon. They, therefore, had ten cases in the temporary shelter. Despite the challenging circumstances, the serang relentlessly provided care for the sick soldiers.

The closest port of call, Colombo, was eight days distant. Four more men were ill during the course of the next two days. One of the earlier victims had fallen into a coma and appeared to be about to pass away. These challenging conditions caused the narrator a great deal of worry, yet watching Hasan meditate under the stars would make him feel at an ease.

The Crisis' End and Hasan's Life

Despite Hasan's lack of conversation, the narrator soon learns several things about him. Although his parents had migrated to southern India, he was originally from the Punjab. He had trained as a seaman there, near the coast. He had worked as a seaman for almost forty years, fifteen of them aboard the Ranaganji. He had no family or friends in India, nor did he have a home on land. He'd never been wed. He identified as a Muslim.

He had never owned any money or property. His small collection of belongings, which could be worth a few rupees, was kept in the ship's chest. In Hasan's opinion, money is useless to someone with all they need. He had no interest in money. Instead, he possessed bravery, restraint, and faith. The narrator felt ashamed of his intense desire for success and fortune and his obvious simplicity.

Two patients passed away the next day. Before their remains were dumped overboard at midnight, Hasan stitched their shrouds and read aloud a brief portion from the Ramayana. No new cases emerged. After a week, they reached Colombo. The sick men visited the hospital. The majority of them were past the crisis. However, three of them appeared to be extremely helpless. Hasan was crying as he carried them.

Quickly, the ship arrived in Calcutta. Once more, the narrator overheard Miss Jope-Smith mocking Hasan's appearance. She questioned him about whether they had kept a creature similar to Hasan in a cage throughout the journey. Offended, the doctor suggested that perhaps they had, but that it was odd that every animal was outside, suggesting that it was actually vile people like her who were the animals.

Conclusion

This tale demonstrates the fallacy of appearances. Hasan is an ugly man, yet he is brave and has lofty aspirations. He aids the narrator in surviving the smallpox outbreak and teaches him lessons of life via his bravery and simplicity. As a result, we ought never to evaluate a book by its cover.