PUSHPALATA VIDYA MANDIR

CLASS XI – ENGLISH NOTES – HORNBILL - 1. THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY

Answer the following questions in about 40 words each:

1. Why was it hard for the author to believe that the grandmother was once young
and pretty?
It was difficult for the narrator to believe that his grandmother was once young
and pretty. In fact, the thought was almost revolting. He had seen her old for
the past twenty years. He felt she could age no further. The very thought of her
playing games as a child seemed quite absurd and undignified.

2. The grandmother had a divine beauty. How does the author bring it out?
The grandmother was not pretty but had a divine beauty. She dressed in
spotless white. Her silver locks were scattered untidily over her pale, puckered
face and her lips constantly moved in an inaudible prayer. The author describes
her like the winter landscape in the mountains – a personification of serenity,
breathing peace and contentment.

3. What proofs do you find of friendship between grandmother and grandson in the
story?
The grandmother and grandson were good friends. She got him ready and
walked him to and from school. In the city, they shared a common room. The
author’s grandmother saw him off, silently, kissing on his forehead, when he
went abroad and celebrated his return five years later
4. The grandmother was a kind-hearted woman. Give examples in support of your
answer.
The grandmother was a kind-hearted woman. On her way back from school, she
would feed the village dogs with stale chappatis. In the city, when she could not
move out, she took to feeding the sparrows that came and perched on her legs,
sat on her shoulders and sometimes on her head.

5. ‘This was the turning point in our friendship’. What was the turning point?
The turning point in the friendship came when they shifted to the city. They
saw less of each other as she could neither accompany him to school nor
understand English. She did not believe in Science. She could not keep pace with
the author’s modern education that he received in the city school.

6. Draw a comparison between the author’s city school education and the village
school education.
The village school was attached to a temple and the students were taught the
alphabet and morning prayers. The author and his grandmother walked to the
school in the village. However, in the city, he went by the school bus. He was
taught Science and English but not about God. He was also taught music.

7. What was the happiest moment of the day for the grandmother?
The happiest moment of the day for the grandmother in the city was the half
hour when she fed the sparrows. They perched on her legs, her shoulders and her
head but she never shooed them away.

8. What was the last sign of physical contact between the grandmother and the
author? Why did the author think that to be the last physical contact?
The author was going abroad for five years. His grandmother kissed his
forehead. He presumed this as the last sign of physical contact between them
because he knew that his grandmother was old. He feared that she would not
survive till he returned since he was going away for five years.
9. Everybody including the sparrows mourned the grandmother’s death. Elaborate.
When the grandmother died, thousands of sparrows gathered in their courtyard.
There was no chirruping. When the author’s mother threw some bread crumbs
for them, they took no notice of the bread crumbs. They were full of grief at her
death and flew away quietly after her cremation.

10. Describe the narrator’s grandfather as he looked in his portrait.

In the portrait, the grandfather was dressed in 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 looked grandfatherly to the author - someone who
could never have been young. To the narrator, the man looked as if he had lots
and lots of grandchildren.

11. How does the narrator describe the grandmother?

The narrator describes his grandmother as short, old, fat and slightly bent. To
him she looked the same for twenty years. It was difficult for him to imagine
her young and pretty. But he found her beauty in her old age, like the serene
winter landscape.
12. How does the author react to the idea of the grandmother being young at a
point of time and playing games?
The grandmother often told her grandson about the games she played as a child.
Her stories looked quite funny. According to him she looked childish because he
could only look at her as a terribly old woman who could never have been young
and pretty. The narrator did not take her very seriously.

13. Why was the grandmother unhappy with the city education?
The grandmother was unhappy about the city education as her grandson was
taught words and things of western Science and learning. There was no
teaching about God and the scriptures which made her unhappy. She did not like
the music lessons which were given in the city school. According to her music
was not meant for gentle folk. It had lewd association for her.

Answer the following:

1. Mention the three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother
before he left the country to study abroad.
The three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he
left the country to study abroad were:
a. Admiration and friendship – The author admired his grandmother and
described her as the winter landscape in the mountains, an expanse of pure
white serenity breathing peace and contentment. They were good friends. She
waited for him while he was in school and then walked him back.
b. Growing distance – She could not accompany him to school as he went in the
school bus. He was now in an English school, where they taught Science. She
could not understand English and did not believe in science. The fact that they
were not taught about God and the scriptures, made her unhappy. Khushwant
Singh’s learning music in school made her upset as she felt it was not meant for
gentle folk. Her communication with him deteriorated further.
c. Wide gulf – When he went to the university, he got a separate room and even
the last link of a shared room was snapped. The grandmother kept to her
spinning wheel, rarely talking to anyone.

2. List the three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when he
started going to the city school.
The three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when he went
to the city school were:
(a) She did not believe in the things they were taught at the English school.
(b) She was distressed that they were not taught about God and the scriptures.
(c) She was very disturbed about the fact that he was being given music
lessons. To her, music was not meant for gentle folk.

3. What are the 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 were:
(a) She was resigned to her loneliness and did not interact much with the
author.
(b) She rarely left her spinning wheel to talk to anyone.
(c) From sunrise to sunset, she sat by her wheel, spinning and reciting prayers.
(d) In the afternoon, she relaxed for a while to feed the sparrows.

4. How did the author’s grandmother behave just before she died?
Unlike the doctors who believed that she would recover, the grandmother
knew that her end was near. She said, since there were only a few hours left
before the close of the chapter of her life, she had omitted to pray. She was
not going to waste any more time talking to them. She ignored the family’s
protests to make her talk. She lay peacefully in her bed praying and telling her
beads till her lips stopped moving and the rosary fell from her lifeless fingers.

5. How did the sparrows express their sorrow when the author’s grandmother died?
When the grandmother died, thousands of sparrows gathered and sat in the
courtyard where she was laid in state. There was no chirruping. When the
author’s mother threw some bread crumbs for them, they took no notice of
them. They were full of grief at her death and flew away quietly after the
cremation. The bread crumbs had to be swept away the next day.

6. The author’s grandmother was a religious person. What are the different
ways in which we come to know this?
The narrator recalls his grandmother as a very religious person. In his earliest
memories he recalls her hobbling about the house telling the beads of her
rosary. As she bathed him, she said her morning prayer, hoping that he, too,
would learn it. While he studied in school, she read scriptures inside the temple.
Once the narrator went to the university, he and his grandmother drifted apart.
She rarely left her spinning-wheel to talk to anyone. From sunrise to sunset,
she sat by her wheel, spinning and reciting prayers. The narrator recalls that
even during the last few hours, she spent all her time praying.
7. Describe the changing relationship between the author and his grandmother. Did
their feelings for each other change?
When the author was a young boy, his parents shifted to the city leaving him
with his grandmother. They were good friends and spent all their time together.
She woke him to each morning, bathed him, dressed him, plastered his wooden
slate, gave him breakfast and walked him to school. While he sat in the veranda
learning, the grandmother sat inside the temple reading scriptures. When they
had both finished, they would walk back together.

But once they went to the city, there was a turning point in their friendship.
The only thing that remained unchanged was their common bedroom. She could
not accompany him to school as he went by the school bus. He now went to
an English school, where they taught western Science. She could not
understand English and did not believe in science. The fact that they were not
taught about God made her unhappy. His learning music in school made her feel
worse. When he went to the university, he got a separate room and this
snapped off their ties even further. This was not deliberate but the demands of
the situation had this effect. However, their feeling for each other never
changed. When the writer was going abroad, she went to the railway station to
see him off but did not speak a word, only kissed his forehead. The writer
cherished this as their last physical contact as he was going away for five
years. When he returned, she was delighted to see him back. In the evening,
she, for whom music had lewd associations, collected women from the
neighbourhood and beat the drum and sang for hours of the homecoming of the
warriors. For the first time, she missed her prayers to celebrate the author’s
homecoming. The next day, she developed a mild fever and died. It was almost
as if she had been waiting for the author’s return.

8. Would you agree that the author’s grandmother was a person strong in
character? If yes, give instances that show this.
Khushwant Singh’s grandmother was a strong woman whom he loved and
admired. When his parents went to the city, she took charge of him. In the city,
although she disapproved of certain things that he was taught in school, she did
not express it. She had the inner strength to withdraw quietly. The writer also
recalls, with pleasure, the moments when he was going aboard. She went to
the railway station to see him off but did not talk or show any emotion. Her
lips moved in prayer and she kissed his forehead silently. The strength of her
character was also evident during the last few days of her life. She knew that
her end was near. She said that she was not going to waste any more time
talking to them. She ignored their protests and lay peacefully in bed praying and
telling her beads till the last moment. A peaceful pallor spread on her face and
they knew that she was dead.

9. Have you known someone like the author’s grandmother? Do you feel the same
sense ofloss with regard to someone whom you have loved and lost?
The death of a grandparent is probably one of the worst things that can happen
to a child. Facing death can be sad or frightening to anyone, but as a child, it
seems all the more difficult to cope with all the pain, grief and confusion. I
experienced this as a child of six when I lost my grandfather.
My parents, too, were undergoing a trauma but they were almost oblivious to
my grief. They did not realise that although I did not fully understand the
finality of death, I felt miserable. I went through intense and confusing
emotions. The adults were avoiding the death issue. They felt I was too young
to understand the finality of death. For me, first it was a shock, then denial, as
I couldn’t accept what had happened. Then, I was angry and finally sadness and
depression engulfed me. I wanted to withdraw from the world, not wanting to
see or speak to anyone, or do anything.

For days I wanted to look through my grandfather’s belongings. I would sit in

his room for hours. Perhaps, subconsciously, it was my way of reaching out to
him. There were times when I thought I would never enjoy life the same way
again. Later, I learnt that this is a natural reaction after a loss. “Time is the
best healer” say people but I feel it only covers the hurt. The loss of a dear one
stays with you forever.

10. “Religion was the dominant feature of her life.” Comment on this statement in
regard to Khushwant Singh’s grandmother as projected in ‘The Portrait of a Lady’.
The first introduction of the grandmother made by the author depicts her
telling the beads of her rosary with her lips muttering an inaudible prayer. As
the custodian of her grandchild in the village, she said her morning prayers
while engaged in the task of bathing and dressing her grandson. While her
grandson studied, the grandmother studied the scriptures. She also disapproved
of the education at the English school because of the absence of religious
instructions. In her last moments, she detached herself from her immediate
family and preferred making peace with God. Besides prayers, she was given to
animal care, by feeding stray dogs at the temple door and sparrows in the city
home. Thus, her religion stepped beyond ritual to one of showing kindness to
the tiniest creatures of God. Indeed, the grandmother was religious in body and
spirit.

11. Explain how the title ‘The Portrait of a Lady’ suits the writing.
‘The Portrait of a Lady’ by Khushwant Singh is a remembrance of his
grandmother. Here a portrait is mentioned, but it was the portrait of the
author’s grandfather. In writing, we find no mention of a picture or photograph
of the author’s grandmother. But the writing itself has become a portrait of her.
The author didn’t describe her grandmother as a specific person; rather, he
stated that she was like everyone else’s grandmother. His relationship with her
was also a common one between grandparents and grandchildren. But, the
simplicity of it touches the reader’s heart. The details of his memories with his
grandmother and her personality vividly depict a caring grandparent. We can
know about her personality from the writing. Thus, her picture gets embodied
before our eyes due to the author’s description. He didn’t mention her name but
represented a woman who strongly adhered to her faith and views. Thus, the
lady we study in the story becomes more than a relative of the author. Instead,
we learn about a strong older woman who was kind, religious and loved her
family. So, the title ‘The Portrait of a Lady’ perfectly suits the writing.

*****
CHECKED & APPROVED BY
MS. BLISS BERNARD