The Portrait of a Lady

Grade : 11
Subject :English
Question :
Three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the
city school.
Answer:
The three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when he started going to
the city school are:

1. She hated western Science and learning.

2. She was pained to know that there was no teaching of God and the scriptures there.
3. She was allergic to music. She thought it was not meant for decent people and
gentlefolk. It was the monopoly of prostitutes and beggars.

Question 3
Three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up.
Answer:
The three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up are:

 She lived alone in her room as she had accepted her loneliness quietly.
 She sat at her spinning wheel reciting prayers.
 In the afternoon, she would feed the sparrows for half an hour.

Question 4

The odd ways in which the author’s grandmother behaved just before she died.
Answer:
Just before her death, the author’s grandmother refused to talk to them. Since she
had omitted to pray the previous night while she was singing songs of homecoming and
beating the drum, she was not going to waste any more time. She ignored their protests.
She lay peacefully in bed praying and telling beads.

Question :
The way in which the sparrows expressed their sorrow when the author’s grandmother
died.
Answer:
Thousands of sparrows sat silently surrounding the dead body of the author’s grandmother.
There was no chirruping. The author’s mother threw some crumbs of bread to them. They
took no notice of them. As soon as the grandmother’s corpse was carried off, they flew
away quietly. Thus 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 author’s grandmother was a deeply religious lady. We come to know this through the
different ways of her behaviour. She visited the temple every morning and read scriptures.
At home she always mumbled inaudible prayer and kept telling the beads of rosary. She
would repeat prayers in a sing-song manner while getting the writer ready for school. She
hoped that he would learn it by heart. She didn’t like English school as there was no
teaching of God and scriptures.
Even while spinning at her spinning-wheel she would recite prayers. Perhaps it was only
once that she forgot to say her prayers. It was on the evening prior to her death when she
felt over excited while celebrating the arrival of her grandson with songs and beatings of
drum. She continued praying and telling beads of her rosary till her last breath.

Question 2:
Describe the changing relationship between the author and his grandmother. Did their
feelings for each other change?
Answer:
During his boyhood, the author was completely dependent on his grandmother. She was a
part of his life. The turning point in their friendship came when they went to city. She could
no longer accompany him to school as he went there by bus. They shared the same room
but she could not help him in his studies. She would ask him what the teachers had taught.
She did not believe in the things that were taught at school. She was distressed that there
was no teaching about God and the scriptures. She felt offended that music was also being
taught. She expressed her disapproval silently. After this she rarely talked to him. When he
went to university, he was given a room of his own. The common link of friendship was
snapped.
However their feelings for each other did not change. They still loved each other deeply. She
went to see the author off at the railway station when he was going abroad for higher
studies. She showed no emotion but kissed his forehead silently. The author valued this as
perhaps the last sign of physical contact between them. When the author returned after five
years, she received him at the station. She clasped him in her arms. In the evening she
celebrated his homecoming by singing songs and beating an old drum.

Question 3:
Would you agree that the author’s grandmother was a person strong in character? If yes,
give instances that show this.
Answer:
Yes, I agree that the author’s grandmother was a person strong in character. She was a
strong woman with strong beliefs. Although she was not formally educated, she was serious
about the author’s education. She could not adjust herself to the western way of life,
Science and English education. She hated music and disapproved of its teaching in school.
She was a deeply religious lady. Her lips were always moving in a silent prayer. She was
always telling the beads of her rosary. She went to temple daily and read the scriptures. She
was distressed to know that there was no teaching about God and holy books at
Khushwant’s new English school.
She was a kind lady She used to feed dogs in the village. In the city she took to feeding
sparrows. Although old in years and weak in body she had strength of mind. Just before her
death, she refused to talk to the members of the family as she did not want to waste her
time. She wanted to make up for the time last evening when she had not prayed to God.
She lay peacefully in bed saying prayers and telling the beads of her rosary till she breathed
her last.

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:
Yes, I have known my grandfather, who loved me deeply and looked after me. He had
served in the army before he retired as a colonel 20 years ago. When I was a school going
kid, he was still active and smart. He was fond of walking, jogging and playing outdoor
games. He inspired us to get up early in the morning. He believed that a healthy mind lives
in a healthy body. He used to give us good physical exercises followed by milk and
nourishing food and then asked us to study for a while before going to school. In the
afternoon, he would enquire what we had been taught at the school. He would help us in
our home task and supervise our reading, writing and doing sums. He was gentle but firm.
He laid stress on good habits and character building. He passed away when I had gone
abroad for higher studies. I miss him a lot. A sense of loss fills me whenever I see his portrait
on the wall. But his cheerful looks remind me to take heart and fight the struggle of life.

The Portrait of a Lady Thinking About language

Talk to your partner about the following:

Question 1:
Which language do you think the author and his grandmother used while talking to each
other?
Answer:
The author’s grandmother was not much educated. So, I think the author and his
grandmother used to talk in their mother tongue—in this case Panjabi.

Question 2:
Which language do you use to talk to elderly relatives in your family?
Answer:
My elderly relatives are well versed in English and Hindi. I feel at home greeting
them in English but like to converse with them freely in Hindi.

Question 3:
What is the expression used in your language for a ‘dilapidated drum’?
Answer:
The expression used in our language for a ‘dilapidated drum’ is ‘phata-purana dhol.’
Question 4:
Can you think of a song or poem in your language that talks of homecoming?
Answer:
There are many folk songs and poems singing of the exploits of brave warriors. All these talk
of their homecoming after winning a battle.

Extra Questions

The Portrait of a Lady Short Answer

Question 1:
How long had the narrator known his grandmother—old and wrinkled? What did people
say? How did the narrator react?
Answer:
The narrator had known his grandmother—old and wrinkled for the last twenty years. She
was terribly old. Perhaps she could not have looked older. People said that she had once
been young and pretty. They said that she even had a husband. The narrator found it hard
to believe.

Question 2:
How did the narrator’s grandfather appear in the portrait?
Answer:
His grandfather looked very old. He had a long white beard. His clothes were loose fitting.
He wore a big turban. He looked too old to have a wife or children. He looked at least a
hundred years old. He could have only lots and lots of grandchildren.

Question 3:
Which thought about the grandmother was often revolting and for whom?
Answer:
The narrator’s grandmother was very old and wrinkled. She had stayed at this stage for the
last twenty years. People said that once she was young and pretty. The narrator couldn’t
even imagine her being young. So the thought was revolting to him.

Question 4:
Explain: “As for my grandmother being young and pretty, the thought was almost revolting”.
Answer:
The narrator’s grandmother was terribly old. She could not appear young and beautiful. Her
face was a criss-cross of wrinkles. She was short, fat and slightly bent. The very idea of her
being young and pretty did not appeal to the mind.

Question 5:
The narrator’s grandmother ‘could never have been pretty, but she was always beautiful’.
Explain the importance of the statement.
Answer:
She was terribly old to appear pretty. Her face was a criss-cross of wrinkles. She was short,
fat and slightly bent. She didn’t create any physical appeal or attraction. However, in her
spotless white dress and grey hair she was a picture of serenity, peace, sobriety and beauty.

Question 6:
Why was it hard for the author to believe that his grandmother was once young and pretty?
Answer:
She was quite an old lady. She had been old and wrinkled for more than two decades. It is
said that once she had been young and pretty. But it is hard to believe so.

Question 7:
The narrator’s grandmother looked like the ‘winter landscape in the mountains’. Comment.
Answer:
The grandmother was always dressed in spotless white. She had silvery hair. Her white locks
spread untidily over her pale and wrinkled face. She looked like an expanse of pure white
serenity. The stretch of snow over the mountains looks equally white and peaceful. So her
silvery locks and white dress made her look like the winter landscape in the mountains.

Question 8:
How did the narrator and his grandmother become good friends?
Answer:
During his childhood, the narrator stayed with his grandmother in the village. She was his
constant companion. She looked after him. She used to wake him up. She got him ready for
school in the morning. She would give him breakfast. She went to school with him.

Question 9:
Why could the grandmother not walk straight? How would she move about the house?
Answer:
The grandmother was short and fat. She was also slightly bent. She put one hand on her
waist to support the stoop. She could not walk straight. She walked like a lame person. She
limped or hobbled about while moving.

Question 10:
Describe how the grandmother spent her time while the narrator sat inside the village
school.
Answer:
The grandmother went to the school with the narrator. The school was attached to the
temple. The narrator would learn alphabet and morning prayer at school. The grandmother
would sit inside the temple. There she would read holy books. Thus she spent her time
before they came back together.

Question 11:
Grandmother has been portrayed as a very religious lady. What details in the story create
this impression?
Answer:
She visited the temple every morning and read scriptures. At home she always mumbled
inaudible prayer and kept telling the beads of rosary. She would repeat prayers in a sing-
song manner while getting the narrator ready for school. All these details create the
impression that she was a religious lady.

Question 12:
The grandmother had a divine beauty. How does the author bring this out?
Answer:
The grandmother’s silvery locks scattered untidily over her pale and wrinkled face. This
made her look like an expanse of pure white serenity. She had a divine beauty. She looked
like the winter landscape in the mountains.

Question 13:
What proofs do you find of the friendship between grandmother and grandson in this story?
Answer:
The grandmother was closely attached to the narrator in his childhood. She woke him, got
him ready and took him to school. She prepared his wooden slate. She waited in the temple
while he studied in school. They returned home together.

Question 14:
The grandmother was a kind-hearted woman. Give examples in support of your answer.
Answer:
Grandmother had a very kind heart. She loved her grandson. She loved even birds and
animals. In the village, she fed the street dogs. In the city, she would feed the sparrows.

Question 15:
“That was a turning point in our friendship.” What was the turning point?
Answer:
The turning point in their friendship came when they shifted to the city. Now the narrator
went to an English school in a bus. Grandmother could no longer accompany him to school.
Although they shared the same room, they saw less of each other.

Question 16:
Draw a comparison between village school education and city school education.
Answer:
Elementary education was given in village school. The pupils were taught alphabet and
multiplication tables. It was quite simple—confined to the three R’s—reading, writing and
arithmetic. In the city school, English, Science and Music were taught. Unlike village school
there was no teaching about God and scriptures.

Question 17:
How did grandmother react to the narrator’s receiving education in English school?
Answer:
She did not believe in the things they taught at the English school. She hated
Western Science and learning. She was pained to know that there was no teaching of God
and the scriptures there.
Question 18:
What led to the gradual distancing of the narrator from his grandmother in the city? Give
three reasons.
Answer:
As the years rolled by, the narrator grew older. His dependence on grandmother became
lesser. He started going to an English school in a motor bus. She could not go with him.
Moreover she couldn’t help him in teaching English and Science. She hated English school.
There was no teaching about God and scriptures there. All these things distanced the
narrator from his grandmother.

Question 19:
Why was the narrator’s grandmother so much allergic to music? Why was the grandmother
disturbed when she came to know that music lessons were being given at school?
Answer:
She considered that music had lewd associations. It was not meant for decent people and
gentlefolk. It was actually the monopoly of prostitutes and beggars.

Question 20:
When was the common link of friendship between the narrator and his grandmother finally
snapped?
Answer:
The narrator went to the university. Now he was given a room of his own. This separated
the narrator from his grandmother. The common link of their friendship was thus finally
broken.

Question 21:
How did the grandmother spend her time when the narrator went up to university?
Answer:
She now lived alone in her room. She accepted her loneliness quietly. She was now always
busy with her spinning wheel. She sat at her spinning-wheel reciting prayers. She hardly
talked to anyone. In the afternoon, she would feed the sparrows. This was her only pastime.

Question 22:
Why did the grandmother take to feeding sparrows in the courtyard of their city house?
Answer:
In the village, she used to throw ‘chapattis’ to the street dogs. But there were no dogs in the
streets of the city. So, she took to feeding the sparrows in the courtyard of their city house.

Question 23:
Describe in brief how grandmother spent half-an-hour with the sparrows. How did she feel
then?
Answer:
The grandmother usually fed the sparrows in the afternoon. She sat in the verandah. She
broke bread into little bits. Hundreds of sparrows would gather there. They would chirrup
noisily. Some perched on her legs and shoulders. Some sat even on her head. She enjoyed
feeding them. She never pushed them away. It was her happiest half an hour.

Question 24:
What was the happiest moment of the day for the grandmother?
Answer:
The happiest half-hour of her day used to be the time when grandmother fed the sparrows.
She would sit in the verandah breaking the bread into little bits. The sparrows would collect
around her. They chirped noisily. Some perched on her legs and shoulders. Some even sat
on her head. She relished this game. She never shooed them away.

Question 25:
How did the grandmother see the narrator off at the railway station?
Answer:
She was not at all sentimental. She kept silent and didn’t show her emotions. Her lips moved
in prayer and her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary. She only kissed the
narrator’s forehead. He cherished the moist imprint as perhaps the last sign-of physical
contact between them.

Question 26:
What was the “last sign” of physical contact between the author and the grandmother?
Why did the author think that to be the last physical contact?
Answer:
The grandmother, kissed Khushwant Singh on his forehead. The author thought that this
was perhaps the last sign of physical contact between them. He was going away for five
years. She was extremely old and at her age one could never tell whether she would be alive
for long.

Question 27:
Why didn’t the grandmother pray in the evening on the day narrator came back home?
Answer:
There was a strange change in her behaviour. She was over-excited. She celebrated the
arrival of her grandson. She collected all the women of the neighburhood. For hours she
continued singing and beating the drum. She had to be persuaded to stop to avoid
overstraining. Perhaps it was the first time that she didn’t pray.

Question 28:
How did the grandmother die?
Answer:
The grandmother realised that her end was near. She continued praying. Her fingers were
busy in telling the beads of her rosary. She lay peacefully in bed. She did not talk to anyone.
After sometime, her lips stopped moving. The rosary fell down from her fingers. She died
peacefully.
Question 29:
How did the sparrows show that they had not come for the bread?

OR

How did the sparrows pay their last homage to the grandmother?
Answer:
The grandmother lay dead. Thousands of sparrows came there. They did not chirrup. They
paid their last homage to the old lady silently. She used to feed them regularly. The
narrator’s mother threw some crumbs of bread to them. They took no notice of them. As
soon as the grandmother’s corpse was carried off, they flew away quietly.

Question 30:
Everybody including the sparrows mourned grandmother’s death. Elaborate.
Answer:
The old grandmother died peacefully. The members of the author’s family mourned her
death. Thousands of sparrows came and sat silently in the courtyard and the verandah
where grandmother lay dead and wrapped in a red shroud. They took no notice of the bread
crumbs thrown to them. They flew away quietly the moment grandmother’s corpse was
carried off.

The Portrait of a Lady Long Answer

Question 1:
Describe the friendship ‘between Khushwant Singh and his grandmother.
Answer:
Khushwant Singh’s grandmother was closely involved in bringing him up when the author
lived with her in the village during his early life. She used to wake him up early in the
morning. While bathing and dressing him, she sang her prayers. She hoped that the young
boy would learn it by heart. She then gave him breakfast—a stale chapatti with butter and
sugar. Then they would go together to the temple school. While the author learnt his lesson,
the grandmother would read holy books. They returned home together.
A turning point came in their friendship when his parents called them to city. Although they
shared a room, she could not help him much. She hated music, Science and Western
education. The common link of their friendship was gradually snapped.

Question 2:
What image of the grandmother emerges from ‘The Portrait of a Lady’?
Answer:
Khushwant Singh’s grandmother has been portrayed as a very old lady. She was short
statured, fat and slightly bent. Her face was wrinkled and she was always dressed in spotless
white clothes. She was a deeply religious lady. Her lips were always moving in a silent
prayer. She was always telling the beads of her rosary. She went to the temple and read the
scriptures.
The grandmother was a kind lady. She used to feed dogs in the village. In the city she took to
feeding the sparrows. She had great affection for her grandson. She looked after him in the
village. She could not adjust herself to the Western way of life, Science and English
education. She hated music and was distressed to know that there was no teaching about
God and holy books at Khushwant’s new English school. On the whole, she was a nice, kind-
hearted and religious lady.

Question 3:
Write a character sketch of the author’s grandmother by using following words:
affectionate, caring, kind and benevolent, religious, a strong woman.
Answer:
Khushwant Singh’s grandmother was a very old lady. She was short, fat and slightly bent.
Her face was wrinkled. She had white hair. She was very affectionate. She was closely
involved in bringing up the author. The two lived in the village. She was a caring
grandmother. She would wake him early in the morning and get him ready for school. She
served him breakfast and took him to school. She waited for him in the temple. She prayed
while he studied. She returned with him.
She was kind and benevolent. She used to feed dogs in the village. In the city she took to
feeding the sparrows. She was a deeply religious lady. Her lips were always moving in a
silent prayer. She was always telling the beads of her rosary. She went to the temple and
read the scriptures.
She was a strong woman with strong beliefs. Although she was not formally educated, she
was serious about the author’s education. She could not adjust herself to the western way
of life, Science and English education. She hated music. She was distressed to know that
there was no teaching about God and holy books at Khushwant’s new English school. On the
whole, she was a nice, affectionate, kind hearted and religious lady.

Question 4:
The grandmother herself was not formally educated but was serious about the author’s
education. How does the text support this?
Answer:
The grandmother was quite serious about the author’s education. She woke him up in the
morning and got him ready for school. She washed his wooden slate. She plastered it with
yellow chalk. She tied his earthen ink-pot and reed pen into a bundle. She took him to
school. He studied in school. She waited for him in the temple reading scriptures.
In the city, the author went to an English school in a motor bus. When he came back she
would ask him what the teacher had taught him. She could not help him with his lessons.
She did not believe in the things taught at the English school. She was distressed to learn
that her grandson was being taught music. She considered it unfit for gentle folk.

Question 5:
Gradually the author and the grandmother saw less of each other and their friendship was
broken. Was the distancing in the relationship deliberate or due to demand of the situation?
Answer:
During his boyhood, grandmother was a part of his life. He was completely dependent on
her. The turning point in their friendship came when they went to city. Now, he went to
school by bus. She no longer accompanied him. As the years rolled by they saw less of each
other. For sometime she continued to wake him up and got him ready for school. When he
came back she would ask him what the teachers had taught. She did not believe in the
things that were taught at school. She was
distressed that there was no teaching about God and the scriptures. She felt offended that
music was also being taught. She expressed her disapproval silently.
After this she rarely talked to him. When he went up to university, he was given a room of
his own. The common link of friendship was snapped. Now she spent most of her time at
the spinning wheel. Thus we find that the distancing in the relationship was due to demand
of situation. The graph of life never follows a straight line.

Question 6:
The word ‘portrait’ generally means a painting, a drawing or a photograph but here it
implies a representation or impression of someone in language. Write a pen picture of your
grandparents describing the qualities you admire and appreciate most.
Answer:
I am lucky that my grandparents are still alive. They live in our native village. My grandfather
is about 70. My grandmother is about 65. My grandfather served in the army before he
retired as a colonel 20 years ago. He is still active and smart. He has strong will power and
manliness in the way he carries himself. He is fond of walking and jogging. He looks after the
family farm and briefs the workers every morning. In the evening he asks each of them to
report the progress and work done. He believes in trusting people. Even then he has some
surprise checks. My grandmother is a bit fat and small. She is slow moving. She is deeply
religious. She visits the temple every morning. She supervises the household work and
activities. She helps the poor and the needy. She is kind, generous and hospitable. My
grandparents visit us in the city on important days such as birthdays or marriage
anniversaries etc. We spend a part of our holidays with them. Their company is a blessing.

Question 7:
Imagine that you are Khushwant Singh. Record the changes that came in your relationship
with your grandmother as you grew up from kid to university student.
Answer:
During my boyhood days I lived with my grandmother in the village. She used to wake me
up in the morning and prepared me for school. She accompanied me to school. A turning
point came in our friendship when my parents sent for us in the city. Now I went to an
English school in the motor bus. I was taught English, Science and music. She could not help
me in my studies. She hated Science, music and Western education. We still shared the
same room, but talked less and less. When I joined the university, I was given a separate
room and our common link of closeness