Question 1.

Write the word’s meaning

Rosary

Answer 1: A chain of beads used in prayer.

Question 2. Write the word’s meaning

Bedlam

Answer 2: A scene of confusion

Question 3. What was the author’s breakfast before going to village

school?

Answer 3: The author’s breakfast was leftover chapati with butter and
sugar.

Question 4. What would the author’s grandmother feed the dogs?

Answer 4: The author’s grandmother would feed stale chapati to the dogs.

Question 5. How long did the author stay abroad?

Answer 5: The author stays for five years in a foreign country.

Question 6. What were the names of the girls?

Answer 6: The names of the girls were Betty and Dolly.

Question 7. What impression did the author give of his grandfather?

Answer 7: The author described his grandfather with the help of a portrait
that hung in the drawing room. His grandfather wore a turban and loose-
fitting clothes in the portrait. He had a beard that covered most of his
chest, and according to the author, he looked at least a hundred years old.
The author also stated that he looked like someone who could never have
a wife or children. His grandfather’s portrait also confused the author about
whether his grandmother had ever been young and pretty.

Question 8. Why did the author think his grandmother was never young
and pretty?
Answer 8: The author stated that he always had difficulty believing that his
grandmother had been young and pretty. It is mainly because he always
saw his grandmother as old. He also saw the portrait of his grandfather. He
didn’t believe his grandfather could be a person who had a wife and kids.
So, he thought his grandmother had always been old and never had a
husband or children.

Question 9. Mention how the sparrows expressed their sorrow when the
author’s grandmother died.

Answer 9: The author’s grandmother built a close relationship with the

sparrows after she moved to the city. She used to feed the sparrows every
day. After her death, she was laid on the floor and covered with a red
shroud. When the author and family members came to carry her body,
they witnessed thousands of sparrows on the veranda and in her room.
They sat quietly on the floor. The author’s mother went inside to bring some
bread for the birds. But they didn’t eat the bread crumbs and started to fly
away after her body was carried out of the room.

Question 10. How did the author’s grandmother’s routine change in the
city?

Answer 10: The author’s grandmother’s routine changed after she came to
live in the city with the author’s family. She had the same room as the
author, but he was admitted to a city school. So, she could not take him to
school. She couldn’t help the author in his studies because he studied
science and other modern subjects in school. She got confined at home
and engaged herself with spinning wheels and praying. She started to feed
the sparrows like she used to feed the dogs in her village. Only half an hour,
when she was with the sparrows, was her best time of the day.

Question 11. Mention Three reasons why the author’s grandmother was
disturbed when he started attending the city school.

Answer 11: Their friendship faded when the author and his grandmother
moved to the city. He used to go to school by motor bus, and his
grandmother could not take him there. The author used to study English
and western science in school. It made her unhappy because she didn’t
believe in this study and could not help the author in lessons. The third
factor that bothered her the most was the music lessons that the author
received in his schools.The lessons were different and not meant for folk
songs. It upset her, and she rarely spoke to the author after this.

Question 12. Mention how the author’s grandmother used to feed the
birds every day.

Answer 12: The author’s grandmother had the habit of feeding the dogs
while living in the village. When she moved to the city, she could not feed
the dogs and started to feed the sparrows. In the afternoon, she used to
break the bread into little crumbs and spread it for the birds on the
veranda. There used to be hundreds of birds, some sitting on her feet,
shoulders and even on her head. That half an hour used to be her best time
of the day.

Question 13. Mention the odd way the author’s grandmother behaved
just before she died.

Answer 13: The author’s grandmother behaved differently one evening.

She did not pray and gathered some women from the neighbourhood.
She collected a drum and sang homecoming warriors’ songs for several
hours. Lastly, the author and his family had to request that she stop. The
next morning, she got a fever. Though the doctor said this was a mild
fever, she said that her time was near. She kept counting the beads and
chanting prayers until she breathed her last.

Question 14. Describe how the author’s grandmother reacted when he

went to study abroad.

Answer 14: The author stated that he left for a foreign country for five
years to study there. He was aware that it irritated his grandmother.But
she came to leave him at the railway station. She showed no emotion or
sadness and engaged in prayer. Her mind was lost in prayer, and she kept
counting the beads and silently kissing his forehead. In this way, she bid
the author goodbye when he left the country.

Question 15. What has not changed over the years? Does this suggest
something to you?

Answer 15: According to the poem, the sea has not changed over the
years. It suggests the flow of time and how people’s lives change. The sea
in the photograph remains unchanged to this day.But the people in it are
not the same. They have grown with time and even died because man is
not immortal. Thus, it describes how humans are put on earth for a very
short period of time, while the seas, forests, rivers, and other features
remain almost the same.

Question 16. Describe the photograph.

Answer 16: The photograph is of the poet’s mother, along with her two
cousins. Her mother was twelve or thirteen years old in that photograph. It
shows that the three of them went on a beach vacation. They were
standing on the beach, where sea water was washing their feet. The wind
played with their hair as they smiled sweetly towards their uncle, who was
clicking the photo.

Question 17. How did the author describe his grandmother?

Answer 17: The author, Khushwant Singh, had a deep relationship with his
grandmother. He spent his childhood with her. He described her
grandmother as an older woman like everyone else’s his grandmother.
He spent his childhood with her. He described her grandmother as an
older woman like everyone else’s. He stated that he had known her for as
long as he could remember and couldn’t believe she was once so
beautiful and young.But he described her as a beautiful woman. He
mentioned she was fat, short, and slightly bent. She used to wear white
clothes and roam in the house. She used to support her stoop with one
hand and count the beads of the rosary with the other. Besides counting,
she used to chant a prayer. The author described numerous wrinkles
crossing her face and her hair being grey. The silver locks were scattered
on her pale face. He compared her to the peaceful, white landscape of a
winter mountain.Thus, he described his grandmother and her peaceful
beauty.

Question 18. Describe the days when the author lived with his
grandmother in the village.

Answer 18: The author described his childhood friendship with his
grandmother. He stated that in his childhood, his parents lived in the city,
leaving him with his grandmother. So, he spent his early childhood days
with his grandmother and attended the village school run by the priest of
the village temple. He remembered his grandmother would wake him up,
give him breakfast and get him dressed while singing religious songs. Then
he would have his breakfast, which was leftover chapati with sugar and
butter. After having breakfast, he would go to school with his grandmother.
He would chant the alphabet with other students in chorus, and his
grandmother would stay inside the temple reading the scriptures. They
would leave home after school when the village dogs met them at the
temple door.His grandmother used to carry several chapatis with her, and
she would tear the bread to feed the dogs. Thus, the author remembered
his colourful childhood days with her grandmother in their village.

Question 19. Describe the changing relationship between the author and
his grandmother. Did their feelings for each other change?

Answer 19: The author had a good friendship with his grandmother. He
used to live with her during his childhood. She used to bathe him, dress
him, and take him to school. While he was studying, she used to stay
inside a temple, reading transcripts. After school, they used to return
home while feeding the village dogs. Thus, they had a close relationship.
But with time, it changed. They moved to the city to live with the author’s
parents. The author was admitted to a city school, where he used to
travel by bus. As a result, his grandmother was unable to accompany
him and remained at home.She was frustrated because she couldn’t
assist him in his lessons and because the author was receiving western
education.They shared the same room, but their conversation got quiet.
When the author entered university, she got another room and accepted
her seclusion. Following that, he went abroad for studies, causing a
schism in their relationship.Though they got farther apart over time, their
feelings for each other did not change. He still loved her the same way he
did before.His grandmother believed she appeared herself in prayer and
reduced conversation with him, and that she had the same love and
blessings for him.

Question 20. The author’s grandmother was a religious person. What are
the different ways in which we come to know this?

Answer 21: The author, Khushwant Singh, described his grandmother and
their relationship in his writing ‘The Portrait of a Lady. In the writing, we can
see that his grandmother was a religious person. In the beginning, he
described how his grandmother used to count the rosary beads in one
hand and always chant the mantra. In his childhood, she used to sing
religious songs while dressing him up for school so that he could
understand the meaning of the songs. While the author was studying at
the village school, she used to stay inside a temple and read religious
scripts. She engaged in religious activities when she moved to the city with
the author’s family. She used to chant prayers. While she used to feed the
dogs in the village, she used to feed the sparrows in the city. When the
author started to go to a city school, she did not accept the education he
was getting there gladly. She was offended that the school taught science
and other modern-day knowledge instead of God and the scriptures.She
was acting strangely even before her last day.She gathered her
neighbours and sang the songs of homecoming warriors. On her last day,
she said that her time was near, and she kept chanting prayers before her
last breath. Thus, the author described his grandmother as a religious
person.

Question 22. Explain how the title ‘The Portrait of a Lady’ suits the writing.

Answer 22: ‘The Portrait of a Lady’ by Khushwant Singh is a remembrance

of his grandmother. Here a portrait is mentioned, but it was the portrait of
the author’s grandfather. In writing, we find no mention of a picture or
photograph of the author’s grandmother. But the writing itself has become
a portrait of her. The author didn’t describe her grandmother as a specific
person; rather, he stated that she was like everyone else’s grandmother.
His relationship with her was also a common one between grandparents
and grandchildren. But, the simplicity of it touches the reader’s heart. The
details of his memories with his grandmother and her personality vividly
depict a caring grandparent. We can know about her personality from the
writing. Thus, her picture gets embodied before our eyes due to the
author’s description. He didn’t mention her name but represented a
woman who strongly adhered to her faith and views. Thus, the lady we
study in the story becomes more than a relative of the author. Instead, we
learn about a strong older woman who was kind, religious and loved her
family. So, the title ‘The Portrait of a Lady’ perfectly suits the writing.

Question 23. Would you agree that the author’s grandmother was a
person strong in character? If yes, give instances that show this.
Answer 23: Author Khushwant Singh wrote ‘The Portrait of a Lady’ to
remember his grandmother. The writing showed that the author’s
grandmother was religious and had a very strong character. She was kind
and devoted to the idea of God. Throughout the passage, some instances
prove that his grandmother had a very strong personality. Her religious
beliefs strongly suggest that she had great faith in God, as do her views
towards life. She used to count the beads of her rosary and chant prayers
all day. She took care of the author when his parents settled in a city. She
used to bathe him, dress him, feed him, and accompany him to the village
school. When he was studying in school, she used to stay in a temple and
read transcripts. While returning, she used to feed the dogs. Later, she
moved to the city with the author’s parents and didn’t change her thoughts
and beliefs. She clearly showed that she didn’t like modern education,
which created a distance between her and the author. Even when the
author went to university, she got a separate room and accepted her
seclusion. On the last day of her life, she kept chanting prayers before she
breathed her last. Her courage and patience to accept death truly show
how strong a person she was.

Question 24. Explain the poem ‘A Photograph’.

Answer 24: The poem ‘A Photograph’ by Shirley Toulson is about a

photograph of her mother. It shows her mother and two cousins smiling at
the camera. Her mother was barely twelve or thirteen years old in the
photo when she went to the beach with her cousins Betty and Dolly. They
were standing on the beach while the sea water washed their feet. The air
was playing with their hair, and their uncle clicked the photo while they
were holding hands.Though the sea has remained the same, their lives
have changed with time. After two or three decades, the poet’s mother
remembered the day. She smiled, seeing the photo, and exclaimed over
how they were dressed. But in the next stanza, we know that it was a
memory of the poet because her mother is no more. She watches the
photo and remembers how her mother used to remember her seeing it in
the past. Thus, the image evokes her mother’s memory, just like it evoked
her mother’s memory of her past.

Question 25. The three stanzas depict three different phases. What are
they?
Answer 25: The poem ‘A Photograph’ by Shirley Toulson is about
remembering loved ones. The three stanzas depict three time periods.
The first stanza starts with a photograph of the poet’s mother with her
two cousins. They went on a beach vacation and took photos there. They
were standing on the beach when the ocean water washed their feet, and
they were posing with sweet smiles when their uncle was clicking the
photo. It represents a happy time when her mother enjoyed the day with
her family. She was barely a teenager back then.

The next stanza shows how her mother remembered her past. She smiled
while seeing the photo and remembering how they had been dressed for
the beach. Her past also made her sad because those days were gone.
This presents a period several decades after that photograph was taken.

The third stanza represents the present time, when the poet’s mother is
dead. She remembers seeing the photo. All she can hear is silence
because the person who used to smile when seeing the photo is gone. So,
the poem ends with the present scenario, with the poet remembering her
mother seeing an old photograph of her childhood days.