THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY

THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY

Q.1 Mention the three phases of the author's relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad.

Ans. At first the author and his grandmother were in the village. She was his constant companion. She prepared him for school and then accompanied him to the school. In the city, the author went to an English school. She could not help him with his homework. She was disturbed that he was given music lessons in the school. When he started going to the university, he was given a separate room. Now the common bond of their friendship was broken.

Q.2. Mention three reasons why the author's grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the city school.

Ans. The grandmother was disturbed because now she could not help the author with his homework. Secondly, she was disturbed because there was no teaching about God and scriptures in the school. Thirdly, she was disturbed when the author told her that he was given music lessons in the school.

Q.3. Mention the three ways in which the author's grandmother spent her days after he grow up.

Ans. She spent her days in spinning the wheel, telling the beads of the rosary and feeding the sparrows.

Q.4. Mention the odd way in which the author's grandmother behaved just before she died.

Ans. The author's grandmother had a mild fever. She said that her end was near. She refused to talk to anyone. She said that she would not waste her time talking to anyone. She started praying and telling the beads of rosary. Suddenly she died peacefully.

Q.5. Mention the way in which the sparrows expressed their sorrow when the author's grandmother died.

Ans. A number of sparrows came and sat round the grandmother's dead body. The author's mother threw bread crumbs to them. But they did not touch them. When the grandmother's dead body was carried away, they silently flew away. This shows that the sparrows also mourned her death.

Q.6. Why was it hard for the author to believe that his grandmother was once young and pretty ?

Ans. The grandmother looked very old. Her face was full of wrinkles. The author has seen her in this condition very since he was a child. So it was difficult for him to believe that the grandmother was once young and pretty.

Q.7. Grandmother has been portrayed as a very religious lady. What details in the story create this impression?

Ans. The grandmother was a religious lady. Her lips always moved in prayer. When she bathed the author and prepared him for school, even then she was praying silently. She was always telling the beads of the rosary. While her grandson was at school, she sat inside the temple and read scriptures.

Q.8. “That was a turning point in our friendship." What was the turning point?

Ans. The narrator's parents settled in the city. Now the author and his grandmother went to live in the city. There author did not get much time to spend with his grandmother. So moving to the city was the turning point in their friendship.

Q.9. Draw a comparison between village school education and city school education.

Ans. The pupils in the city were taught English and Science. This was not done in the village school. Unlike the village schools, the city schools gave lessons in music. Religious education was imparted in the village school. But it was not given in the city school.

Q.10. What was the happiest moment of the day for the grandmother?

Ans. In the evening, the grandmother fed the bread crumbs to the sparrow. She sat in the verandah. A  number of birds came to her to get bread crumbs. They were not afraid of the grandmother. Some even sat on her shoulders and head. That was the happiest moment of the day for the grandmother.

Q. 11. Describe the last moments of the grandmother.

Ans. She started praying and telling her beads. Even before the author and others could suspect, her lips stopped moving and the rosary fell from her fingers. She was dead.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTION

Q. Write a character sketch of Khushwant Singh’s grandmother.

Ans. Khushwant Singh presents his grandmother as a symbol of love, care and affection. She was a highly religious and conservative lady but, a woman of generosity and nobility. She was like everybody’s grandmother. She loved her grandson immensely and cared for him with deep love and concern. She was not physically attractive. She was old, fat and short with a stoop and hobbled about the house with her hand supporting her waist, reciting her prayers and telling her beads.

She was a religious woman, as she spent her time in temple reading the scriptures. She was a woman who loved her traditions and culture. In the village, she was actively involved in her grandson’s life but when they shifted to the city, the bond of friendship was broken. Yet, she presented a picture of peace and contentment always.

Her love for animals was reflected in the way she fed the dogs and sparrows. She did not like the English school. She did not like the western learning by his grandson .She was also against learning of music. But she accepted every decision of her grandson regarding his life with a calm and composed manner. She was really a saintly woman.