The Portrait of a Lady (Kushwant Singh )

Author couldn’t believe his grandparents could have ever been young and married .
1. GRANDFATHER
1.1 No more alive
1.2 Looked too old in portrait to have ever had a wife and children
2.GRANDMOTHER
2.1 Fat , short , slightly bent , terribly old , wrinkled
2.2 Spotless white dress , silver locks
2.3 Rosary in one hand
2.4 Beautiful & tranquil like winter landscape in mountains
2.5 Face revealed peace & contentment
2.6 Grandmother - young & pretty, unbelievable
3. RELATIONSHIP B/W AUTHOR & GRANDMOTHER
3.1 Very strong in author’s childhood
3.2 Cared for each other
3.3 Granny like a 2nd mother to author
4. FRIENDSHIP IN THE VILLAGE
4.1 Grandmother woke up author , got him ready
4.2 Sang out her prayers hoping he would learn
4.3 Prepared his wooden slate
4.4 Accompanied to school
4.5Waited in temple & read scriptures while author studied
4.6 Fed the stray dogs stale chapattis
5.TURNING POINT IN THE CITY
5.1Shared a room with grandson but began distancing from each other
5.2 Grandmother Upset
5.2.1 education imparted to grandson didn’t include teaching about God & scriptures
5.2.2 felt music had lewd associations
5,2.3 Couldn’t help author with studies which included science ---felt helpless
5.3 Would spin the wheel from sunrise to sunset
5.4 Fed the sparrows --- chirruped , perched on her --- happiest half-hour of the day
5.5 Said her prayers regularly
6 LINK WITH AUTHOR IN CITY
6.1 First shared a room with author----when in city school
6.2Later he got a separate room --- when in university
6.3Then author left for abroad ---- for 5 yrs
7.PARTING FROM AUTHOR
7.1 Author going abroad for higher studies
7.2 Granny showed no emotion on station
7.3 Said her silent prayers , kissed author on forehead
7.4 Author was apprehensive about meeting her again , cherished her kiss
8. AUTHOR’S HOMECOMING
8.1Granny met author lovingly at the station
8.2 Collected women , thumped the drum
8.3Sang songs of home coming warriors
9. LAST DAY OF GRANNY’S LIFE
9.1Next morning fell ill
9.2 Knew her end was near, accepted her end
9.3 Prayed --- passed away peacefully while praying
10. MOURNING BY SPARROWS
10.1 Thousands of sparrows came , did not chirrup
10.2 Did not notice the breadcrumbs thrown by author’s mother
10.3 Flew off when corpse was carried away
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Difference b/w Essay & Character sketch
Essay
*We are free to use our imagination about a person , while writing an essay.
*We talk about the good qualities of that person .
Character sketch ( The portrait of a lady )
*While writing a character sketch , we are confined to the nature of the character as portrayed by the writer in a story , play or novel..
*Both good & bad aspects of that person are discussed .So , while writing a character sketch , we have to read the text .
The Portrait of a Lady- Questions and Answers
1. Mention the three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad.
Ans: The three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad are as follows:
1. First Phase: The period of his early childhood where he used to live with her in the village. His grandmother used to wake him up
and get him ready for school. They both would walk to school together and come back home together. They had a good friendship
with each other.
2. Second Phase: In this phase, the author and his grandmother shifted to the city as the author’s parents settled well in the city.
Although they shared the same room, this was the turning point of their friendship. Now, they saw less of each other.
3. Third Phase: When the author went to the university, he was given a room of his own. This made their friendship bond weaker as
the common link between them ‘the same room’ snapped. She became quieter and private and kept the spinning wheel all day long.
She would feed the sparrows once a day and this was the only thing that made her happy now.
2. Mention three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the city school.
Ans: When the author used to live in the village with her, they both had a good friendship. She used to wake him up, got him ready
and would also accompany him to school. All this changed when they moved to the city. The grandmother was disturbed for the
following reason:
1. She no longer could help him in his lessons. As he started going to the English medium school, this became a barrier for her.
2. There were no teachings about God and the scriptures.
3. She didn’t like him taking the music lessons. According to her, music was only for beggars and harlots.

3. Mention three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up.
Ans: His grandmother changed a lot since he grew up. She would spend her day at the spinning wheel, chanting prayers and feeding
sparrows.
4. Mention the odd way in which the author’s grandmother behaved just before she died.
Ans: She didn’t pray the evening before dying. She collected the women from the neighbourhood and started singing homecoming of
the warriors with the help of the drum. The next morning when she fell ill, she said her end was near. She started praying peacefully
while laying on her bed. She refused to talk to anyone during her last hours.
5. Mention the way in which the sparrows expressed their sorrow when the author’s grandmother died.
Ans: The grandmother used to feed the sparrows in her verandah each day. She developed a special relationship with them. When she
died, thousands of sparrows expressed their sorrow by sitting in a scattered way around her in the verandah. They didn’t chirrup and
there was complete silence. The author’s mother tried to feed them by breaking the bread and throwing it in front of them. But they
didn’t eat anything. When the family carried grandmother’s corpse, they all flew away quietly.
6. The author’s grandmother was a religious person. What are the different ways in which we come to know this?
Ans: When she lived in the village with the author, she used to sing prayers in a monotonous sound while getting him ready each
morning. She used to walk the author to his school and then visit the temple attached to the school everyday. 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
Later when they moved to the city, she would carry the beads of the rosary with her all the time. She would continuously chant her
prayers and her hand remained busy in telling the beads. She didn’t like English school as there was no teaching of God and
scriptures.
When the author went to study at the university, she went into seclusion and spent her whole day in chanting prayers.
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.

7. Describe the changing relationship between the author and his grandmother. Did their feelings for each other change?
Ans: In the early days, they both shared a good bond. She would get him ready for school, accompany him and would come back with
him later in the day. She would help him with his studies and would teach him prayers by singing in a monotonous tone every
morning. When they moved to the city, their relationship was strained. He started going to an English medium school. She would no
longer accompany him to the school or could not help him with the lessons. She didn’t like his new school as they never taught him
about God or scriptures. Later, when he started taking music lessons, she disapproved of it as she thought that music was only for
beggars or harlots. She stopped talking to him afterwards and would spend her day alone while chanting prayers.
When the author went to university and then abroad, their bond weakened. She would spin the wheel the whole day and chant her
prayers. She accepted the seclusion.
No, their feelings for each other didn’t change but during the time, a distance developed between them.
8. Would you agree that the author’s grandmother was a person strong in character? If yes, give instances that show this.
Ans: Yes, the grandmother was a strong person in character. The instances to show this are as follows:
1. She had her own thoughts about schools and their teachings. She considered learning scriptures a better thing than studying science
or English.
2. She didn’t like music as according to her, music was for low-level people.
3. When the author went to the university, in seclusion, she would spin the wheel, chant prayers, tell beads and feed bread crumbs to
the sparrows.
4. When she sang the homecoming of the warriors for hours and didn’t stop even when her family tried a million times.
5. During her last time, she didn’t want to waste any time talking to anyone so she lay silently on her bed and chanted her prayers till
she died……………… (write the answer in detail yourself)

9. Describe the changing relationship between the author and his grandmother. Did their feelings for each other change?
Ans: 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.
Extra Short Questions Answers.
1. How did the narrator’s grandfather appear in the portrait?
Ans: His grandfather looked very old. He had a long white beard. His clothes were loose fitting. He wore a big turban. He looked too
old to have a wife or children. He looked at least a hundred years old. He could have only lots and lots of grandchildren.

2. Explain: “As for my grandmother being young and pretty, the thought was almost revolting”.
Ans: The narrator’s grandmother was terribly old. She could not appear young and beautiful. Her face was a criss-cross of wrinkles.
She was short, fat and slightly bent. The very idea of her being young and pretty did not appeal to the mind.

3. The narrator’s grandmother ‘could never have been pretty, but she was always beautiful’. Explain the importance of the
statement.
Ans: She was terribly old to appear pretty. Her face was a criss-cross of wrinkles. She was short, fat and slightly bent. She didn’t
create any physical appeal or attraction. However, in her spotless white dress and grey hair she was a picture of serenity, peace,
sobriety and beauty.

4. The narrator’s grandmother looked like the ‘winter landscape in the mountains’. Comment.
Ans:The grandmother was always dressed in spotless white. She had silvery hair. Her white locks spread untidily over her pale and
wrinkled face. She looked like an expanse of pure white serenity. The stretch of snow over the mountains looks equally white and
peaceful. So her silvery locks and white dress made her look like the winter landscape in the mountains.

5.The grandmother was a kind-hearted woman. Give examples in support of your answer.
Ans: Grandmother had a very kind heart. She loved her grandson. She loved even birds and animals. In the village, she fed the street
dogs. In the city, she would feed the sparrows.

6. What led to the gradual distancing of the narrator from his grandmother in the city? Give three reasons.
Ans: As the years rolled by, the narrator grew older. His dependence on grandmother became lesser. He started going to an English
school in a motor bus. She could not go with him. Moreover she couldn’t help him in teaching English and Science. She hated English
school. There was no teaching about God and scriptures there. All these things distanced the narrator from his grandmother.