Category: Classes

The Portrait of a Lady

-By Khushwant Singh

Contents

• Summary of The Portrait Of A Lady Class 11th Chapter 1
• Short Summary of The Portrait Of A Lady Class 11th Chapter 1
• Hindi Summary Of The Portrait Of A Lady Class 11th Chapter 1
• NCERT Solutions of The Portrait Of A Lady Class 11th Chapter 1

Page No: 6

1. Mention the three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad.

Answer

The three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad are given below.

The first phase was the period of the author’s early childhood. During this phase, he used to live with his grandmother in the village. The grandmother used to take care of him from waking him up and getting him ready to accompanying him to the school. Both shared a good friendship with each other.

The second phase was the time when the author and the grandmother moved to the city to live with author’s parents. This was a turning-point in their friendship because now they ‘saw less of each other’.

The third phase was the time the author joined University. He was given a room of his own and the common link of their friendship was snapped. The grandmother turns to wheel-spinning and reciting prayers all day long. She accepts her seclusion with silence.

The author’s grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the city school because:
(i) She could not help him with his lessons in English, science. She didn’t believe in them.
(ii) No teaching of God and scriptures.
(iii) She was unhappy with the idea of music lessons being given at school. She considered music suitable only for the people with low dignity.

Page No: 7

3.Mention three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up.

The three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up are by spinning wheel, reciting prayers and feeding the sparrows.

4. Mention the odd way in which the author’s grandmother behaved just before she died.

Answer

The grandmother told the family that her end was near. She had omitted to pray, she was not going to waste any more time talking to us. She lay peacefully in bed praying and telling her beads.

5. Mention the way in which the sparrows expressed their sorrow when the author’s grandmother died.

Answer

The sparrows and the grandmother developed an intimate relationship in this manner. When the grandmother died thousands of sparrows expressed their sorrow by sitting scattered in the verandah in mourning while grandmother’s dead-body lay there. They did not chirrup. Author’s mother threw some pieces of bread but they did not eat them. When they carried grandmother’s corpse they flew away quietly. Thus, the sparrows mourned her death and paid their silent tribute to the grand old lady in a very unique manner.

2. Describe the changing relationship between the author and his grandmother. Did their feelings for each other change?

Answer

The changing circumstances did have a bearing on the relationship between the author and his grandmother. Author and his grandmother lived as intimate friends in the village. A turning point came in their relationship when they came to the city to live with author’s parents. The author joined an English school in the city. She remained confined to home as here she could not accompany him to the school. In the new English school she could not help him in studies. She could not like the kind of education being given to the author at the English school. The grandmother became disturbed as there was no teaching about God and scriptures in the new school. She reconciled herself with spinning and taking to feed the sparrows. When the narrator grew up, he went up to university and then went abroad. The common link of friendship between the author and his grandmother was snapped. His grandmother accepted her seclusion with resignation.
No, their feelings for each other did not change though distances grew between them.

3. Would you agree that the author’s grandmother was a person strong in character? If yes, give instances that show this.

Answer

Yes, the author’s grandmother was a person strong in character. The instances to prove this are given below.

► The author’s grandmother was a person strong in character. She was a picture of contentment.

4. Have you known someone like the author’s grandmother? Do you feel the same sense of loss with regard to someone whom you have loved and lost?

Answer

Yes, I knew someone like the author’s grandmother. It was my own grandmother who passed away recently. The intense sense of loss is very heart-wrenching as I spent almost fifteen years of my life with her.

No, I have never known someone the way the author knew his grandmother. Thus, I have never felt the sense of grief presented in the story.

Thinking about the Language

1. Which language do you think the author and his grandmother used while talking to each other?

Answer

The author and his grandmother might have used their mother-tongue to converse with each other. As the author, Khushwant Singh, belongs to Punjab, the language used by them might be Punjabi.

2. Which language do you use to talk to elderly relatives in your family?

Answer

Your Mothertongue (Could be English, Hindi, Telgu, Bhojpuri etc.)

3. How would you say ‘a dilapidated drum’ in your language?

Answer

Know your meaning in mothertongue (In Hindi it is ‘phata-hua dholak’.)

Working with Words

1. Notice the following uses of the word ‘tell’ in the text.

Answer

1. Make something known to someone in spoken or written words: I would tell her English words and little things of western science and learning.

2. Count while reciting: Her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary.

3. Be sure: At her age, one could never tell.

4. Give information to somebody: She told us that her end was near.

Page No: 8

2. Notice the different senses of the word ‘take’.

1. to take tosomething: to begin to do something as a habit
2. to take ill: to suddenly become ill
Locate these phrases in the text and notice the way they are used.

Answer

The instances where these phrases have been used in the story are given below.

1. “… she took to feeding sparrows in the courtyard of our city house”.
This phrase refers to the daily activity that the author’s grandmother took up when they shifted to the city.

2. “The next morning she was taken ill.”
This phrase refers to the author’s grandmother’s sudden illness.

3. The word ‘hobble’ means to walk with difficulty because the legs and feet are in bad condition. Tick the words in the box below that also refer to a manner of walking.

Answer

The words that also refer to a manner of walking are:

shuffle
stride
waddle
paddle
swagger
trudge
slog

THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY

– by Khuswant Singh

In this story, the author draws a pen portrait of his grandmother. He beautifully unfolds his relationship with her, while describing her appearance and daily activities.

Appearance of the grandmother

The author recalls his grandmother as a very old lady with a wrinkled face. She appeared so old that it was hard for him to believe that she had once been “young and pretty”. She was short, fat and a little stoop ed in appearance. The author remembers her moving about the house in “spotless white”, counting the beads of her rosary while her lips moved constantly in silent prayers. She was not “pretty” in the traditional sense, yet her serenity made her “beautiful”.

Initial years of togetherness: Life in the village In the initial years of his life, the author lived with his grandmother in the village, sharing a good friendship. His grandmother used to wake him up in the morning and get him ready for the school. Sh e would hand over to him the things he

required in the school. After having thick, stale chappatis with butter and sugar for breakfast, they used to leave for school. The author’s grandmother always accompanied him to school as it was attached to the templ e. It was her habit to carry several stale chappatis for the village dogs, which they used to feed while returning from the school. The grandmother used to sit inside the temple reading holy books while the narrator learnt alphabets and prayers in the scho ol.

Turning point of their friendship: Life in the city The „turning – point‟ of their friendship came when they moved to the city to stay with the author‟s parents. Though they shared the same room, his grandmother no longer accompanied him to the school since the author started going in a bus.

As years rolled by, they “saw less of each other”.

Meanwhile, as there were no dogs in the streets, she took to feeding the sparrows.

Unlike the village school, the author was not taught about God and the script ures which troubled his grandmother. She did not believe in what was being taught at his school and was unhappy as she could not help him with his lessons.

Moreover, she was disturbed at the idea of music lessons being given at school as she considered mu sic to be unsuitable for gentlefolk. Her disapproval was conspicuous in her silence.

The grandmother combat’s her loneliness by feeding the sparrows When the author started going to the university he was given a room of his own.

It resulted in a further

gap between them. She accepted her loneliness and rarely spoke to anyone. All day long, she sat spinning the wheel and reciting her prayers. She relaxed for a short time, only in the afternoon, to feed the sparrows who came in large numbers. The bond and l evel of comfort they shared with her is evident in the fact that they perched even on her legs and head. She used to be at her happiest – self while feeding the sparrows.

Author leaves for higher studies

The author decided to go abroad for further studies. He was sure that his grandmother would be upset at his departure. On the contrary, she came to the railway station to see him off but did not show any emotion. She was absorbed in her prayers, telling the beads of her rosary. She silently kissed the autho r’s forehead, which the author considered to be (supposedly) the last sign of their physical contact.

Author‟s homecoming

On his return after five years, the author did not find any change in his grandmother. She was as old as ever and remained absorbed in her prayers.

Even that day, the happiest moment for her was feeding the sparrows.

In the evening, for the first time ever, she did not pray. She collected several ladies of the neighborhood and sang songs related to the home – coming of the warriors. She had to be persuaded to stop singing in order to avoid overstraining. However, the next day she was taken ill.

Grandmother’s death

Though diagnosed with a mild fever by the doctor, grandmother knew that her end was near. She decided to spend the last few hours of her life reciting prayers and telling her beads. Soon, her lips stopped moving and she died.

A silent tribute by the sparrows

The family went to make arrangements for the grandmother‟s funeral. As they came with a stretcher, they stopped mid – way to find thousands of sparrows

scattered around her dead body. The sparrows mourned the death of the grandmother in utter silence. They ignored the bread crumbs thrown at them by the author‟s mother and flew away silently after the body was carried away f or cremation. The bread- crumbs were swept away by the sweeper next morning.

Summary

The story is written in first person and is in biographical mode. It is a perception of Khushwant Singh of his grandmother through his own eyes. Khushwant Singh recalls his grandmother as an eternally old person. She was an extremely religious person. It was difficult for him to believe that once she too was young and pretty like other women. The stories about her childhood gameswere like fairy tales to him. She was short, fat and slightly stooped in stature. Her silvery white hair used to scatter on her wrinkled face. Khushwant Singh remembers her hobbling around the house in spotless white clothes with one hand resting on her waist to balance her stoop and the other busy in telling the beads of her rosary. Her lips constantly moved in inaudible prayers.

Possibly she was not beautiful in worldly sense but she looked extremely beautiful with the peacefulness, serenity and the contentment her countenance displayed.

Khushwant’s relationship with his grandmother went through several changes when he was a small boy. In the first stage Khushwant lived in a village with her as his parents were looking for the opportunity to settle down in the city. In village grandmother took care of all the needs of the child. She was quite active and agile. She woke him up in the morning, got him ready for the school, plastered his wooden slate, prepared his breakfast, and escorted him to the school. They fed street dogs with stale chapattis on their way to school which was a great fun for them. She helped him in his lessons also .It was her domain and she was the queen of her kingdom. In this period she was the sole unchallenged guardian, mentor, and creator of the child Khushwant. The turning point came in their relationship when they came to city to stay with Khushwant’s parents.

In city Khushwant joined an English School and started to go to school in a motor bus. Here the role of his grandmother in his bringing up was curtailed a little bit. Now she could not accompany him to the school. Despite taking lot of interest in his studies she could not help him in his lessons because he was learning English, law of gravity, Archimedes’ principle and many more such things which she could not understand and this made her unhappy. She found herself at loss. One more thing which disturbed her a lot was that the kids were not learning about God and scriptures in the school instead they were given music lessons which was not an honourable thing in her opinion. To her music was not meant for gentlefolk. It was meant for beggars and prostitutes only. She highly disapproved this and as she could not change it she was dismayed and withdrew herself to some extent. Perhaps she had realized that in the makeover of the child her role was finished and this very thought saddened her most.

After finishing school Khushwant went to university. He was given a separate room. The common link of their friendship was snapped. His grandmother confined herself to a selfimposed seclusion. She spent most of her time in reciting prayers and by sitting beside her spinning wheel. She rarely talked to anyone. The only recreation for her was in the afternoon when she relaxed for a while to feed the sparrows. A kind hearted person, in village she used to feed street dogs, here in city she focused on birds and they too became very friendly with her.

This was the phase when she found herself totally isolated and aloof but she braved this isolation with grace and dignity.

Khushwant’s grandmother was a strong person. Whatever she went through in her heart she always restrained herself from demonstrating her emotions.He recalls that when he went abroad for further studies his grandmother was there to see him off on railway station quite calm busy telling the beads of her rosary and reciting prayers as always. When he came back after five years he found her more and more religious and more and more self-contained. She spent stillmore time in prayers and spinning the wheel. Feeding the birds was her only happy pastime.

But just the day before her death for the first time she broke this routine and gave up her prayers. That day she sang the songs of the home coming of the warriors on a withered drum along with the ladies of neighborhood in order to celebrate her grandson’s return from abroad.

Next morning she got ill. Although the doctor said it was a mild fever and would go away she could foresee that her end was near. She was upset that she omitted her prayers just before the final departure from the world. She did not want to waste any more time talking to anybody.

She lay peacefully in bed praying and telling the beads till her lips stopped moving and rosary fell from her lifeless fingers. To mourn her death thousands of sparrows flew in and sat scattered around her body in utter silence. They even ignored the breadcrumbs thrown for them by Khushwant’s mother. They only flew away after the corpse was carried away for last rites.