The Portrait of A Lady

The Portrait of a Lady Summary
Summary
The chapter ‘The Portrait of a Lady’ is the story of the author and
his grandmother. The grandmother was an old woman with a
wrinkled face. The author had always seen her like this, for the
past twenty years. She appeared to be so old that he could not
imagine her being ‘young and pretty, someone who had a
husband. She was short, fat, and slightly bent. The author had
seen his grandfather’s portrait- an old man with a turban and a
long white beard covering his chest. To the author, his
grandfather didn’t seem like a man who could have a wife and
children, but someone who could have lots of grandchildren. His
grandmother used to move around the house in ‘Spotless White’
with her one hand resting on her waist and her other hand
counting the beads of her rosary.
In the initial days, the author and his grandmother had a good
relationship. She used to wake him up and get him ready for
school. She used to pack the things required by him for the day
and walked him to school every day. She used to visit the temple
that was attached to the school. She had a routine of reading the
scriptures. The author along with other children sat on the
verandah singing alphabets and morning prayers. They both used
to come back home together with stray dogs roaming around
them as his grandmother would carry the stale chapattis to feed
them.
Soon, the parents of the author who went to the city to settle in
and called them. As they reached the city, his relationship with
his grandmother took a turn. Though they shared the room, there
bond grew apart. He started going to an English medium school,
she no longer accompanied him to his school, and there were no
longer stray dogs who roamed around them while walking back
home. She, however, used to ask him about his day and what he
had learned. She didn’t understand anything as everything was in
another language which she could not understand. She didn’t
approve of the new syllabus that he was studying because she
thought that they did not teach him about God and the scriptures.
They saw less of each other.
As the days passed, he grew older and soon went to the

university. He had his own room and this made their relationship
sour. She stopped talking to everyone and spent her whole day
sitting at her spinning wheel, reciting prayers and moving beads
of the rosary with one hand. However, she loved feeding sparrows
in the verandah at dawn. Breaking bread into pieces and feeding
it to the birds was her daily routine. The birds would sit on her
legs, her head, some even on the shoulders.
Soon, the author decided to go abroad for further studies. She

came to the railway station to leave him off. She was not
sentimental, continuously recited her prayers, her mind lost in the
prayers, and she kissed him on the forehead. After five years, as
he returnedhome, she was there, came to pick him at the station,
was still the same as she had been five years ago. She clasped
him within her arms and didn’t say a word. She still used to feed
her sparrows.
One day, she didn’t recite her prayers but instead collected the
women of the neighbourhood, got a drum and started singing.
The next morning, she was ill with mild fever. The doctor said that
there was nothing to worry about but she was sure that her end
was near.
She didn’t want to waste her time talking to anyone in the family
anymore but spend her last hours in reciting her prayers laying on
the bed. She died and so her body lay on the bed, lifeless. As they
prepared for her funeral, they saw all the sparrows sitting in the
verandah around her, mourning her death.
Hornbill Class 11 English Question 1:

The three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before lie
left else country to study abroad.
Answer:
The three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he
left the country to study abroad are:
1. childhood – when he went to the village school and the
grandmother helped him to get ready and went to school with
him.
2. boyhood – when he went to the city school in a bus. He shared a
room with grandmother but she could no longer help him in his
studies.
3. early youth – when he went to the university and was given a
room of him own. The common link of friendship was snapped.

Three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when m started
going to the city school.
Answer:
The three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when he
started going to the city school are:
1. She hated western Science and learning.

2. She was pained to know that there was no teaching of God and
the scriptures there.
3. She was allergic to music. She thought it was not meant for
decent people and gentlefolk. It was the monopoly of prostitutes
and beggars.

Three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew
up.
Answer:
The three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he
grew up are:
 She lived alone in her room as she had accepted her loneliness
quietly.
 She sat at her spinning wheel reciting prayers.
 In the afternoon, she would feed the sparrows for half an hour.

The odd ways in which the author’s grandmother behaved just before she
died.
Answer:
Just before her death, the author’s grandmother refused to talk to them.
Since she
had omitted to pray the previous night while she was singing songs of
homecoming and beating the drum, she was not going to waste any more
time. She ignored their protests. She lay peacefully in bed praying and telling
beads.
The way in which the sparrows expressed their sorrow when the author’s
grandmother died.
Answer:
Thousands of sparrows sat silently surrounding the dead body of the author’s
grandmother. There was no chirruping. The author’s mother threw some
crumbs of bread to them. They took no notice of them. As soon as the
grandmother’s corpse was carried off, they flew away quietly. Thus the
sparrows expressed their sorrow.
The Portrait of a Lady Talking About the Text

Talk to your partner about the following:
Question 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 was a deeply religious lady. We come to know this
through the different ways of her behaviour. She visited the temple every
morning and read scriptures. At home she always mumbled inaudible prayer
and kept telling the beads of rosary. She would repeat prayers in a sing-song
manner while getting the writer ready for school. She hoped that he would
learn it by heart. She didn’t like English school as there was no teaching of
God and scriptures.
Even while spinning at her spinning-wheel she would recite prayers. Perhaps
it was only once that she forgot to say her prayers. It was on the evening
prior to her death when she felt over excited while celebrating the arrival of
her grandson with songs and beatings of drum. She continued praying and
telling beads of her rosary till her last breath.
Question 2:
Describe the changing relationship between the author and his grandmother.
Did their feelings for each other change?
Answer:
During his boyhood, the author was completely dependent on his
grandmother. She was a part of his life. The turning point in their friendship
came when they went to city. She could no longer accompany him to school
as he went there by bus. They shared the same room but she could not help
him in his studies. She would ask him what the teachers had taught. She did
not believe in the things that were taught at school. She was distressed that
there was no teaching about God and the scriptures. She felt offended that
music was also being taught. She expressed her disapproval silently. After
this she rarely talked to him. When he went to university, he was given a
room of his own. The common link of friendship was snapped.
However their feelings for each other did not change. They still loved each
other deeply. She went to see the author off at the railway station when he
was going abroad for higher studies. She showed no emotion but kissed his
forehead silently. The author valued this as perhaps the last sign of physical
contact between them. 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.
Question 3:
Would you agree that the author’s grandmother was a person strong in
character? If yes, give instances that show this.
Answer:
Yes, I agree that the author’s grandmother was a person strong in character.
She was a strong woman with strong beliefs. Although she was not formally
educated, she was serious about the author’s education. She could not
adjust herself to the western way of life, Science and English education. She
hated music and disapproved of its teaching in school.
She was a deeply religious lady. Her lips were always moving in a silent
prayer. She was always telling the beads of her rosary. She went to temple
daily and read the scriptures. She was distressed to know that there was no
teaching about God and holy books at Khushwant’s new English school.
She was a kind lady She used to feed dogs in the village. In the city she took
to feeding sparrows. Although old in years and weak in body she had
strength of mind. Just before her death, she refused to talk to the members
of the family as she did not want to waste her time. She wanted to make up
for the time last evening when she had not prayed to God. She lay peacefully
in bed saying prayers and telling the beads of her rosary till she breathed her
last.
Question 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, I have known my grandfather, who loved me deeply and looked after
me. He had served in the army before he retired as a colonel 20 years ago.
When I was a school going kid, he was still active and smart. He was fond of
walking, jogging and playing outdoor games. He inspired us to get up early in
the morning. He believed that a healthy mind lives in a healthy body. He
used to give us good physical exercises followed by milk and nourishing food
and then asked us to study for a while before going to school. In the
afternoon, he would enquire what we had been taught at the school. He
would help us in our home task and supervise our reading, writing and doing
sums. He was gentle but firm. He laid stress on good habits and character
building. He passed away when I had gone abroad for higher studies. I miss
him a lot. A sense of loss fills me whenever I see his portrait on the wall. But
his cheerful looks remind me to take heart and fight the struggle of life.

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The Portrait of a Lady Summary

As the days passed, he grew older and soon went to the

Soon, the author decided to go abroad for further studies. She

Hornbill Class 11 English Question 1:

Hornbill Class 11 English Question 2:

1. She hated western Science and learning.

Hornbill Class 11 English Question 3:

Hornbill Class 11 English Question 4:

The Portrait of a Lady Talking About the Text

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