The Portrait of a Lady by Khushwant Singh

1. What are the three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he left his country to study a broad?
Answer:-
There were three phases of the author’s relationship with his
grandmother before he left the country to study abroad. These are-
childhood, boyhood and early youth. During his childhood Grandmother was
solely responsible for his upbringing and education. He used to go to
the village school and the grandmother made regular arrangements. In his
boyhood day she went to the city school in a bus and shared a room with
grandmother but she began to become less necessary in his studies. The
common link of friendship between them stopped flourishing in his early
youth when he went to the university and was given a room of him own.2.
Mention three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when
he started going to the city school. HS-2017 Marks 2/3
Answer:-
The author’s grandmother had an antipathy for Western Science and
learning imparted in the city schools. She was disappointed to know that
there was no teaching of God and the scriptures there. Moreover, music
was offered as a subject in the city schools, much to her chagrin. She
thought music had obscene association with harlots and beggars.
Therefore, she was disturbed when he started going to the city school.

3. Mention three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up. (HS-2017) Marks 2/3
Answer:-
When the author grew up, the grandmother began to live a secluded life
in her room adapting herself to the change. She became engaged in her
work at her spinning wheel reciting prayers. Moreover, she would feed
the sparrows for half an hour in the afternoon.

4. Mention the odd ways in which the author’s grandmother behaved just before she died.
Answer:-
The author’s grandmother behaved in a strange manner when she realized
her approaching death. She refused to talk to anyone and stopped
praying. Then she gathered the neighbouring women and started singing in
accompaniment to an old drum. Her song was about the home coming of
warriors, apparently related to the author’s return to home. She paid no
attention to everyone’s desire to talk to her. She lay peacefully in
bed praying and telling beads.

5. How did the sparrows express their sorrow when the author’s grandmother died?
(or) How did the sparrows react to the death of the author’s grandmother? HS-2015, 2016)Marks 2/3
Answer:-
When the author’s grandmother died, thousands of sparrows gathered
around her corpse maintaining a peculiar silence. There was no
chirruping. The sparrows took no notice of the crumbs of bread thrown to
them by the author’s mother. They flew away only when the grandmother’s
corpse was carried off. Thus the sparrows mourned the death of the
grandmother.

6. What are the different ways in which we come to know that the author’s grandmother was a deeply religious person?     HS-2017
Answer:-
That the author’s grandmother was a deeply religious lady was evident
in her actions, rituals performed in her day-to-day life. Her morning
was spent in visiting the temple and reading scriptures. She used to
chant in audible prayers counting the beads of rosary. She would repeat
prayers in a sing-song manner while making preparations to send the
writer to school. She wanted to ingrain in the author a purely spiritual
life. She didn’t like English school as there was no teaching of God
and scriptures. She never stopped chanting prayers even during  her work
at her spinning-wheel. The rarest occasion in which she forgot to say
her prayers was on the evening prior to her death. Her ritual of praying
and telling beads of her rosary went on till her last breath.

7.
Describe the changing relationship between the author Khuswant Singh
and his grandmother. Did their feelings for each other change? HS-2017
Marks 5/6
Answer:- The grandmother was an indispensable part of
the author’s day-to-day existence during his boyhood. However,
following their settlement in the city, their attachment became feeble.
The author started going to school by bus and so grandmother was not
required to accompany him. He would read subjects which were beyond
grandmother’s understanding. She was disappointed to know that there was
no teaching about God and the scriptures in the city school. She felt
offended when she came to know that music was also being taught. She was
not at all satisfied with the system of education in city schools.
Grandmother became less communicative, and began to live a secluded
life. The common link of friendship between them suffered a setback,
when he went to university and got a room of his own.
Their
feelings for each other however remained where these were during his
boyhood. They still loved each other. When the author had to go abroad
for higher studies, his grandmother accompanied him to the railway
station. Without expressing any emotion, grandmother kissed his forehead
silently. 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.

8.
Would you agree that the author’s grandmother was a person strong in
character? If yes, give instances that show this. HS-2018
Answer:-
Yes, I agree that the author’s grandmother was a person strong in
character. She was a strong woman with steadfast beliefs. In spite of
having no formal education she was seriously concerned about the
author’s education. It was impossible for her to adjust herself to the
western way of life, Science and English education. She was dead against
teaching music in school because she thought it had obscene
associations with harlots and beggars.
It is evident from her
day-to-day life that she was a deeply pious lady who spiritualised her
life and actions. Her lips never stopped chanting silent prayers. It was
customary for her to tell the beads of her rosary. She dedicated her
morning hours to visiting the village temple and reading the
scriptures.She was disappointed to know that there was no teaching about
God and holy books at the city school. The author’s grandmother was a
selflessly kind-hearted lady who used to feed stray dogs in the village.
The happiest hour of her daily life in the city was the afternoon time
when she used to feed the sparrows. The advancement of age could not
dampen her strength of mind. Just before her death, she stopped talking
to the members of the family because she did not want to waste her time.
She wanted to makeup for the time which she could not spend in prayers.
She lay peacefully in bed chanting prayers and telling the beads of her
rosary till she breathed her last.

9. 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
Punjabi.

Extra questions for your practice:
10. What was the happiest hour of the day for the grandmother?
11. What did the priest teach at the village school?
12. What were grandmother’s views on music?
13. Why did the sparrows take no notice of the bread crumbs thrown to them by the narrator’s mother?
14. What had made the grandmother stop talking before her inevitable death?
15. What was the opinion of the grandmother regarding the English medium schools of the city?

Syllabus of Class 11 English

Prose