HORNBILL – Prose

CHAPTER
THE

1 PORTRAIT
OF A LADY

Introduction
The Portrait of a Lady is an autobiography by Khushwant Singh. It is a perception of Khushwant Scan to know
more about
Singh’s grandmother. Khushwant Singh recalls his grandmother as an eternally old lady. She this topic
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 games were like fairy tales to him.
Summary

Summary
Appearance of Grandmother
She was short, fat and slightly stooped in stature. Her silvery white hair used to scatter on her Scan to know
more about
wrinkled face. Khushwant Singh remembers her hobbling around the house in spotless white this topic
clothes with one hand resting on her waist to balance her stoop and the other busy in telling the
beads of her rosary.
Religious and Kind Hearted
Her lips constantly moved in inaudible prayers. Possibly she was not beautiful in worldly sense Pen-Portrait of
but she looked extremely beautiful with the peacefulness, serenity and the contentment her Grand Mother
countenance displayed.
Life in Village
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.
Turning Point in the Relationship
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. Scan to know
Here the role of his grandmother in his bringing up was curtailed a little bit. Now, she could not more about
this topic
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 Characterisation
thing in her opinion. To her music was not meant for gentle folk. It was meant for beggars and
prostitutes only. She highly disapproved this and as she could not change it, she was dismayed and withdrew
 112 Oswaal CBSE Question Bank Chapterwise & Topicwise, ENGLISH CORE, Class-XI

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 the school, Khushwant went to a university. He was given a separate room. The common link of
their friendship was snapped. His grandmother confined herself to a self-imposed 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. As 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 character. She had 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 still more time
in prayers and spinning the wheel.
Pastime in City
Feeding the birds, spinning the wheel and saying her prayers in city 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 neighbourhood, 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
her bed praying and telling the beads, till her lips stopped moving and rosary fell from her lifeless fingers.
Result of Love and Affection - Sparrows Mourning her Death
To mourn her death, hundreds of sparrows flew in and sat scattered around her body in utter silence. They even
ignored the bread crumbs thrown for them. They only flew away after the corpse was carried away for last rites.

Extract Based Questions (1 mark each)

I. Read the given passage and answer the questions stoop and the other telling the beads of her rosary.
that follow : [1 × 3 = 3] Her silver locks were scattered untidily over her
My grandfather’s portrait hung above the pale, puckered face, and her lips constantly moved
mantelpiece in the drawing room. He wore a big in inaudible prayer. Yes, she was beautiful. She was
turban and loose-fitting clothes. His long, white like the winter land scape in the mountains, an
beard covered the best part of his chest and he expanse of pure white serenity breathing peace and
looked at least a hundred years old. He did not look contentment.
the sort of person who would have a wife or children. Q.1. Who is the author of these lines ?
He looked as if he could only have lots and lots of (A) Shirley Toulson (B) Nani Palkhivala
grandchildren. (C) A. R. Williams (D) Khushwant Singh
Q.1. From which story have these lines been taken ? Ans.Option (D) is correct.
(A) My grandfather Q.2. Who is being referred to here by the author ?
(B) My grandmother (A) His grandmother (B) His mother
(C) The Portrait of a Lady (C) His wife (D) His elder sister
(D) A Photograph Ans.Option (A) is correct.
Ans.Option (C) is correct. Q.3. What was the colour of the dress she used to
Q.2. Which of these characteristics of the grandfather wear ?
are shown by the photograph ? (A) Black (B) White
(A) Wore loose clothes (C) Red (D) Blue
(B) Had a long beard Ans.Option (B) is correct.
(C) Looked older than his age III. Read the given passage and answer the questions
that follow : [1 × 3 = 3]
(D) All of these
We protested. But she ignored our protests. She lay
Ans.Option (D) is correct. peacefully in bed praying and telling her beads. Even
Q.3. This chapter is primarily about the author’s before we could suspect, her lips stopped moving
(A) Grandfather (B) Grandmother and the rosary fell from her lifeless fingers.
(C) Mother (D) Children Q.1. Who is ‘we’ here ?
Ans.Option (B) is correct. (A) Author and his wife
(B) Author and his family
II. Read the given passage and answer the questions
(C) Author and his friends
that follow : [1 × 3 = 3]
(D) The village people
She hobbled about the house in spotless white
with one hand resting on her waist to balance her Ans.Option (B) is correct.
 LITERATURE : PROSE 113
Q.2. What had happened to her ? Q.1. Who does ‘she’ refer to here ?
(A) Lost consciousness (A) Grandmother
(B) Went into delirium (B) Mother
(C) Died (C) Wife
(D) None of these (D) Maid
Ans.Option (C) is correct. Ans.Option (B) is correct.
Q.3. What does ‘telling her beads’ mean ? (ii) What had happened to grandmother ?
(A) Chanting hymns (A) She had shifted to a new house
(B) Talking to beads (B) She had shifted to her ancestral house
(C) Distributing beads (C) She had moved to old age home
(D) Arranging beads as in a necklace (D) She had died
Ans.Option (A) is correct. Ans.Option (D) is correct.
(iii) What happened to the bread crumbs in the end ?
IV. Read the given passage and answer the questions
(A) Eaten by the sparrows
that follow : [1 × 3 = 3]
(B) Collected and thrown into dust bin by the
She broke it into little crumbs,the way my
author
grandmother used to, and threw it to them. The
sparrows took no notice of the bread. When we (C) Swept off by the sweeper
carried my grand mother’s corpse off, they flew (D) None of these
away quietly. Next morning the sweeper swept the Ans.Option (C) is correct.
bread crumbs into the dust bin.

Short Answer Type Questions (40-50 words & 3 marks each)

Q. 1. What stories of the grandmother did the author was terribly old. Perhaps she could not become
treat as ‘Fables’ of the Prophets? Why?(DDE 2014) older. People said that she had once been young
Ans. The author treated the stories of grandmother’s and pretty. They said that she even had a husband.
youth and beauty as fables as he had always seen The narrator found it hard to believe.
her old and he found it hard to accept that she Q. 7. Explain. “Old, so terribly old that she could not
could once be pretty and young. have grown older …. . . ”
Q. 2. Give a pen picture of narrator’s grandfather as he Ans. The grandmother looked extremely old. She
appeared in the portrait? couldn’t have grown older anymore. She looked
Ans. The narrator’s grandfather looked like a hundred the same terribly old lady for the last twenty years.
year old man in the portrait. He had a long white Q. 8. Why did the grandmother hate music?
flowing beard. It came up to his chest. It looked as Ans. The grandmother actually hated music. She
if he had lots and lots of grandchildren. thought that music was meant only for harlots and
Q. 3. Did the narrator like his grandmother telling him beggars. Music was not meant for school children
of the games she had played as a child? If not, from respectable families. It was not meant for
why? gentle folk.
Ans. The grandmother often told her grandson about Q. 9. The narrator’s grandmother looked like ‘the
the games she had played as a child. Her stories winter landscape in the mountains’. Comment.
looked quite funny. She looked childish. The Ans. The grandmother always wore spotless white
narrator didn’t take them very seriously. clothes. Her locks of hair also looked silver
Q. 4. Why did the grandmother keep one hand on her white. Her spotless white dress and silver white
waist? hair made her look like the snowy mountains in
Ans. The grandmother was very old. She was slightly winter. It is also because she exuberated peace and
bent. She had to keep one of her two hands on her tranquility like the mountains.
waist. She did so to balance her stoop. Q. 10. The grandmother had a divine beauty. How does
Q. 5. Explain. “As for my grandmother being young the author bring it out?
and pretty, the thought was almost revolting?” Ans. The grandmother’s silvery locks scattered untidily
Ans. The narrator’s grandmother was terribly old. over her pale and wrinkled face. This made her
She could not appear young and beautiful. Her look like an expanse of pure white serenity. She
face was a criss-cross of wrinkles. She was short, had a divine beauty. She looked like the winter
fat and slightly bent. The very idea of her being landscape in the mountains.
young and pretty did not appeal to the mind. Q. 11. How were the grandmother and the narrator
Q. 6. For how long had the narrator known his good and intimate friends?
grandmother ‘old and wrinkled’? What did Ans. Actually, both of them were like good and intimate
people say? How did the narrator react? friends, she woke him up early in the morning and
Ans. The narrator had known his grandmother to be got him ready for school. She gave him a breakfast
old and wrinkled for the last twenty years. She of stale bread with a little butter and sugar spread
on it. She accompanied him to his school.
114 Oswaal CBSE Question Bank Chapterwise & Topicwise, ENGLISH CORE, Class-XI

Q. 12. Why did the grandmother accompany the Q. 20. How did the grandmother react when the narrator
narrator to his school? What did she do there? decided to go abroad? Was she upset?
Ans. The grandmother accompanied her grandson Ans. The grandmother appeared to be quite normal.
to his school. Actually, the school was attached She knew that her grandson would be away
to a temple. She sat inside the temple reading for five years. She looked composed and didn’t
scriptures while he studied at the school.. They show any emotion. She came to see him off at the
came back home when the school was over. station. She kissed him lightly on his forehead
Q. 13. What did the priest teach at the village school? before departing.
Ans. The priest taught the alphabet and the morning Q. 21. Why did the narrator think that the grandmother’s
prayer at the village school. He made the students kiss was the last sign of physical contact between
stand in rows on either side. They would sing the them?
Ans. The grandmother kissed the forehead of the
alphabet and the morning prayer in a chorus.
narrator before he left for abroad. The narrator
Q. 14. Describe the feeding of village dogs by the
considered it the last sign of physical contact
grandmother. between them. He never expected his old
Ans. When the grandmother and the narrator would grandmother to live for five more years, the time
walk back home together, the village dogs met when he would be back.
them at the temple door. They followed them. The Q. 22. How did the grandmother celebrate the home
grandmother would throw chapattis to them. The coming of his grandson?
dogs would growl and fight with each other for Ans. The grandmother was really very much excited
the crumbs. and happy when the narrator returned from
Q. 15. What was the turning point in their friendship? abroad. She celebrated his arrival by collecting
Ans. The narrator’s parents brought them to the city. the women of the neighbourhood in the evening.
It was the turning point in their friendship. The She continued beating an old drum and sang for
hours. She even forgot to pray.
city life and English school made all the difference.
Q. 23. Why did the grandmother stop talking to anybody
She didn’t accompany him to his school. Nor
before her death?
could she help him in his studies. They saw less of
Ans. The old lady fell ill. She had a mild fever. The
each other now. doctor told them that she would be all right soon.
Q. 16. What opinion did the grandmother form of the But the grandmother declared that her end was
English school in the city? near. She had forgotten to pray the last evening.
Ans. The grandmother didn’t like the English school in She was not going to waste any more time talking
the city. She was sad as they didn’t teach anything to them.
about God and scriptures at the school. Nor was Q. 24. Why didn’t the sparrows take any notice of the
she interested in Science. She hated music lessons bread crumbs thrown to them? How would you
given in the school. explain their strange behaviour at the death of
Q. 17. How was the common link of friendship between the grandmother?
the grandmother and the grandson snapped? Ans. The sparrows expressed their grief at the death of
Ans. When the narrator’s family shifted to the city, the grandmother. They sat around her dead body
mourning her death. They didn’t chirp. Nor did
the grandmother couldn’t accompany him to the
they touch the bread crumbs thrown to them by
school as she used to do in the village. Now he the narrator’s mother. They flew away quietly
would go by motor bus. She was not able to help when the dead body was carried off.
the grandson in his studies also. Thus the common Q. 25. How did the sparrows mourn the death of the
link between their friendship snapped. grandmother? (NCT 2008)
Q. 18. Draw a comparison between village school Ans. The sparrows joined the mourning along with
education and city school education. other family members. They sat in hundreds
Ans. Elementary education was given in the village around her dead body. They didn’t chirp. Nor did
they touch the crumbs of bread thrown to them.
school. The pupils were taught alphabet and
They flew away quietly when the dead body was
multiplication tables. It was quite simple confined carried off for cremation.
to reading, writing and arithmetic. In the city Q. 26. What is the significance of sparrows in
school, English, Science and Music were taught.
grandmothers life? [KVS Agra 2017]
Unlike the village school there was no teaching
Ans. When grandmother shifted to the city, she spent
about God and the scriptures. half an hour everyday feeding the sparrows. The
Q. 19. What were the happiest moments of the day for birds became very friendly with her and came
the grandmother? everyday in the verandah of her house. It was the
Ans. The grandmother would sit in the verandah happiest hour of the day. When she died after her
breaking the bread into little bits for the sparrows. short illness, hundreds of sparrows flew in the
verandah and sat near her body. They were quiet
Hundreds of sparrows would gather around her.
and not chirping . They even ignored the bread
They would perch on her legs, shoulders and even
crumbs given by the author’s mother. In this way
on the head. It was the happiest half-an-hour of they expressed their grief and their bonding with
the day for her. the grandmother.
 LITERATURE : PROSE 115
Q. 27. What does Khushwant Singh describe in ‘The Ans. Two instances that show the grandmother’s
Portrait of a Lady’? patience are :
Ans. In ‘The Portrait of a Lady’ Khushwant Singh
draws a pen picture of his grandmother. He (a) When she fed the sparrows,the birds used to sit on
describes how he spent his childhood with her her head but she never shooed them away.
in the village. He also describes the changes that (b) She did not become upset when the author went
came in their mutual relationship in the city.
Q.28. Grandmother never complained about anything. abroad for higher education. She accepted the
Her patience was beyond any measure. Mention decision in a calm and composed manner.
any two instances.
[KVS Ahmedabad Q 2016]

Long Answer Type Questions (120-150 words & 6 marks each)

Q. 1. Describe the friendship between Khushwant completely dependent on her. But soon, a turning
Singh and his grandmother. point came in their relationship. His parents
Ans. Khushwant Singh’s grandmother was closely called them to the city. He went to an English
involved in bringing him up when the author school by bus. The grandmother’s role was now
lived with her in the village during his early life.
marginalized. She couldn’t accompany him to
She used to wake him up early in the morning.
While bathing and dressing him, she sang her school as she did in the village. Nor could she
prayers, she hoped that the young boy would help him in his studies. She had no knowledge
learn it by heart. She then gave him breakfast–a of English and Science. She hated music. She was
stale chapati with butter and sugar. Then, they very sad that they gave lessons in music at the
would go together to the temple and school. While school. She rarely talked to him after that.
the author learnt his lesson, the grandmother would The narrator went to university. It separated them.
read holy books. They returned home together. A They now saw less of each other. In the end, she
turning point came in their friendship when his accepted her loneliness quietly. She didn’t show
parents called them to city. Although, they shared any emotion when he left for abroad. So she
a room, she could not help him much. She hated accepted this separation without any complaints
music, science and western education. The common or regrets.
link of their friendship was gradually snapped. Q. 4. What image of the grandmother emerges from
Q.2. Draw a character sketch of Khushwant Singh’s “The Portrait of a Lady”?
grandmother as portrayed by him in the lesson Ans. Khushwant Singh’s grandmother has been
‘The Portrait of a Lady’. (NCT, 2007) portrayed as a very old lady. She was short
Ans. The narrator’s grandmother was a true picture statured, fat and slightly bent. Her face was
of love, affection and care. She had all those wrinkled and she was always dressed in spotless
virtues which grandmother’s generally have for white clothes. She was a deeply religious lady. Her
their grandsons. She was highly religious but a lips were always moving in a silent prayer. She
conservative lady. was always telling the beads of her rosary. She
The grandmother presented a picture of peace went to the temple and read the scriptures.
and contentment. Her spotless white dress and The grandmother was a kind lady. She used to feed
her silver white hair gave her spiritual beauty. The dogs in the village. In the city she fed the sparrows.
She had a great affection for her grandson. She
grandmother was not physically very attractive.
looked after him in the village. She could not
She had deep love and affection for her grandson.
adjust herself to the western way of life, Science
She got him ready for school. She accompanied and English education. She hated music and was
him to his school and came back home with him. distressed to know that there was no teaching
She was a very religious lady. She was always about God and holy books at Khushwant’s new
telling the beads of her rosary. English school. On the whole, she was a nice, kind
She had compassion even for animals and birds. hearted and religious lady.
She fed the village dogs. She took to feeding the Q. 5. The grandmother herself was not formally
sparrows in the city. But the grandmother was educated but was serious about the author’s
a conservative lady. She didn’t like the English education. How does the text support this?
language and Science. She hated music. She Ans. The grandmother was quite serious about the
associated music with prostitutes and beggars. author’s education. She woke him up in the
Q. 3. Describe how the common bond of friendship morning and got him ready for school. She
was broken when the narrator’s parents called washed his wooden slate. She plastered it with
yellow chalk. She tied his earthen ink-pot and
them in the city.
red pen into a bundle. She took him to school. He
Ans. The narrator and his grandmother had developed
studied in school and she waited for him. She read
a unique relationship in the village. He was the scriptures.
116 Oswaal CBSE Question Bank Chapterwise & Topicwise, ENGLISH CORE, Class-XI

In the city, the author went to an English school in life she led in the city. Highlight her concern for
a motor bus. When he came back, she would ask her grandson’s education.
him what the teacher had taught him. She could Ans. The grandmother was used to the life of village.
not help him with his lessons. She did not believe in She got up early in the morning. She woke her
the things, being taught at the English school. She grandson up and got him ready for school. She
was distressed to learn that her grandson was was very much concerned about the education of
being taught music. She considered it unfit for the narrator. She accompanied him to his school.
gentle folk. She sat in the temple reading the scriptures. She
was friendly even to the village dogs and fed them
Q. 6. The ‘Portrait’ generally means a painting, a
regularly.
drawing or a photograph but here it implies
The city life and its culture didn’t suit her. She was
a representation or impression of someone
a religious lady. She was quite conservative in her
in language. Draw a pen picture of your
thinking. The English school, English language
grandparents describing the qualities in them
and Science were foreign to her. She was upset
which you admire and appreciate the most.
to know that they didn’t teach about God and
Ans. It is well said that grandparents are the pillars the scriptures at the school. She hated music.
of a family and I am lucky enough that my She didn’t like music lessons being given at the
grandparents are still alive. They live in our native new school. She felt lonely when he went up to
village. My grandfather is about 70 years old and university and then abroad. But she had accepted
grandmother is about 65. My grandfather served her loneliness silently. 5
in the army before he retired as a colonel. He is still
Q. 9. Suppose you are Khushwant Singh. Your
active and smart. He has a strong will power and
grandmother dies just after your returning from
manliness in the way he carries himself. He is fond
abroad. Write a letter to your friend describing
of walking and jogging. He looks after the family
him the end of the great lady. Don’t forget to
farm and briefs the workers every morning. In the
evening he asks each one of them to report the include the strange behaviour of the sparrows at
progress and work done. He believes in trusting her death.
people. My grandmother is a bit fat and small. Ans. 26, Mirza Ismail Road,
She is deeply religious. She visits the temple every Jaipur
morning. She supervises the household work and 20th August 20XX
activities. She helps the poor and the needy. She is Dear Ramesh,
kind, generous and hospitable. My grandparents You will be grieved to know that the grand old
visit us in the city on important days such as lady of our family is no more. She took her last
birthdays or marriage anniversaries, etc. We spend breath on last Sunday. She died just three days
a part of our holidays with them. Their company is after I returned from Germany. Actually, she had
a blessing to us. overstrained herself. She gathered all the ladies of
Q. 7. Imagine that you are Khushwant Singh. Record the neighbourhood in the evening on the day of
the changes that have come in your relationship my arrival. She continued thumping an old drum
with your grandmother as you grew up from a singing the home coming of the heroes. That day
kid to a university student. she was so much excited that she forgot even
Ans. During my school days and boyhood days, I lived to pray. The next morning she fell ill. She knew
with my grandmother in the village. She used to that her end was near. She lay peacefully in bed.
wake me up in the morning and prepare me for She was praying and telling her beads. Her lips
the school. She accompanied me to school. She stopped and rosary fell from her lifeless hands.
treated me as a friend. There was a turning point She was dead. In this way ended the life history of
in our friendship when my parents called us to the a great and noble soul.
city. At that time I was going to an English school A strange thing happened. Hundreds of sparrows
in the motor bus. I was taught English, Science sat scattered over the floor near her dead body.
and Music. She could not help me in my studies. There was no chirruping. Grandmother used to
She hated Science, Music and Western Education.
feed them everyday in the afternoon. My mother
We still shared the same room, but talked very less
broke some bread into little crumbs. She threw
comparatively. When I joined the university. I was
the crumbs to them. They took no notice of the
given a separate room and our common link of
bread. The moment the corpse was carried out,
intimacy was finally snapped.
the sparrows flew away quietly.
Q. 8. Draw a contrast of the life the narrator’s
grandmother spent in the village with the kind of Yours sincerely
Khushwant Singh

NCERT Corner
Understanding the text the country to study abroad. (DDE 2014)
Ans. There was a great understanding between the
Q. 1. Mention the three phases of the author’s author and his grandmother when they lived
relationship with his grandmother before he left in a village but the thread was snapped when
 LITERATURE : PROSE 117
they shifted to the city. Their relationship can be Talking about the text
divided into three phases :
(a) The first phase was when the author lived with Q. 1. The author’s grandmother was a religious person.
his grandmother in the village after his parents What are the different ways in which we come to
went to the city. Both of them spent maximum know this? [KVS, Guwahati, 2016]
time together. His grandmother took great care of Or
him. She helped him in all his chores starting form
waking him up in the morning to taking him to The author’s grandmother was a religious person.
school. Give three instances to substantiate. (KVS, 2007)
(b) The second phase of their relationship began Ans. The author’s grandmother used to read religious
when they shifted to the city. The grandmother scriptures sitting in the temple. She said morning
did not go to school with him as he went to school prayers in a sing song manner while she bathed
by bus. She could not help him in his studies. and dressed the author for the school. She would
Though they both shared the some room, yet the go to the temple with the author. When they
bond of friendship was not the same. She didn’t moved to the city, she would always chant the
talk to him much and didn’t say anything after the prayers and was always busy telling the beads of
music lessons started. She was disturbed as she her rosary the beads. Thus, from these incidents
felt that music had lewd connotations. we can say that the author’s grandmother was a
religious person.
(c) Then came the third phase of their life when the
Q. 2. Describe the changing relationship between the
author went to the university. Both of them didn’t
author and his grandmother. Did their feelings
share the same room at that time. The grandmother
for each other change?
accepted her seclusion with resignation.
Ans. The relationship between the author and his
Q. 2. Mention three reasons why the author’s
grandmother changed when they were called
grandmother was disturbed when he started
to the city. The author joined the school but she
going to the city school.
remained confined to the home. Then, the author
Or
went to university and then went abroad. Their
Why was grandmother unhappy with the city feelings for each other did not change though
education? distances grew between them.
Ans. Grandmother was unhappy with the city Q. 3. Would you agree that the author’s grandmother
education as her grandson was taught words and was a person, strong in character? If yes, give
things of western science and learning. There was instances that show this.
no teaching about God and the scriptures which
Ans. Yes, it is a fact that she was strong in character.
made her unhappy. She didn’t like the music
• She was religious and had certain ideas about life.
lessons also which were given in the city school as
She was a picture of contentment.
music, according to her, was not meant for gentle
folk. It had lewd association for her. • She had her own thoughts about learning at
school. She considered the teaching of scriptures
Q. 3. Mention three ways in which the author’s
to be more fruitful than science and music.
grandmother spent her days before he grew up.
• In her phase of loneliness and seclusion, she took
Ans. (i) She worked on the spinning wheel from
to wheel spinning and feeding sparrows rather
morning till evening.
than groaning or crying.
(ii) She recited her prayers while working on the
• She appeared composed and didn’t display any
spinning wheel.
emotion when the author decided to go abroad
(iii) She sat in the verandah for a while and fed the
for studies.
sparrows
• To celebrate the home-coming of her grandson,
Q.4. Mention the odd way in which the author’s
she sang for several hours without taking heed of
grandmother behaved just before she died.
others’ advice.
(MSE, 2008) • During the last few hours of her life, ignoring
Ans. Before she died, a change came over her. She the protests of her family members, she stopped
collected the women of the neighbourhood, took talking to everyone and took to reciting prayers
a broken drum and sang of the home-coming of and telling her beads.
the warriors the whole day. She did not pray that Q. 4. Have you known someone like the author’s
day which used to be her daily routine. grandmother? Do you feel the same sense of loss
Q. 5. Mention the ways in which the sparrows with regard to someone whom you have loved
expressed their sorrow when the author’s and lost?
grandmother died. Ans. Yes, the author’s grandmother reminds me of my
Ans. The sparrows expressed their sorrow by sitting in own grandmother who loved me a lot. She too was
the verandah and mourning while grandmother’s adorable. Like Khushwant Singh’s grandmother,
dead body lay there. They did not chirp. Author’s she was also a religious lady who believed in
mother threw some pieces of bread but they did praying all the time and serving the poor. She had
not eat them. When they carried grandmother’s a great love for dogs. We own a dog whom she
corpse, they flew away quietly. loved very much and made it a point to feed him
118 Oswaal CBSE Question Bank Chapterwise & Topicwise, ENGLISH CORE, Class-XI

at the right time. I lost her two years back but the Locate these phrases in text and notice the way
sense of loss is still there. She always helped me in they are used.
doing my homework and gave me unique ideas
for my projects. I would have never faced any Ans. For self-attempt.
problem if my grandmother had been around. I Q. 3. The word ‘hobble’ means to walk with difficulty
wish she had a longer life. because the legs and feet are in bad condition.
Working with Words Tick the words in the box below that also refer to
a manner of walking :
Q. 1. Notice the following uses of the word ‘tell’ in the
text. haggle shuffle stride ride waddle
(i) Her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary. wriggle paddle swagger trudge slog
(ii) I would tell her English words and little things of Ans. These words are : shuffle, stride, ride, waddle,
Western science and learning. wriggle, paddle, swagger, trudge, slog.
(iii) At her age one could never tell.
(iv) She told us that her end was near.
Commonly Made Errors
Given below are four different sense of the word
‘tell‘ Match the meanings to the uses listed above. The most commonly made errors pertain to
(i) make something known to someone in spoken or grammar and spellings.
written words The second most commonly made errors
(ii) count while reciting pertain to the wrong interpretation of the plot-
structure and the character sketches.
(iii) be sure
(iv) give information to somebody.
Ans.
Answering Tips
(i) telling the beads — count while reciting
(ii) tell her — give information to somebody Read the story thoroughly—more than once, if
(iii) one could never tell — be sure necessary—to grasp the gist.
(iv) told us — make something known to someone in Do not rely only on summary.
spoken or written words. Note the character traits of both the major and
Q. 2. Notice the different senses of the word ‘take’. the minor characters.
Find out the context of the story. This will help
(i) to take to something : to being to do something as
you to understand the sub-themes.
a habit.
Focus on the narrative style of the story.
(ii) to take ill : to suddenly become ill.

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 POETRY

CHAPTER

6 A
PHOTOGRAPH

—
Introduction
The poet describes her feelings about the photographs of her mother taken when she was twelve years or so. She
feels that human life is short lived. It is ever changing. A human being grows older and older. The memories of
the past make us sad. The poet feels how her mother twenty or thirty years later would comment on it. But in the
event of her death, there is silence only.

Summary
Scene in the Photograph
The poet states that the cardboard frame shows a photograph of how it was when they went out to the sea. Their
uncle took a photograph of her mother and her two cousins. They stood on the beach and were dressed in beach
clothes which they used to wear in those days. They stood still and smiled. Her mother’s face was sweet before she
(poetess) was born.
Prediction of the Future
The poet reminisces that after twenty-thirty years her mother would have laughed at the photo. She would have
asked Betty and Dolly how they dressed for the sea beach. The sea holiday became her past and her death became
past for the poetess.
Present Truthfulness of the Photograph
The poet’s mother had been dead for nearly twenty-thirty years. There is nothing to say about the situation given
in the photograph. There is silence and stillness only.

Explanation of the Poem

Stanza 1
The cardboard shows me how it was
Scan to know
When the two girl cousins went paddling more about
this topic
Each one holding one of my mother’s hands,
And she the big girl - some twelve years or so.
All three stood still to smile through their hair
At the uncle with the camera, A sweet face A Photograph
My mother’s, that was before I was born
And the sea, which appears to have changed less
Washed their terribly transient feet.
Explanation : The poet looks at the photograph of her mother, which was taken when her mother was twelve years
old. The mother had gone for a sea holiday with her cousins Betty and Dolly and while they were paddling, her
uncle took a photograph of them.
146 Oswaal CBSE Question Bank Chapterwise & Topicwise, ENGLISH CORE, Class-XI

Each of the cousins was holding the hands of the poet’s mother who was the eldest among them. All three of them
stood smiling through their hair while the photo was taken. Her mother had a sweet face. AIl this happened before
she was born. Years fled past. Her mother grew up into an adult. They all underwent changes, while the sea stood
still and seemed unaltered despite the passage of time.
Stanza 2
Some twenty- thirty- years later
She’d laugh at the snapshot. “See Betty
And Dolly,” she’d say, “and look how they
Dressed us for the beach.” The sea holiday
was her past, mine is her laughter. Both wry
With the laboured ease of loss.
Explanation : After about twenty or thirty years, the poet’s mother would look at the photograph, laughing
nostalgically and remembering the past. She would comment on the dress worn by her cousins Betty and Dolly
and herself. The sea holiday belonged to the past of her mother and the poet still remembers how her mother
would laugh looking at the snapshot.
The smile Shirley Toulson’s mother had on her face when she thought of her past (the sea holiday) and Shirley’s
thoughts when she recalls her mother’s laughter, both, seem to be wry i.e., filled with dry or sad amusement for a
time that was happier but cannot be re-lived.
For the poet, both these (the photograph and her memories of her mother) bring great sadness and an acute sense
of loss. However, time has been a healer of sorts. Although the sense of loss that may never go away completely,
with time, she has come to accept this eventuality of life.
Stanza 3
Now she’s has been dead nearly as many years
As that girl lived. And of this circumstance
There is nothing to say at all,
Its silence silences.
Explanation : She has been able to come to terms with her mother’s demise. Her mother died about 12 years ago
and now, the poet has nothing to say about this circumstance. It leaves her sad and yet at ease. It leaves her in pain,
but with acceptance. The photograph is silent and leaves her silent as well.
The three stanzas depict three different phases. The first stanza refers to the childhood of the poet’s mother. The
second stanza refers to the poet’s childhood when her mother was an adult. The last stanza refers to the poet’s
adulthood when she is not with her mother.
Nature is permanent while human life is temporary or transient. The poet uses a transferred epithet (terribly
transient feet) in order to make this comparison and highlight the terribly short-lived life of her mother.

Poetic Devices
Allusion : the cardboard’s lack of durability hints at the lack of permanence of human life.
Transferred Epithet : ‘Terribly transient feet’. Human life itself is temporary not the feet.
(When the adjective for one noun like life is transferred to another noun like feet, it is called transferred epithet.)
Alliteration : ‘terribly transient feet’. It is also alliteration due to the repetition of the ‘t’ sound
‘silence surrounds us’ (sound of s has been repeated).
Oxymoron : Laboured ease of loss. The coming together of two opposite ideas to describe the same entity.
‘Laboured’ and ‘easy’ are opposite words describing the same entity ‘loss’.
Personification : ‘Silence surrounds us’. The situation has been given the human quality.

Important Points
One must first explain what a poetic device is, such as simile, metaphor, allusion and so on, and then explain
their usage in the context of the poem.
Please understand clearly that the expression
‘Some twenty — thirty — years later
She’d laugh at the snapshot’ implies that had the poet’s mother lived that long after the day the photograph
was taken, then she would have nostalgically expressed her feelings. However, in reality, she did not live that
long. There is a difference between ‘would have’ and ‘had’
In Modern English, both male and female poets are referred to as ‘poets’ and the word ‘poetess’ is obsolete.
Similarly, the words ‘actor’ and ‘author’ are also gender-neutral in current usage.
 LITERATURE : POETRY 147

Extract Based Questions (1 mark each)

I. Read the given lines and choose the correct answer: (B) They were smiling because they were happy
[1 × 3 = 3] to be at the sea.
The cardboard shows me how it was (C) They were smiling because they were having
When the two girl cousins went paddling. fun.
Q.1. What does ‘the cardboard’ in the poem refer to ? (D) All of these.
(A) A scenery (B) A photograph Ans.Option (D) is correct.
(C) A box (D) A painting Q.3. Who was taking the photograph ?
Ans.Option (B) is correct. (A) Poet
Q.2. Who were two girl cousins ? (B) Poet’s uncle
(A) Poet’s cousins (C) Uncle of poet’s mother
(B) Poet and her cousin (D) Poet’s brother
(C) Poet’s mother’s cousin Ans.Option (C) is correct.
(D) Poet’s mother and her cousin IV. Read the given lines and choose the correct answer :
Ans.Option (C) is correct. [1 × 3 = 3]
Q.3. Who is the poet of these lines ? A sweet face :
My mother’s that was before I was born.
(A) Shirley Toulson (B) Ted Hughes
Q.1. What is poet referring as ‘a sweet face’ ?
(C) Walt Whit man (D) Markus Natten
(A) Poet is referring to her mother’s photo graph
Ans.Option (A) is correct. with her cousins.
II. Read the given lines and choose the correct answer : (B) Poet is referring to her mother in front of her.
[1 × 3 = 3] (C) Poet is referring to her mother’s cousin.
Each one holding one of my mother’s hands (D) None of the above
And she the big girl–some twelve years or so. Ans.Option (A) is correct.
Q.1. Who are holding poet’s mother’s hand ? Q.2. When was the photograph taken ?
(A) Poet’s sisters (A) Before the birth of poet
(B) Poet’s cousins (B) At the time of birth of poet
(C) Poet’s mother’s cousins (C) After the birth of poet
(D) Poet’s brothers (D) After graduation of poet
Ans.Option (C) is correct. Ans.Option (A) is correct.
Q.2. Where are the girls at that moment ? Q.3. How has the poet described his mother’s face ?
(A) They are in the swimming pool. (A) Sad (B) Ugly
(B) They are at home. (C) Sweet (D) Pleasant
(C) They are in the sea. Ans.Option (C) is correct.
(D) They are in the bus. V. Read the given lines and choose the correct answer :
Ans.Option (C) is correct. [1 × 3 = 3]
Q.3. From which poem have these lines been taken ? And the sea, which appears to have changed less,
(A) Childhood Washed their terribly transient feet
(B) The Voice of the Rain Q.1. What does ‘terribly transient feet’ refer to ?
(C) The Laburnum Top (A) Feet are terrible and the joy is for short time.
(D) A Photograph (B) They have short time to enjoy at the sea.
Ans.Option (D) is correct. (C) The feet have become terrible in a short period
of time.
III. Read the given lines and choose the correct answer :
(D) Human life itself is temporary not the feet.
[1 × 3 = 3]
Ans.Option (D) is correct.
All three stood to smile through their hair
At the uncle with the camera. Q.2. Which figure of speech is used in ‘terribly
transient feet’ ?
Q.1. Who are ‘all three’ in the poem ?
(A) Alliteration (B) Transferred Epithet
(A) Poet’s sisters
(C) Personification (D) Both (A) and (B)
(B) Poet’s mother and her cousins
Ans.Option (D) is correct.
(C) Poet’s cousins and their mother
Q.3. What has not changed much ?
(D) Poet’s mother and poet’s sisters (A) Poet’s mother
Ans.Option (B) is correct. (B) Poet’s mother’s cousins
Q.2. Why were they smiling ? (C) Poet’s mother’s uncle
(A) They were smiling because they were posing (D) Sea
for the photograph.
Ans.Option (D) is correct.
148 Oswaal CBSE Question Bank Chapterwise & Topicwise, ENGLISH CORE, Class-XI

VI. Read the given lines and choose the correct answer : (C) Batty and Delia (D) Bretty and Dolly
[1 × 3 = 3] Ans.Option (A) is correct.
Some twenty- thirty- years later
7. Read the given lines and choose the correct answer :
She’d laugh at the snapshot
[1 × 3 = 3]
Q.1. Why would ‘she‘ laugh at the snapshot ? “See Betty And Dolly,” she’d say,
(A) She would laugh by remembering her past. “and look how they Dressed us for the beach.”
(B) She would laugh by remembering the fun she Q.1. Who are ‘Betty and Dolly’ in the poem ?
had on that day. (A) Poet’s sisters
(C) She would laugh by noticing the change in (B) Poet’s cousins
them over the years.
(C) Poet’s mother’s cousins
(D) All of these
(D) Poet’s friends
Ans.Option (D) is correct.
Ans.Option (C) is correct.
Q.2. When was the photograph taken ?
Q.2. How would ‘she’ have felt about the dress of the
(A) When the poet’s mother had gone to visit her people in the photograph ?
cousins.
(A) She wouldn’t be happy.
(B) When the poet’s mother and her cousins met
(B) She would be happy.
in a wedding.
(C) She would be amused.
(C) When the poet’s mother and her cousins went
to sea for a holiday. (D) None of the above
(D) When the poet and her cousins went to sea for Ans.Option (C) is correct.
a holiday. Q.3. Who is ‘she’ in these lines ?
Ans.Option (C) is correct. (A) Poet (B) Poet’s mother
Q.3. What are the names of the cousins ? (C) Poet’s uncle (D) Poet’s sister
(A) Betty and Dolly (B) Bets and Dols Ans.Option (B) is correct.

Short Answer Type Questions (40-50 words & 3 marks each)

Q. 1. What do you learn about the poetess’ mother looked beautiful with a sweet face. It was before
from ‘A Photograph’? (KVS, 2007) the poet’s was born. The sea seemed to be washing
Ans. The poetess’s mother was a big girl at the age their feet which are subject to death. However, the
of twelve. She had a sweet face and enjoyed sea appeared not to have changed.
swimming as well as wading in sea water with her Q. 5. ‘And of the circumstance’ thus nothing to say at
cousins. Years later she would have laughed at the all. Its silence silences’ says the poetess’s in ‘A
clothes they had put on for the sea holiday. Photograph. ’ What is she referring to?
Q. 2. When was the photo taken? What did it (KVS 2008)
show? Ans. ‘The circumstance, refers to the situation that
Ans. The photo was taken when the poet’s mother was was captured in the photo years before when the
simply a girl and was unmarried. She, with her poet’s mother stood for a photograph.
cousins, went for a sea holiday. It showed all of
Q. 6. Why do you think, does the poet’s say nothing
them together smiling at uncle when he took their
about her mother’s death?
photograph.
Ans. The poet’s has no words to express her reaction
Q. 3. How did the three girls face the camera? to this solemn and painful incident. Death silences
Ans. They were in their beach clothes. The wind had everyone. The extensive quietness and prevailing
blown their hair across their faces. They were gloom silences her.
grinning through their hair.
Q. 7. Explain ‘Terribly transient feet’. (DDE, SQP 2)
Q. 4. How did the poet’s mother look then? How did Ans. The sea has not changed much with the passage of
the sea look? time. It is in sharp contrast to short, transient and
Ans. The poet’s mother looked like a big girl then. She temporary life and existence of human beings.

NCERT Corner

Think it out Ans. The word cardboard denotes the photo frame of
Q. 1. What does the word ‘cardboard’ denote in the the photograph of the poet’s mother with her two
poem? Why has this word been used? cousins. It has been used to denote that it was very
(MSE, 2007) old.
 LITERATURE : POETRY 149
Q. 2. What has the camera captured? Q. 5. What is the meaning of the line “Both wry with
Ans. The camera had captured the natural smile and the laboured ease of loss”?
the sweet face of the poet’s mother with her two Ans. The sea holiday became the past of the poet’s
cousins each one holding her hand. mother. And her laughter became the poet’s
Q. 3. What has not changed over the years? Does that past. Both the posts are sad but the pain has been
suggest something to you? accepted with a lot of effort as life has to go on.
Ans. The sea has not changed over the years. It suggests Q. 6. What does ‘this circumstance’ refer to?
that nature and its objects do not undergo a Ans. The circumstance refers to the situation and the
change. They remain the same over the years. It lapse of time since the poet’s mother died.
also suggests that with the passing of time man Q. 7. The three stanzas depict three different phases.
dies, but nature remains unchanged. What are they?
Q. 4. The poet’s mother laughed at the snapshot. What Ans. The first stanza depicts the childhood of poet’s
did her laugh indicate? (MSE, 2008) mother when she was enjoying a holiday on the
Ans. The poet’s mother laughed at the snapshot of sea side. The second stanza depicts the period
her when she was a child. This ‘laugh’ indicates when the poet’s mother has grown older and
her joy and youthfulness. It also indicated her laughs at her own photograph. The third stanza
innocent youthful spirit. depicts the time when she has died and the poet’s
misses her.

Commonly Made Errors

The most commonly made errors pertain to grammar and spellings

The second most commonly made errors pertain to the wrong perception and expression of the poetic
devices.

Answering Tips

Read the poem thoroughly—more than once, if necessary—to grasp the gist of each stanza
Do not rely on paraphrases
Note the use of words and expressions
Find out the context of the poem
Try to understand meanings of words in context. Remember, poetic meaning of a word may be different from
the actual meaning. Also, sometimes certain words may undergo such poetic modifications for the sake of
rhythm, which is not generally seen in prose.

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