THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY
TEXTBOOK EXERCISES
Mention
1. The three phrases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad
Ans: The first phase of the author’s relationship with his grandmother started when he was still a child. She used to tell him of the games she used to play as a child. “That seemed quite absurd”. The children treated them like the fables of the prophets she used to tell them.
The second phase of this relationship began when the narrator started going to school. His parents left him with her and they went to live in the city. They were constantly together. She used to wake him up in the morning and get him ready for school. Then she would fetch his wooden slate, a tiny earthen inkpot and a red pen. She would give him a breakfast of a thick, slate chapatti. Then they went to school. She carried several chapattis for the village dogs. The school was attached to the temple. She would sit in the temple and he in the school.
The third phase of their relationship began when the narrator’s parents sent for them in the city. That was a turning-point in their friendship. He used to go to an English school in a motor bus. As the years rolled by they saw less of each other. She didn’t like the English school. There was no teaching about God and scriptures in the English school. She hated western science and music. When he went up to university, he was given a room of his own. The common link of their friendship was snapped. His grandmother accepted her seclusion with resignation.
2. Three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the city school?
Ans: When the narrator’s parents settled in the city, they sent for them. That was a turning-point in their friendship. They still lived in the same room. But the old lady was now quite disturbed. The narrator used to go to an English school in a motor bus. She couldn’t accompany him to the school as she used to do in the village. In the village she used to stay in the temple that was attached to the school.
In the city there was no dogs in the streets. The grandmother felt quite disturbed. She couldn’t throw chapattis to them now. The old lady took to feeding sparrows in the courtyard of their city house. As the years rolled by, the narrator and the grandmother saw less of each other.
The most disturbing factor for the grandmother was the English school where he used to study. She didn’t understand English words. Nor could she help him in his studies. She knew nothing about western science and learning. She did not believe in the topics they taught at the English school. She was distressed that there was no teaching about God and the scriptures. She was disturbed when she came to know that they taught music at the school. She hated music. She considered it fit only for harlots and beggars. It was not meant for gentle folks.
5. Three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up ?
Ans: The intimacy between the narrator and his grandmother was snapped when they were sent for in the city. As the years rolled by, they saw less of each other. When the narrator grew up, he went up to university. He was given a room of his own. The common link of friendship was snapped. The grandmother accepted it as her fate.
The grandmother soon found out new ways of spending her time. She now spent most of her time at the spinning-wheel. She rarely left her spinning-wheel to talk to anyone. From sunrise to sunset she sat by the spinning-wheel. While spinning, she continued reciting prayers. She relaxed only in the afternoon to feed the sparrows.
The third way in which the old lady spent her time, was her feeding the sparrows. She would sit in the verandah. She would break the bread into little bits. Hundreds of little birds collected around her. They created a ‘bedlam of chirrupings’. They came and perched on her legs and shoulders. Some even sat on her head. She smiled but never shooed them away. Feeding the sparrows used to be the happiest hour of the day for her.
4. The odd ways in which the author’s grandmother behaved just before she died ?
Ans: After five years the narrator came back home. He found the grandmother at the station. She didn’t utter any words but clasped him in her arms. He could hear her reciting her prayers. But in the evening a change came over her. Her behaviour was quite odd. She didn’t pray. She collected the women of the neighbourhood. She got an old drum and started singing. For several hours she thumped the drum. She sang of the homecoming of warriors. She was very much excited. They had to persuade her to stop to avoid over straining. That was the first time that she did not pray.
The next morning she was taken ill. It was a mild fever. But the grand old lady declared that her end was near. She was not going to waste any more time talking to them. She continued praying. They protested but she ignored their protests. She lay peacefully in bed praying and telling her beads. Her lips stopped moving. The rosary fell from her lifeless fingers. Her face turned pale. They knew she was dead. They lifted her off the bed and covered her with a shroud.
The grandmother behaved quite strangely just before she died. She was quite excited at the homecoming of her grandson. She tired herself and fell ill. She died while praying and telling her beads.
5. The ways in which the sparrows expressed their sorrow when the author’s grandmother died?
Ans: The sparrows expressed their sorrow in a remarkable way when the author’s grandmother died. Thousands of them gathered in the verandah and her room, silently sitting on the floor near her lifeless body. Unlike their usual chirping, they remained completely quiet, creating an atmosphere of mourning. Even when the narrator’s mother offered them bread crumbs, they did not eat, showing their grief in their own silent manner. As the grandmother’s body was carried away for cremation, the sparrows flew away quietly. The next morning, the untouched bread crumbs were swept into the dustbin.
TALKING ABOUT THE TEXT
1. The author’s grandmother was a religious person. What are the different ways in which we come to know this?
Ans: The author’s grandmother was a highly religious lady. Her one hand was always busy in telling the beads of her rosary. Her lips constantly moved in an inaudible prayer. She used to get up early in the morning. She said her morning prayer in ‘a monotonous sing-song’. The grandmother always went to school with the narrator because the school was attached to the temple. The grandmother would sit in the temple reading the scriptures.
The old lady was quite conservative. She didn’t like the new English school in the city. She was unhappy because there was no teaching about God and the scriptures at the city school. She felt quite disturbed at this aspect of education. They gave music lessons at the English school. She considered music fit only for harlots and beggars. It was not meant for gentlefolks.
The only time when she didn’t pray was the day when the narrator returned from abroad. It was quite an odd thing for her. But she more than compensated for this lapse. When she realised that her end was near, she stopped talking. She lay peacefully in bed praying and telling her beads. Her lips stopped moving. The rosary fell from her lifeless fingers.
2. Describe the changing relationship between the author and his grandmother. Did their feelings for each other change?
Ans: In the early years of their relationship, the author and his grandmother shared a close bond of friendship and togetherness, especially when he lived with her after his parents moved to the city. However, this dynamic changed when they, too, had to relocate. The grandmother felt a deep sense of loss as she could no longer be involved in his school life. As he grew older, their time together gradually decreased, and she spoke to him less and less. Their connection weakened further when he was given a separate room, marking the final break in their shared companionship.
Despite this growing distance, their love and affection for each other remained unchanged. When the author left for higher studies, she went to the railway station to see him off, expressing her emotions in her own quiet way. The author cherished the moist imprint of her kiss on his forehead. Upon his return, though she did not openly display her joy, her happiness was evident in everything she did.
3. Would you agree that the author’s grandmother was a person strong in character? If yes, give instances that show this.
Ans: Yes, I agree that the author’s grandmother was a woman of strong character and unwavering beliefs. Though she lacked formal education, she deeply valued the author’s learning. However, she struggled to accept the Western influence of Science and English education. She strongly disapproved of music, believing it was not meant for respectable people.
Despite facing loneliness, she found ways to keep herself engaged. She never openly displayed her emotions or broke down in tears. When she went to the railway station to see off her grandson, she simply continued praying and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. Her deep faith in God and devotion to prayer were the sources of her inner strength. When she realized her end was near, she sought to make up for the prayers she had missed the previous evening. Lying peacefully in bed, she spent her final moments reciting prayers and counting the beads of her rosary until she took her last breath.
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?
Ans: Yes, I remember my grandmother with love and respect. She resembled the author’s grandmother in every respect. Like them, we were left together in the village. My parents went to settle in the city. My grandmother was an essential part of my life and personality. She woke me up early in the morning. She got me ready for school. We went to school together. She sat in the temple reading scriptures. The temple was attached to the school. We came home together. However, a turning-point came in our friendship when my parents sent for us in the city. I was admitted to an English school. My grandmother hated western science, English and music. When I went up to university, the bond of our relationship was broken. The grandmother accepted her fate silently.
Definitely, we feel the same sense of loss with regard to someone whom we have loved. The death of my grandmother proves this point. I still remember the grand old lady. She is no more in this world but her memories are still fresh in my mind. These keep me alive.
THINKING ABOUT LANGUAGE
1. Which language do you think the author and his grandmother used while talking to each other?
Ans: Khushwant Singh and his grandmother lived in a village of Punjab. Naturally, they talked to each other in Punjabi.
2. Which language do you use to talk to elderly relatives in your family?
Ans: I belong to a assamese speaking area. I use assamese language while taking to elderly relatives in my family.
3. How would you say ‘a dilapidated drum’ in your language?
Ans: ‘A dilapidated drum’ in my language means “dhol”.
4. Can you think of a song or a poem in your language that talks of homecoming?
Ans: Come back!
Back to the land of your birth.
Meadows are still green
Air as fresh as you left it.
Come and see those gurgling brooks
They will reflect your childhood.
Come back! Years that rolled by
Will come to life once again.