NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 1 The Portrait of a Lady
Question 1.
The three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad.
Answer:
The author’s grandmother was an extremely old lady with puckered face. The author enjoyed about twenty year’s association with her. But during this period his relationship did not remain exactly the same. The initial and first phase of their relationship was when the author was living with her in the village. The relation was most cordial at that time. Rather they were good friends. She always used to accompany the author to his school. She used to get him ready for school.
She would bring his wooden slate, earthen inkpot and a red pen. She would tie them in a bundle and hand it to him. She would serve him breakfast of a thick stale chapatti with a little butter and sugar spread on it. The second phase of their relationship was when the author’s parents called them to the city.
That was a turning point in their friendship. Though they shared the same room, his grandmother no longer came to school with him. The author went to an English school in a motor bus. There were no dogs in the streets. So she took to feeding sparrows in the courtyard of their city house. Gradually they started seeing less and less of each other.
For some time, the author’s grandmother continued to wake him up to get ready for school. She silently disapproved his schooling and particularly when he started learning music lessons in school. She was distressed that there was no teaching about God and the scriptures. She rarely talked to the author thereafter.
The third phase of their relationship started when the author went up to university. He was given a room of his own. The common link of friendship had been snapped. She felt secluded and remained busy with her spinning-wheel, reciting prayers and feeding the sparrows.
Question 2.
Three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the city school.
Answer:
To the grandmother city school seemed to be totally different from the village school. In the village she would get ready the author for school, serve him with breakfast and always accompanied him to school. But she could not identify at all with what was taught to him at school. So obviously she was disturbed. She was disturbed because she did not believe in the things they taught him at school.
The English words and ‘little things’ of western science and learning like the law of gravity, Archimedes’s principle and the world being round were beyond her comprehension. She felt unhappy because she could not help the author with his lessons.
Secondly, being an orthodox and God-fearing lady, she was distressed that in the city school there was no teaching about God and the holy scriptures. This made her deeply disturbed. But she was most disturbed when the author told her that he was being given music lessons. She was of the opinion that music was related to harlots and beggars only. It was not meant for gentle and civilized people. That is why she silently disapproved it. She nearly stopped talking to her grandson.
Question 3.
Three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up.
Answer:
The author’s grandmother was an old, affectionate, orthodox and a deeply religious- minded graceful lady. While she was in the village, she would spend her days while looking after her grandson, reciting prayers and feeding the stray dogs. She used to get the author ready for the school. She used to accompany him to his school. She used to say her morning prayers in the hope that the author would learn it by heart.
She would serve him breakfast of a thick stale chapatti with a little butter and sugar spread on it. She would carry several chapattis to feed the village dogs on the way to school. The school was attached to a temple. The grandmother would sit inside the temple reading passages from religious books. Then she would come back to home alongwith her grandson. The dogs would accompany them fighting and growling for the bits of chapattis thrown to them.
When she came to the city, her activities became restricted. As the author went to school in a motor bus, she did not go to school with him. In the absence of dogs, she started feeding sparrows in the courtyard of their city house. She woke up her grandson initially for some time. But gradually she started talking rarely ’with her.
When the author went up to university, she remained secluded. From sunrise to sunset she sat by her wheel spinning and reciting prayers. Only in the afternoon she relaxed for a while to feed the sparrows. The sparrows would sit all over her body, but she never shoo’d them away. She rather enjoyed it.
While the author was going abroad, she came to see him off at the railway station. But her lips were moving in prayer and her mind was lost in prayer. Her fingers remained busy telling the beads of her rosary. While the author came back after five years, he found her reciting her prayers. On the first day of his arrival also her happiest moments were when she was feeding her sparrows.
Question 4.
The odd way in which the author’s grandmother behaved just before she died.
Answer:
The author’s grandmother was a God-fearing, orthodox and a religious-minded old lady. But a day before her death, a change came over her. She did not pray. Rather she broke her routine and collected the neighbouring women. She got an old dram and started to sing. For several hours she kept beating the dram She sang songs about the home coming of warriors. They had to persuade her to stop so that she might not overstrain herself. The odd thing was that it was for the first time that she did not pray.
Question 5.
The way in which the sparrows expressed their sorrow when the author’s grandmother died.
Answer:
When the gr andmother had left for her heavenly abode, her dead body was laid on the ground and covered with a red shroud. In the evening they went to her room with a crude stretcher to take her to be cremated. They had to stop half-way in the courtyard. All over the verandah and in her room right up to where she lay dead, thousands of sparrows sat scattered on the floor.
The sparrows were not chiruping at all. The author’s mother fetched some bread for them. She broke it into little crumbs, the way her grandmother used to do. She then threw the crumbs to them. But the sparrows took no notice of the bread. When the corpse was carried off, the sparrows flew away quietly. Next morning the sweeper swept bread crumbs into the dustbin. This is how the sparrows expressed their sorrow.
The Portrait of a Lady Talking about the text
Talk to your partner about the following :
Question 1.
The author’s grandmother was a religious person. What are the different ways in which we come to know this ?
Answer:
The renowned author Khushwant Singh gives us a very vivid and detailed account of his grandmother. According to her pen-picture portrayed by him, his grandmother was a deeply religious old lady. She hobbled about the house telling the beads of her rosary with one hand and constantly moving her lips in inaudible prayer. She used to sing her prayer, while bathing and dressing the author, in the hope that he too would learn it by heart.
In the village, she used to accompany him to his school. She did so because the school was attached to the temple. She used to sit in the temple praying as long as the school continued. She was shocked to know that there was no religious teaching about God and the scriptures at the city English School. According to her no education was meaningful if there were no teachings about God and the religious books.
While reading the lesson we find that there was hardly a moment when she stopped reciting prayer or telling the beads of her rosary. The only exception was that she did not pray on the day when her grandson came back after studying abroad. Only on that day she had been beating the dilapidated drum and sang songs about the home-coming of warriors. It was due to her religiousmindedness that she used to feed dogs in the village and sparrows in the city.
When she became aware that her end was near, she stopped talking to her family members. She devoted the rest of her last moments to prayers and telling the beads of her rosary. Only a truly religious minded person can be aware of his or her approaching death. So much so that she breathed her last praying and telling the beads of her rosary. It fell from her hands as soon as she left for her heavenly abode quite peacefully.
Question 2.
Describe the changing relationship between the author and his grandmother. Did their feelings for each other change ?
Answer:
The author Khushwant Singh’s grandmother was an extremely old lady with puckered face. She was kind-hearted and a deeply religious minded graceful lady. While portraying a pen-picture of her grandmother, the author also tells us about their changing relationships. In the village the author and his grandmother spent most of their time together. They were good friends. She would get him ready for the school, serve breakfast and accompanied him to the school. From school they would return together.
But their moying to the city proved to be a turning point in their friendship. Although they shared the same room, the grandmother no longer accompanied him to his school. This was because he used to go to his English school by motor bus. As the years passed they were seeing less of each other. For some time she continued to help him in getting ready for the school. But she became unhappy when she came to know that she could not identify with the lessons given to him in his school. She was unhappy because she could not help him in his lessons.
The grandmother was distressed to know that there was no teaching about God and scriptures in the city English school. She was deeply upset when the author told her one day that they were being given music lessons at the English. To her music had indecent association. She thought that it was meant for harlots and beggars. She silently disapproved of the music lessons. After that she rarely talked to the author, her grandson. The gap of friendship was further widened when the author went up to university and he was given a room of his own.
Thus the common link of friendship between them was snapped. She accepted her seclusion with resignation. She devoted most of her time to spinning wheel instead of talking to anyone. I don’t think their feelings for each other were ever changed. Though their feeling of friendship was curtailed, most probably due to the generation gap and changing attitudes, they definitely cared for each other.
Grandmother went to see the author off and came to receive him when he went and came back after studying from abroad. She kissed him on his forehead. He cherished the memory of that kiss, which he considered to be probably the last physical contact between them. She broke her routine of praying most probably to welcome her grandson who had come back home after achieving something. That is why I feel that their bond and feelings for each other remained till the grandmother went to her heavenly abode praying peacefully.
Question 3.
Would you agree that the author’s grandmother was a person strong in character ? If yes, give instances that show this.
Answer:
The author’s grandmother was an old, wrinkled, short, fat and slightly bent lady. She was a deeply religious-minded lady endowed with moral courage and convictions. Though she was not formally educated, she had firm belief about what was wrong and what was right. Though she had a deep regard and a strong bond and friendship with her grandson, she would disapprove of what she felt was wrong. She did not like the things which were taught at the English school. But instead of being a passive spectator, she would show her disapproval without any hesitation.
When she came to know that her grandson was being given music lessons, she showed her disapproval. She thought that music was meant for harlots and beggars. She was so displeased and disturbed that she rarely talked to her grandson, the author, thereafter. The author thought that when he decided to go abroad for further studies, her grandmother would be upset. But she was a strong-minded lady. But she remained firm and quite composed.
She was not even sentimental. She went to see him off at the railway station but did not talk or show any emotions. Her mind was lost in prayer, which gave her ample strength. When he came back after five years, she was there to receive him at the station. Then the way she faced her death showed what a strong minded woman she was. She was aware of her approaching end. But she never showed any signs of panic or fear. Rather she embraced the death calmly while praying peacefully. Thus we can say that the author’s grandmother was a person strong in character.
Question 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:
In our locality there was an old man who was known as “Bhagatji” by everyone. He was also deeply religious minded like the author’s grandmother. He always used to wear white kurta and dhoti. His wife had died when he was about thirty years old. Thereafter he did not marry. He devoted most of his time in prayers. For a living he used to sit at the shop of his younger brother selling ghee. He had no children of his own.
So, he loved children very much. In the evening, he would go to a pond and meditate for many hours. On his way back to home, he used to bring either dry fruit or such small eatables for distributing to the children of our street. As soon as the children saw him, they would loudly announce his corning and they would surrounded him. They would shout and jostle with each other to get ‘Prashad’ from Bhagat Ji. I was studying in sixth class when hp died. On that day nobody cooked food in their homes.
When he was taken for cremation, it seemed like a huge procession. Everybody from our street and most of the people from the city were there to pay homage to that great man. People were praising him for-his selfless social activities and for his limitless devotion to God. His fond memories will always be cherished in the minds of the people of our city.
The Portrait of a Lady Thinking about language
Question 1.
Which language do you think the author and his grandmother used while talking to each other ? ‘S
Answer:
The author and his grandmother must be talking in Punjabi, their mother tongue, -‘f
Question 2.
Which language do you use to talk to elderly relatives in your family ?
Answer:
I always speak to elderly relatives in my family in our mother tongue. Sometimes we talk in Hindi also.
Question 3.
How would you say ‘a dilapidated drum’ in your language ?
Answer:
In our language we use the expression ‘टूटा – फूटा ढोल’ for a dilapidated drum.
Question 4.
Can you think of a song or poem in your language that talks of homecoming ?
Answer:
Yes, I know a song in Punjabi which expresses the feelings of a wife when her husband, who is a soldier in army comes home. She says that my husband looks like a lion when he comes home after doing parade. Sometimes he speaks English and sometimes he tells, tales of war.
She says, “I feel shy to face him.” He asks me to sing and produces sound of a drum with his lips. He never rebukes or speaks ill with me. Only yesterday I have come from my parents’ home and today he asks me to go to a fair. Whenever, outwardly, I get angry, he threatens me that his vocation has ended and he is going back to join duty.”
The Portrait of a Lady Working with words
I. Notice the following uses of the word ‘tell’ in the text :
1. Her fingers were busy telling the heq,ds of her rosary.
2. I would tell her English words and little, things of Western science and learning.
3. At her age one could never tell.
4. She told us that her end was near.
Given below are four different senses of the word ‘tell’. Match the meanings to the uses listed above :
1. make something known to someone in spoken or written words,
2. count while reciting,
3. be sure.
4. give information to somebody.
Answer:
The correct match are
(1) – 2; (2) – 1; (3) – 3; (4) – 4.
II. Notice the different senses of the word ‘take’
1. to take to something: to begin to do something as a habit.
2. to take ill: to suddenly become ill.
Q. Locate these phrases in the text and notice the way they are used.
Answer:
1. She took to feeding sparrows in the courtyard of our city house.
(Here it is used for taking to feeding sparrows as a habit.)
2. The next morning she was taken ill.
(Here it means she became suddenly ill)
III. The word ‘hobble’ means to walk with difficulty because the legs and feet are in had condition.
Q. Tick the words in the box below that also refer to a manner of walking.
Answer:
Shuffle : (to walk or move with a dragging motion)
Stride : (to walk with long steps)
Waddle : (to walk with short steps, swing from side to side like a duck; to walk with slow rocking gait, rock from one side to other)
Paddle : (to walk unsteadily with short steps)
Swagger : (to walk like a superior.)
Trudge : (to walk or move along laboriously)
Slog : (to walk or move steadily, with great effort or difficulty, in the specified direction, especially on foot.)
The Portrait of a Lady Noticing form
Notice the form of the verbs italicised in these sentences :
1. My grandmother was an old woman. She had been old and wrinkled for the twenty years that I had known her. People said that she had once been young and pretty and had even had a husband, but that was hard to believe.
2. When we both had finished we would walk back together.
3. When I came back she would ask me what the teacher had taught me.
4. It was the first time since I had known her that she did not pray.
5. The sun was setting and had lit her room and verandah with a golden light.
These were examples of the past perfect forms of verbs. When we recount things in the
distant past we use this form.
Answer:
Given above are a few examples of the past perfect forms of verbs. You must have noticed that we use this form when we recount or recollect things in the distant past. You may practise this form with other examples taking help of your teacher.
The Portrait of a Lady Thinks to do
Talk with your family members about elderly people who you have been intimately connected with and who are not there with you now. Write a short description of someone you diked a lot.
Answer:
I was too young When my grandfather expired. Bo I just have faded memories about him. But I still remember how he would love me and take a great care of me. But gradually I have come to know a lot about him. My father tells me a about him I too ask so many questions about him.
My grandfather participated wholeheartedly in the freedom struggle of India. He was a well-read person. He was too fond of buying and reading books. We have a huge library in our home, where most of the books were bought by my grandfather. He graduated from D.A.V. College, Lahore, which at that time was a renowned educational centre of northern India. He started participating actively in the freedom struggle just when he was a first year student. He was imprisoned also twice. For it, he had to break his studies.
After independence he was politically very active. But when selfishness and dishonesty entered politics, he said good bye to it. Thereafter he remained engaged in social and spiritual activities. He regularly visited Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry. When he died, there was hardly anybody in the town, who had not participated in his funeral.
The Portrait of a Lady Extra Questions and Answers
Read, the passages given below and answer the questions that follow :
Passage 1
People said that she had once been young and pretty and had even had a husband, but that was hard to believe. My grandfather’s portrait hung above the mantlepiece in the drawing room. He wore a big turban and loose-fitting clothes. His long, white beard covered the best part of his chest and he looked at least a hundred years old. He did not look the sort of person who would have a wife or children. He looked as if he could only have lots and lots of grandchildren. (Page 3)
Questions :
(i) Describe the author’s grandfather’s portrait,
(ii) What was hard to believe for the author ?
(iii) Why did grandfather look as if he could only have grandchildren ?
(iv) Where was the portrait of the author’s grandfather hanging ?
(v) Frame sentences with the words that follow :
(a) believe
(b) sort
Answers :
(i) Author’s grandfather wore a big turban and loose-fitting clothes. He had a long white beard covering most of his chest.
(ii) It was hard to believe for the author that his grandmother could have been young and pretty.
(iii) Grandfather of the author had a long, white beard that covered the best part of his chest. He looked at least a hundred years old. He seemed fit only to be a grandfather.
(iv) The grandfather’s portrait was hanging above the mantlepiece in the drawing room
(v) (a) Believe. We should believe in God, the creator of this universe.
(b) Sort. Ramesh is not the sort of man to get discouraged so easily.
Passage 2
She could never have been pretty; but she was always beautiful. She hobbled about the house in spotless white with one hand resting on her waist to balance her stoop and the other telling the beads of her rosary. Her silver locks were scattered untidily over her pale, puckered face, and her lips constantly moving in inaudible prayer. Yes, she was beautiful. She was like the winter landscape in the mountains, an expanse of pure white serenity breathing peace and contentment. (Page 4)
Questions :
(i) Whom does ‘she’ refer in the passage ?
(ii) Why does the author say that she was never pretty but was always beautiful ?
(iii) Which words and phrases in the passage giveyou an idea of her age ?
(iv) How do you know that the lady was religious ? Give lines from the passage to support your answer.
(v) Give synonyms of: puckered; serenity.
Answers :
(i) Grandmother of the author is referred to as ‘she’ in the passage.
(ii) The author had never seen her in youth. He always saw her short, fat, old and wrinkled. She was noble, peaceful and religious. That is why he says that she was never pretty jut always beautiful.
(iii) Grandmother was an old lady. The following words and phrases give me the idea – of her age :
(a) ……………………… one hand resting on her waist to balance her stoop.
(b) ……………………… her pale, puckered face.
(c) ………………………. she was like the winter landscape.
(d) ………………………. her silver locks …………….
(iv) She was a deeply religious-minded lady. These lines from the passage show that she was religious :
(a) ……………………. the other (hand) telling the beads of her rosary.
(b) …………………… her lips constantly moving in inaudible prayer.
(v) wrinkled; calmness.
Passage 3
My grandmother always went to school with me because the school was attached to the temple. The priest taught us the alphabet and the morning prayer. While the children sat in rows on either side of verandah singing the alphabet or the prayer in a chorus, my grandmother sat inside reading the scriptures. When we had both finished, we would walk back together. This time the village dogs would meet us at the temple door. They followed us to our home growling and fighting with each other for the chapattis we threw to them. (Page 4 )
Questions :
(i) Why did the grandmother always go to school with the author ?
(ii) Whpt did she do there when the children sang their alphabet ?
(Hi) What was her routine on returning from school ?
(iv) Why did the dogs start fighting on the way ?
(v) Write the noun forms of the following :
Answers :
(i) The grandmother always went to school with the author because the school was attached to the temple.
(ii) Grandmother sat inside the temple reading scriptures while the children sang their alphabet.
(Hi) While returning from school, she used to throw chapattis at the dogs, who used to follow them to the home.
(iv) The dogs fought with each other over the stale chapattis that were thrown by the “ grandmother for them.
(v) Fight; meeting.
Passage 4
This made her unhappy. She could not help me with my lessons. She did not believe in the things they taught at the English school and was distressed that there was no teaching about God and the scriptures. One day I announced that we were being given music lessons. She was very disturbed. To her music had lewd associations. It was . the monopoly of harlots and beggars and not meant for gentlefolk. She said nothing but her silence meant disapproval. She rarely talked to me after that. (Page 5)
Questions :
(i) What made the lady unhappy ? Who is she ?
(ii) What was the thing she did not believe in ? Why ?
(iii) What did the author announce one day ?
(iv) What disturbed the lady ?
(v) Form verb from : association; disapproval
Answers :
(i) Western science and learning etc. given at the English school made the grandmother unhappy. ‘She’ is the grandmother of the author, Khushwant Singh.
(ii) She did not believe in the western education given at the English school because there was no teaching about God and the scriptures.
(iii) The author announced one day that they were being given music lessons at the English school.
(iv) She was disturbed because her grandson was being given music lessons.
(v) Associate; Disapprove.
Passage 5
I was given a room of my own. The common link of friendship was snapped. My grandmother accepted her seclusion with resignation. She rarely left her spinning-wheel to talk to anyone. From sunrise to sunset she sat by her wheel spinning and reciting prayers. Only in the afternoon she relaxed for a while to feed the sparrows. While she sat in the verandah breaking the bread into little-bits, hundreds of little birds collected round her creating a veritable bedlam of chirrupings. Some came and perched on her legs, others on her shoulders. Some even sat on her head. She smiled but never shoo’d them away. It used to be the happiest half-hour of the day for her. (Page 5)
Questions :
(i) What was the common link that was snapped ?
(ii) How did she spend her day ?
(iii) What did her relaxation consist of ?
(iv) Why did the birds collect round her ?
(v) Form nouns from the following words.:
(a) accept.
(b) recite.
Answers :
(i) The common link that was snapped was the common room shared by the author and his grandmother. The author got a separate room after joining university. ‘
(ii) She spent her day in seclusion, spinning at the wheel and saying prayers.
(iii) Her relaxation consisted of feeding the sparrows with the broken bits of bread.
(iv) The birds collected round the grandmother to eat the bits of broken bread that were thrown in the verandah by her.
(v) (a) acceptance
(b) recitation.
Passage 6
When I decided to go abroad for further studies, I was sure, my grandmother would be upset. I would be away for five years, and at her age one could never tell. But my grandmother could. She was not even sentimental. She came to leave me at the railway station but did not talk or show any emotion. Her lips moved in prayers, her mind was lost in prayer. Her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary. Silently she kissed my forehead, and when I left I cherished the moist imprint as perhaps the last physical contact between us. (Page 5)
Questions :
(i) How long would the author be away and why ?
(ii) How do you know that the lady was religious ?
(iii) What did the author cherish ? What was his fear about her grandmother ?
(iv) ‘At her age one could never tell’. What was it ?
(v) Write the noun forms of the following :
(a) decide
(b) pray
Answers :
(i) The author would be away for five years as he had decided to go abroad for higher studies.
(ii) The grandmother was religious as she used to tell the beads of her rosary and moved her lips in prayers.
(Hi) The author cherished the wet imprint of the kiss made by his grandmother on his forehead while he was parting from her. The author was afraid that his grandmother would be upset.
(iv) At her extreme old age, one could never tell what would happen to her. It was difficult to tell whether she would survive for five years or not.
(v) (a) decision
(b) prayer.
Passage 7
In the evening a change came over her. She did not pray. She collected the women of the neighbourhood, got an old drum and started to sing. For several hours she thumped the sagging skin of the dilapidated drum and sang of the home-coming of warriors. We had to persuade her to stop to avoid overstraining. That was the first time since I had known her that she did not pray. (Pages 5-6)
Questions :
(i) What change did come over her in the evening ?
(ii) Why did she collect the women of the neighbourhood ?
(Hi) What kind of songs did the grandmother sing ?
(iv) Why did they have to persuade her to stop beating of the drum ?
(v) Write noun forms of the following :
(a) persuade
(b) know
Answers :
(i) The change was that the author’s grandmother did not pray.
(ii) She collected the women of the neighbourhood to sing songs along with her or to listen to her songs.
(iii) She sang songs about the home-coming of the warriors.
(iv) They had to persuade her to stop beating of the drum so that she might not exert herself and fall ill.
(v) (a) persuasion
(b) knowledge.
Passage 8
The sun was setting and had lit her room and verandah with a blaze of golden light. We stopped half-way in the courtyard. All over the verandah and in her room right up to where she lay dead and stiff wrapped in the red shroud, thousands of sparrows sat scattered on the floor.
There was no chirruping. We left sorry for the birds and my mother fetched some bread for them. She broke it into little crumbs, the way my grandmother used to, and threw it to them. The sparrows took no notice of the bread. When we carried my grandmother’s corpse off, they flew away quietly. (Page 6)
Questions :
(i) What time of the day is being described here ?
(ii) What did they see when they entered the room where the grandmother lay dead ?
(iii) Why did they feel sorry for the birds ?
(iv) How did the sparrows show that they had net come for bread ?
(v) Make your own sentences to bring out the meaning of following words :
(a) feel sorry
(b) to take no notice.
Answers :
(i) Dusk is being described here.
(ii) When they entered the room where the corpse of grandmother lay, they saw thousands of sparrows sitting on the floor, on the verandah and right upto where her dead body fay.
(iii) The family Members felt sorry for the birds as the old lady who used to feed them regularly had died.
(iv) The sparrows did not take any notice of the crumbs thrown to them hy the author’s mother. Thus they showed that they had not come for the bread crumbs.
(v)
(a) We must feel sorry for teasing the poor boy for no fault of his.
(b) He is repenting now because he took no notice of my advice which could really help him
The Portrait of a Lady Extra Questions Short Answer Type : (30-40 words)
Question1.
How long had the author known his grandmother as old and wrinkled? What did people say ?
Answer:
The author had known her grandmother as old and wrinkled for the last twenty years. People said that she had once been young and pretty and had even had a husband.
Question 2.
What was it hard for the author to believe that his grandmother was young and pretty ?
Answer:
The author had always? seen his grandmother as a very old woman. Her face was a criss-cross of wrinkles. She used to stoop also. So, it was hard for the author to believe that she was once young and pretty.
Question 3.
Whose portrait was hung above the mantlepiece in the drawing room ?
Answer:
The portrait of the author’s grandmother hung above the mantlepiece. He wore a big turban and loose-fitting clothes. His long, white beard covered the most part of his chest. He looked to be hundred years old.
Question 4.
Why could the grandmother not! walk straight and what was running from everywhere to everywhere ?
Answer:
Grandmother could not walk straight because she was fat and slightly bent. A criss-crass of wrinkles on her face was running from everywhere to everywhere.
Question 5.
The grandmother had a divine beauty. How does the author bring this out ?
Answer:
Grandmother had a divine beauty. She looked like the winter landscape in the mountains in her spotless white clothes. Her silver hair scattered over her pale face.
Question 6.
Do you think the grandmother has been portrayed as a very religious lady ?
Answer:
Yes, grandmother was a very religious lady. She said prayers and counted the beads of the rosary. She read holy books in the village temple. She wanted that some type of religious education should be given at school
Question 7.
What was the reaction of the author’s grandmother about his receiving education in English school ?
Answer:
The author’s grandmother was pained to know that there was no teaching of God and scriptures. She did not believe in the things they taught at the English school. She hated western science and learning.
Question 8.
How did the grandmother react when she learnt about music lessons being given to the author in the English school
Answer:
The author’s grandmother silently disapproved of music lessons. To her music had lewd associations. According to her it was the monopoly of harlots and beggars. It had nothing to do with gentlefolk.
Question 9.
Do you think the author and grandmother were good friends ? When is their friendship depicted at the peak in the story ?
Answer:
The author and his grandmother were good friends. Their friendship was at the peak when they were living together in the village. She used to wake him up and get him ready for school. The author loved her voice when she used to sing the morning prayers. She used to accompany him to the school.
Question 10.
Give two examples to prove that the author’s grandmother was a kind- hearted woman.
Answer:
In village, the grandmother used to throw bread to the stray dogs. While in city, she used to feed sparrows without break. That half hour used to be the best part of her day.
Question 11.
“That was a turning point in our friendship.” What was that turning point ?
Answer:
The turning point in their friendship camfe when the author’s parents called the author and his grandmother to the city. They shared one room But grandmother could not come with him to the school nor could she assist him in his studies.
Question 12.
How did grandmother receive the author when he came back after his studies abroad ?
Answer:
The grandmother received the author at the railway station. She hugged him and he could hear her reciting her prayers. She beat the drums and sangs song of the home¬coming of warriors in the evening.
Question 13.
What was the happiest moment of the day for the grandmother ?
Answer:
In the afternoon, grandmother relaxed to feed the sparrows. She offered them bits of bread. Hundreds of sparrows used to come and perched on her legs, shoulders, some even on her head. It was the happiest half hour of her day.
Question 14.
What was ‘the last sign’ of physical contact between the author and the grandmother ? Why did the author think that to be that last physical contact ?
Answer:
When the author was going abroad for five years for higher studies, the grandmother kissed his forehead. The moist imprint seemed to the author as ‘the last sign’ of physical contact. He thought that grandmother being so old might not survive for five years.
Question 15.
What was the first time since the author had known her that she did not pray ?
Answer:
The grandmother seemed to be overjoyed at the author’s return from abroad. She spent the evening with the neighbouring women beating drum. She sang songs of the home coming of warriors. That was the first evening, ever since the author had known had that she did not pray.
Question 16.
‘We protested. But she ignored our protests’. Who protested and why ?
Answer:
The parents of the author, the author and other family members protested when the grandmother told them that her last hour had come. She stopped talking to anybody in order to pray and tell the heads of her rosary.
Question 17.
How did grandmother breathe her last ?
Answer:
She had started praying and telling her beads. Even before the author and others could suspect, her lips stopped moving and the rosary fell from her lifeless fingers. A peaceful paleness spread on her lifeless face.
Question 18.
How did sparrows express their grief at the death of Khushwant Singh’s grandmother ?
Answer:
The sparrows expressed their grief at the death of Khushwant Singh’s grandmother. Author’s mother throw little crumbs of bread to the sparrows but they did not take any notice of them. As soon as the grandmother’s dead body was taken off, the sparrows silently flew away.
The Portrait of a Lady Extra Questions Long Answer Type: (100-120 words)
Question 1.
Give a character-sketch of the author’s grandmother as portrayed by him in the lesson The Portrait of a Lady’.
Or
What image of the author’s grandmother emerges from the lesson The Portrait of a Lady’?
Answer:
The author’s grandmother was an old woman. She had been old and wrinkled for the last twenty years. It is said that she had been once pretty and young. But the thought seemed revolting and unbelievable to the author. She used to tell fables of the Prophets to her grandchildren. She hobbled about the house in spotless white. She was slightly bent and kept one hand resting on her waist to balance her stoop. With the other hand she was telling the beads of her rosary.
She was extremely religious-minded. Her silver locks were scattered untidily over her pale, puckered face. Her lips constantly moved in silent prayer. She was beautiful. She was like the winter landscape in the mountains, a stretch of pure while calmness breathing peace and contentment. She was distressed when she learnt that her grandson was not being taught about religion at the city English school. She was extremely disturbed when she heard of music lessons being given at the school. To her, music had lewd associations.It was the monopoly of harlots and beggars.
At the village she used to feed dogs. At the city where no dogs were available she used I to feed the little birds and sparrows with broken bits of bread. She was very kind-hearted and loved the sparrows. She was deeply attached to the author Khushwant Singh. When he returned from abroad after five years she was overjoyed.
She assembled the neighbouring women. She overstrained herself by beating the drum and singing the song of the home coming of warriors. Next morning she fell ill. She had predicted her coming death and spent the rest of her time in prayer and telling the beads of her rosaiy. It fell from her hand and she died peacefully. Sparrows in thousands came to mourn her death.
Question 2.
Do you think that Khushwant Singh’s grandmother was concerned about his studies ? What differences have you noticed in the village school education and city school education ?
Answer:
Khushwant Singh’s grandmother was an extremely old lady with wrinkled face. But she seemed to be very alert mentally as well as physically. She was not a passive spectator in the house. She showed a lot of concern for her grandson. She was not formally educated. But she seemed to be serious about the author’s education. Even before waking him up, she used to wash his wooden slate and plaster it with yellow chalk.
Then she used to tie the slate, an ink-pot and a red pen in a bundle and hand it to him. She used to accompany him to school and read scriptures sitting at the temple attached to school. She used to help him in his lessons when he was studying in the village. That is why she felt upset because she could not help her in her lessons taught at the English school. But she used to ask him about his studies and express her views.
However, she was distressed to know that they did not teach the author about religion in the city school. In the village, education took place in the temple and the priest taught them alphabet as well as morning prayers. The children were taught about religion and holy books. But in the city, children were taught English and laws of science. There was no place for religion there.
Question 3.
A grandmother is portrayed as a kind woman. What details in the portrait give that impression ?
Answer:
In “The Portrait of a Lady”, the author, Khushwant Singh, portrays his grandmother as a kind, noble and very religious old woman. She was kind to his grandson and looked after him with a tender heart. She was kind and loving even to the birds and dogs she used to feed in the city and the village. The village dogs used to follow her to the i author’s school and also when she and the author came back home. This shows her deep attachment to the dogs.
In the city where there were no dogs, she started feeding the sparrows and little birds with crumbs of bread. The sparrows also loved her too much that some of them perched on I her legs, shoulders and even on her head. They were not at all scared of her. She too never shoo’d them away. Out of her deep love, she celebrated the home-coming of the author when he came hack after studying abroad. She overstrained herself by beating the drum and singing the song N of the home-coming of the warriors. She fell ill and breathed her last while moving her lips r in prayer and telling the beads of her rosary.
Her kindness and love was also exhibited by the innumerable sparrows who came to mourn her death in perfect silence. They did not touch the broken little bits of bread thrown to them by the author’s mother. They too expressed their sorrow at the grandmother’s demise who had been loving and kind to them
Question 4.
What changes took place in the relationship between Khushwant Singh and his grandmother when they migrated to the city ?
Answer:
In the village the author and his grandmother spent most of their time together. Rather they were like good friends. But their moving to the city proved to be a turning point, in their relationship and friendship. Although they shared the same room, the grandmother no longer accompanied the author to his school.
In the city he used to go to an English I school by bus. As the years passed by they started seeing less of each other. However for some time she continued to help him in getting ready for school. But she could not identify Sy herself with the kind of education which was given to her grandson.
When she came to know about the lessons being given to the author she seemed obviously upset. She could not help him in his lessons. Grandmother was also distressed to know that there was no teaching about God and scriptures. However, she was deeply upset when the author told her one day that they were being given music lessons at his English school. To her music had indecent associations.
She thought that it was the monopoly of harlots and beggars. So she silently disapproved of the music lessons. Thereafter, she rarely talked to the author. The gap of friendship was further widened when the author went up to university. He was given a room of his own. Thus, the common link of friendship between them was snapped. She accepted her seclusion with resignation. She devoted most of her time to spinning wheel and praying instead of talking to anyone in the family.
Question 5.
How do you think the services of old people can be utilised for the benefit of the society ?
Answer:
It is a general tendency to either ignore the old people or to let them suffer in isolation. There are some merciless people who knowingly or unknowingly make the lives of old people miserable. That is why we find so many old age homes now. The old people are forced to go there because their relatives mistreat them. It is indeed very sad that we do not respect them when they need it most.
With the advancement in medical science, the average life span of human beings love increased. This had in turn led to an increase in the number of old people. It is our moral duty to respect, love and take care of them. Old people are wise and have wider knowledge and experience than the young people have.
Moreover with the better healthcare facilities, old people now are more active-physically as well as mentally. Therefore, old people should be made to utilise their experience and wide knowledge in diverse fields for the benefit of the society and the mankind. This will boost their morale and they will feel themselves as the useful members of the society. Then by getting what they have gained, their services can be utilised for the benefit of the society.
