The Portrait of a Lady | Lesson 1 | Summary | Questions and Answers |

 

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English | Class 11th | Hornbill | NCERT

The Portrait of a Lady | Lesson 1 | Summary | Questions and Answers |

 

Short Summary

            “The Portrait of a Lady” by Khushwant Singh is a poignant short story that reflects on the narrator's relationship with his grandmother. The story captures the changes in their bond as the narrator grows up. Initially, they share a close, affectionate connection, living together in the village where the grandmother plays a significant role in his early education. However, their relationship changes when they move to the city. As the narrator becomes more independent and immersed in modern education, the grandmother's traditional lifestyle and influence diminish. Despite these changes, the grandmother remains a symbol of steadfast love, simplicity, and spirituality until her death.

The story beautifully explores themes of generational differences, the impact of modernization, and the enduring nature of love in family relationships.

 

Understanding the Text

Mention

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

Answer: The author’s relationship with his grandmother undergoes three distinct phases:

1. Village Life: In the village, they share a close bond, spending all their time together. The grandmother helps with his education and daily routines.

2. City Life: After moving to the city, their relationship becomes more distant. The author starts attending an English school, and the grandmother’s role diminishes.

3. High School Years: As the author grows older and more independent, their interaction further reduces, with the grandmother retreating into her religious activities while the author focuses on his studies.

2. Three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the city school.

Answer: The author's grandmother was disturbed when he started attending the city school for three main reasons:

1. No Religious Education: The school did not teach about God or religious scriptures, which deeply troubled her, as she valued spirituality.

2. Focus on Western Education: The emphasis on subjects like science and English, rather than traditional learning, alienated her.

3. Music Lessons: She disapproved of music lessons, associating them with frivolity and a lack of moral discipline, which conflicted with her traditional values.

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

Answer: 1. Spinning the Wheel: She spent much of her time spinning the charkha (spinning wheel), engaging in this daily activity.

2. Praying: She devoted herself to reciting prayers and reading the scriptures, immersed in her spiritual practices.

3. Feeding Sparrows: In her spare time, she would feed the sparrows, developing a peaceful, silent connection with them.

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

Answer: Before her death, the grandmother suddenly stopped praying, which was unusual for her. Instead, she gathered the family, sang old songs, and drummed on her rosary beads in a strangely joyful yet intense way, as if preparing for her final departure.

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

Answer: When the grandmother died, the sparrows gathered around her body in silence. They did not chirp or eat the breadcrumbs offered to them, showing their silent grief. The next morning, they flew away quietly, leaving behind the uneaten food.

 

Talking about the text

Talk to your partner about the following.

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's deep religiosity is evident in several ways. She constantly recited prayers while performing her daily tasks, especially while spinning the charkha. She was deeply disturbed when the author’s city school didn’t include religious teachings and focused on Western education. Even in her final days, she remained immersed in spirituality, refusing to engage in any worldly affairs. Her piety and devotion were integral to her identity, and she found solace in her faith, reflected by her regular prayer and feeding of the sparrows as an act of kindness.

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

Answer: The relationship between the author and his grandmother evolved as the author grew up. In the village, they were inseparable, spending most of their time together. However, when they moved to the city, the bond began to fade as the author started attending school and became more independent. Despite their reduced interaction, their affection for each other remained intact. The grandmother gracefully accepted the changes without bitterness, focusing more on her spirituality, while the author remained aware of her love, even though their shared time lessened. The essence of their feelings—love and respect—didn’t change, only the way they expressed it did.

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

Answer: Yes, the author’s grandmother was strong in character. Despite the changes in her life, she remained dignified and resilient. When the author went to school and their time together reduced, she did not complain or demand attention. Instead, she found peace in her prayers and daily routines. Her acceptance of the author's growing independence and the transition to a modern, unfamiliar world showed her strength. Even in her last moments, she displayed inner strength, choosing to celebrate life by singing, rather than mourning her impending death. Her composed, spiritual approach to life demonstrated her unwavering character.

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, many of us have encountered someone like the author's grandmother—a figure who embodies wisdom, love, and resilience. Personally, I have known a grandparent who, much like the grandmother in the story, had a quiet, enduring strength and deep spiritual grounding. When they passed, it left a profound sense of loss, similar to what the author felt. It’s a unique emptiness that comes with losing someone who provided unconditional support and love, as well as the feeling that an irreplaceable bond has been severed.

 

Thinking about language

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

Answer: Given the context of the story and Khushwant Singh’s background, it is likely that the author and his grandmother communicated in Punjabi or Hindi, as they lived in a rural village in India, where these languages are commonly spoken.

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

Answer: I often talk in my regional language to my elderly relatives in my family and my regional language is Kashmiri. I know Hindi, English, and Urdu languages also.

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

Answer: In Kashmiri, ‘a dilapidated drum’ would be translated as "اکھ خراب ڈرم" (akh kharab drum). The word " خراب" (kharab) refers to something that is worn out or in a dilapidated condition, and "ڈرم" (drum) means drum.

4. Can you think of a song or a poem in your language that talks of homecoming?

Answer: One famous Hindi poem that touches upon the theme of homecoming is "वापसी" (Wapsi) by Shivmangal Singh ‘Suman’, which talks about the emotional return to one’s roots. Additionally, the song "लौट के बुद्धू घर को आए" (Laut ke buddhu ghar ko aaye) from an old Bollywood film also reflects the idea of coming back home after a long journey.

 

Working with words

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

1. Her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary.

2. I would tell her English words and little things of Western science and learning.

3. At her age one could never tell.

4. She told us that her end was near.

Given below are four different senses of the word ‘tell’. Match the meanings to the uses listed above.

1. make something known to someone in spoken or written words

2. count while reciting

3. be sure

4. give information to somebody

Answer:

1. I would tell her English words and little things of Western science and learning – make something known to someone in spoken or written words

2. Her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary – count while reciting

3. At her age one could never tell – be sure

4. She told us that her end was near - give information to somebody

 

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

1. to take to something: to begin to do something as a habit

2. to take ill: to suddenly become ill

Locate these phrases in the text and notice the way they are used.

Answer: In “The Portrait of a Lady” by Khushwant Singh, the word "take" is used in different contexts:

1. To take to something: This phrase is used when the grandmother "took to feeding sparrows in the courtyard." It means that she began doing this regularly, almost as a habit, after the author grew up and their relationship changed. This shows her adapting to a new routine after her involvement in the author's life diminished.

2. To take ill: This phrase is used when the author mentions that the grandmother "took ill" before her death. It refers to her sudden sickness after she had spent an unusually active day, singing and praying. Despite her illness, she seemed to accept it as part of the natural course of life.

Both phrases highlight shifts in the grandmother’s life—her adaptation to new habits and her acceptance of illness.

 

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

 

haggle	shuffle	stride	ride	waddle
wriggle	paddle	swagger	trudge	slog

 

Answer: Here are the words from the box that refer to a manner of walking:

Shuffle: to walk by dragging one's feet along the ground.

Stride: to walk with long, decisive steps.

Waddle: to walk with short steps, moving from side to side, like a duck.

Swagger: to walk in a confident, arrogant, or showy manner.

Trudge: to walk slowly and with heavy steps, usually because of exhaustion or difficult conditions.

Slog: to walk with difficulty, especially through mud or in challenging conditions.

The other words, haggle, ride, wriggle, and paddle, do not refer to a manner of walking.

 

Noticing form

Notice the form of the verbs italicised in these sentences.

1. My grandmother was an old woman. She had been old and wrinkled for the twenty years that I had known her. People said that she had once been young and pretty and had even had a husband, but that was hard to believe.

2. When we both had finished we would walk back together.

3. When I came back she would ask me what the teacher had taught me.

4. It was the first time since I had known her that she did not pray.

5. The sun was setting and had lit her room and verandah with a golden light.

These are examples of the past perfect forms of verbs. When we recount golden things in the distant past we use this form.