Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 1 The Portrait of a Lady

Questions from NCERT Textbook Solved

The Portrait of a Lady Understanding the Text
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.

Hornbill Class 11 English Question 2:

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.

Hornbill Class 11 English Question 3:

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.

Hornbill Class 11 English Question 4:

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.

Hornbill Class 11 English Question 5:

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

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.

The Portrait of a Lady Thinking About language

Question 1:
Which language do you think the author and his grandmother used while talking to
each other?
Answer:
The author’s grandmother was not much educated. So, I think the author and his
grandmother used to talk in their mother tongue—in this case Panjabi.

Question 2:
Which language do you use to talk to elderly relatives in your family?
Answer:
My elderly relatives are well versed in English and Hindi. I feel at home greeting
them in English but like to converse with them freely in Hindi.

Question 3:
What is the expression used in your language for a ‘dilapidated drum’?
Answer:
The expression used in our language for a ‘dilapidated drum’ is ‘phata-purana dhol.’

Question 4:
Can you think of a song or poem in your language that talks of homecoming?
Answer:
There are many folk songs and poems singing of the exploits of brave warriors. All
these talk of their homecoming after winning a battle.

The Portrait of a Lady Working with Words

I. Notice the following uses of the word ‘tell’ in the essay:

1. Her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary.

2. I would tell her English words and little things of Western Science and learning.
3. At her age one could never tell.
4. She told us that her end was near.

Given below are four different senses of the word ‘tell’. Match the meaning
to the uses listed above.

(a) make something known to someone in spoken or written words

(b) count while reciting
(c) be sure
(d) give information to somebody.
Answer:

II. Notice the different senses of the word ‘take’:

1. to take to something: to begin to do something as a habit

2. to take ill: suddenly become ill

Locate these phrases in the text and notice the way they are used.
Answer:
In the text, these phrases are used as under:

1. to take to: She took to feeding sparrows in the courtyard of our city house.
2. take ill: The next morning she was taken ill.

III. The word ‘hobble’ means to walk with difficulty because the legs and
feet are in bad condition.
Tick the words in the box below that also refer to a manner of walking.

Answer:
The words referring to a manner of walking are:
shuffle, stride, waddle, swagger, trudge, slog.
IV. Notice these expressions in the text. Infer their meaning from the
context

Answer:

 the thought was almost revolting: It was disgusting to think so.

 an expanse of pure white serenity: widespread clear and calm whiteness.
 a turning point: the time when an important change takes place.
 accepted her seclusion with resignation: calmly submitted to her loneliness.
 a veritable bedlam of chirrupings: real confusing noise caused by chirping.
 frivolous rebukes: light rebukes
 the sagging skins of the dilapidated drum: the loose skin of an old drum.

The Portrait of a Lady Noticing Form

Notice the form of the verbs highlighted in these sentences:

1. My grandmother was an old woman. She had been old and wrinked for the
twenty years that I had known her. People said that she had once been young
and pretty and had even had a husband, but that was hard to believe.
2. When we both had finished we would walk back together.
3. When I came back she would ask me what the teacher had taught me.
4. It was the first time since I had known her that she did not pray.
5. Thus sun was setting and had lit her room and verandah with a golden light.

These are examples of the past perfect forms of verbs. When we recount
things in the distant past we use this form.

Other examples for practice

Notice the form of verbs highlighted in these sentences:
Answer:

1. We understood the poem only when the teacher had explained it twice.
2. When the rain came, they had already reached their hotel.
3. We had worked together on that project for six months before she left me.
4. It was the first time since I had lived there that it began to snow.
5. The full moon was in the sky and had scattered its soft fight all around.

The Portrait of a Lady Things to do

Talk with your family members about elderly people who you have been
intimately connected with and are not there with you now. Write a short
description of someone you liked a great deal.
Answer:
 My Grandmother

I lost my grandmother when I was twelve, but I still recollect her. She loved me
affectionately and I liked her a great deal. She was quite old then, but she could move
about with ease. I was her constant companion during her visits to temple, market,
garden or to the houses of friends and relatives. Other members of the family would
taunt me as granny’s watch dog. She was my shield. I ran to her arms when my father
or mother would get angry or thrash me. I miss the bedtime stories she used to tell
me. Those highly fanciful stories were full of deeds of bravery or adventure and end
on a note a success. They inspired me to do noble deeds in fife. She was equally
careful about my health and studies. She would make me drink milk and eat fruit to
maintain a sound physique. She was good at drawing and helped me in writing
alphabets. She also gave ready-made solutions to all my problems. She would bless
me whenever I got success in any field—studies, sports, song, poetic recitation, poster
making or fancy dress competition. Sometimes I miss her a lot.

The Portrait of a Lady Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1:
How long had the narrator known his grandmother—old and wrinkled? What did
people say? How did the narrator react?
Answer:
The narrator had known his grandmother—old and wrinkled for the last twenty years.
She was terribly old. Perhaps she could not have looked older. People said that she
had once been young and pretty. They said that she even had a husband. The
narrator found it hard to believe.

Question 2:
How did the narrator’s grandfather appear in the portrait?
Answer:
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.

Question 3:
Which thought about the grandmother was often revolting and for whom?
Answer:
The narrator’s grandmother was very old and wrinkled. She had stayed at this stage
for the last twenty years. People said that once she was young and pretty. The
narrator couldn’t even imagine her being young. So the thought was revolting to him.

Question 4:
Explain: “As for my grandmother being young and pretty, the thought was almost
revolting”.
Answer:
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.

Question 5:
The narrator’s grandmother ‘could never have been pretty, but she was always
beautiful’. Explain the importance of the statement.
Answer:
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.

Question 6:
Why was it hard for the author to believe that his grandmother was once young and
pretty?
Answer:
She was quite an old lady. She had been old and wrinkled for more than two decades.
It is said that once she had been young and pretty. But it is hard to believe so.

Question 7:
The narrator’s grandmother looked like the ‘winter landscape in the mountains’.
Comment.
Answer:
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.

Question 8:
How did the narrator and his grandmother become good friends?
Answer:
During his childhood, the narrator stayed with his grandmother in the village. She was
his constant companion. She looked after him. She used to wake him up. She got him
ready for school in the morning. She would give him breakfast. She went to school
with him.

Question 9:
Why could the grandmother not walk straight? How would she move about the house?
Answer:
The grandmother was short and fat. She was also slightly bent. She put one hand on
her waist to support the stoop. She could not walk straight. She walked like a lame
person. She limped or hobbled about while moving.

Question 10:
Describe how the grandmother spent her time while the narrator sat inside the village
school.
Answer:
The grandmother went to the school with the narrator. The school was attached to the
temple. The narrator would learn alphabet and morning prayer at school. The
grandmother would sit inside the temple. There she would read holy books. Thus she
spent her time before they came back together.

Question 11:
Grandmother has been portrayed as a very religious lady. What details in the story
create this impression?
Answer:
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 narrator ready for school. All these
details create the impression that she was a religious lady.

Question 12:
The grandmother had a divine beauty. How does the author bring this out?
Answer:
The grandmother’s silvery locks scattered untidily over her pale and wrinkled face.
This made her look like an expanse of pure white serenity. She had a divine beauty.
She looked like the winter landscape in the mountains.

Question 13:
What proofs do you find of the friendship between grandmother and grandson in this
story?
Answer:
The grandmother was closely attached to the narrator in his childhood. She woke him,
got him ready and took him to school. She prepared his wooden slate. She waited in
the temple while he studied in school. They returned home together.

Question 14:
The grandmother was a kind-hearted woman. Give examples in support of your
answer.
Answer:
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.

Question 15:
“That was a turning point in our friendship.” What was the turning point?
Answer:
The turning point in their friendship came when they shifted to the city. Now the
narrator went to an English school in a bus. Grandmother could no longer accompany
him to school. Although they shared the same room, they saw less of each other.

Question 16:
Draw a comparison between village school education and city school education.
Answer:
Elementary education was given in village school. The pupils were taught alphabet
and multiplication tables. It was quite simple—confined to the three R’s—reading,
writing and arithmetic. In the city school, English, Science and Music were taught.
Unlike village school there was no teaching about God and scriptures.

Question 17:
How did grandmother react to the narrator’s receiving education in English school?
Answer:
She did not believe in the things they taught at the English school. She hated
Western Science and learning. She was pained to know that there was no teaching of
God and the scriptures there.

Question 18:
What led to the gradual distancing of the narrator from his grandmother in the city?
Give three reasons.
Answer:
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.

Question 19:
Why was the narrator’s grandmother so much allergic to music? Why was the
grandmother disturbed when she came to know that music lessons were being given
at school?
Answer:
She considered that music had lewd associations. It was not meant for decent people
and gentlefolk. It was actually the monopoly of prostitutes and beggars.

Question 20:
When was the common link of friendship between the narrator and his grandmother
finally snapped?
Answer:
The narrator went to the university. Now he was given a room of his own. This
separated the narrator from his grandmother. The common link of their friendship was
thus finally broken.

Question 21:
How did the grandmother spend her time when the narrator went up to university?
Answer:
She now lived alone in her room. She accepted her loneliness quietly. She was now
always busy with her spinning wheel. She sat at her spinning-wheel reciting prayers.
She hardly talked to anyone. In the afternoon, she would feed the sparrows. This was
her only pastime.

Question 22:
Why did the grandmother take to feeding sparrows in the courtyard of their city
house?
Answer:
In the village, she used to throw ‘chapattis’ to the street dogs. But there were no dogs
in the streets of the city. So, she took to feeding the sparrows in the courtyard of their
city house.

Question 23:
Describe in brief how grandmother spent half-an-hour with the sparrows. How did she
feel then?
Answer:
The grandmother usually fed the sparrows in the afternoon. She sat in the verandah.
She broke bread into little bits. Hundreds of sparrows would gather there. They would
chirrup noisily. Some perched on her legs and shoulders. Some sat even on her head.
She enjoyed feeding them. She never pushed them away. It was her happiest half an
hour.

Question 24:
What was the happiest moment of the day for the grandmother?
Answer:
The happiest half-hour of her day used to be the time when grandmother fed the
sparrows. She would sit in the verandah breaking the bread into little bits. The
sparrows would collect around her. They chirped noisily. Some perched on her legs
and shoulders. Some even sat on her head. She relished this game. She never shooed
them away.

Question 25:
How did the grandmother see the narrator off at the railway station?
Answer:
She was not at all sentimental. She kept silent and didn’t show her emotions. Her lips
moved in prayer and her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary. She only
kissed the narrator’s forehead. He cherished the moist imprint as perhaps the last
sign-of physical contact between them.

Question 26:
What was the “last sign” of physical contact between the author and the
grandmother? Why did the author think that to be the last physical contact?
Answer:
The grandmother, kissed Khushwant Singh on his forehead. The author thought that
this was perhaps the last sign of physical contact between them. He was going away
for five years. She was extremely old and at her age one could never tell whether she
would be alive for long.

Question 27:
Why didn’t the grandmother pray in the evening on the day narrator came back
home?
Answer:
There was a strange change in her behaviour. She was over-excited. She celebrated
the arrival of her grandson. She collected all the women of the neighburhood. For
hours she continued singing and beating the drum. She had to be persuaded to stop
to avoid overstraining. Perhaps it was the first time that she didn’t pray.

Question 28:
How did the grandmother die?
Answer:
The grandmother realised that her end was near. She continued praying. Her fingers
were busy in telling the beads of her rosary. She lay peacefully in bed. She did not talk
to anyone. After sometime, her lips stopped moving. The rosary fell down from her
fingers. She died peacefully.

Question 29:
How did the sparrows show that they had not come for the bread?

OR

How did the sparrows pay their last homage to the grandmother?
Answer:
The grandmother lay dead. Thousands of sparrows came there. They did not chirrup.
They paid their last homage to the old lady silently. She used to feed them regularly.
The narrator’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.
Question 30:
Everybody including the sparrows mourned grandmother’s death. Elaborate.
Answer:
The old grandmother died peacefully. The members of the author’s family mourned
her death. Thousands of sparrows came and sat silently in the courtyard and the
verandah where grandmother lay dead and wrapped in a red shroud. They took no
notice of the bread crumbs thrown to them. They flew away quietly the moment
grandmother’s corpse was carried off.

The Portrait of a Lady Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1:
Describe the friendship ‘between Khushwant Singh and his grandmother.
Answer:
Khushwant Singh’s grandmother was closely involved in bringing him up when the
author lived with her in the village during his early life. She used to wake him up early
in the morning. While bathing and dressing him, she sang her prayers. She hoped that
the young boy would learn it by heart. She then gave him breakfast—a stale chapatti
with butter and sugar. Then they would go together to the temple school. While the
author learnt his lesson, the grandmother would read holy books. They returned home
together.
A turning point came in their friendship when his parents called them to city. Although
they shared a room, she could not help him much. She hated music, Science and
Western education. The common link of their friendship was gradually snapped.

Question 2:
What image of the grandmother emerges from ‘The Portrait of a Lady’?
Answer:
Khushwant Singh’s grandmother has been portrayed as a very old lady. She was short
statured, fat and slightly bent. Her face was wrinkled and she was always dressed in
spotless white clothes. 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 the
temple and read the scriptures.
The grandmother was a kind lady. She used to feed dogs in the village. In the city she
took to feeding the sparrows. She had great affection for her grandson. She looked
after him in the village. She could not adjust herself to the Western way of life,
Science and English education. She hated music and was distressed to know that
there was no teaching about God and holy books at Khushwant’s new English school.
On the whole, she was a nice, kind-hearted and religious lady.

Question 3:
Write a character sketch of the author’s grandmother by using following words:
affectionate, caring, kind and benevolent, religious, a strong woman.
Answer:
Khushwant Singh’s grandmother was a very old lady. She was short, fat and slightly
bent. Her face was wrinkled. She had white hair. She was very affectionate. She was
closely involved in bringing up the author. The two lived in the village. She was a
caring grandmother. She would wake him early in the morning and get him ready for
school. She served him breakfast and took him to school. She waited for him in the
temple. She prayed while he studied. She returned with him.
She was kind and benevolent. She used to feed dogs in the village. In the city she
took to feeding the sparrows. 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
the temple and read the scriptures.
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. She was
distressed to know that there was no teaching about God and holy books at
Khushwant’s new English school. On the whole, she was a nice, affectionate, kind
hearted and religious lady.

Question 4:
The grandmother herself was not formally educated but was serious about the
author’s education. How does the text support this?
Answer:
The grandmother was quite serious about the author’s education. She woke him up in
the morning and got him ready for school. She washed his wooden slate. She
plastered it with yellow chalk. She tied his earthen ink-pot and reed pen into a bundle.
She took him to school. He studied in school. She waited for him in the temple reading
scriptures.
In the city, the author went to an English school in a motor bus. When he came back
she would ask him what the teacher had taught him. She could not help him with his
lessons. She did not believe in the things taught at the English school. She was
distressed to learn that her grandson was being taught music. She considered it unfit
for gentle folk.

Question 5:
Gradually the author and the grandmother saw less of each other and their friendship
was broken. Was the distancing in the relationship deliberate or due to demand of the
situation?
Answer:
During his boyhood, grandmother was a part of his life. He was completely dependent
on her. The turning point in their friendship came when they went to city. Now, he
went to school by bus. She no longer accompanied him. As the years rolled by they
saw less of each other. For sometime she continued to wake him up and got him
ready for school. When he came back 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 up to university, he was given a
room of his own. The common link of friendship was snapped. Now she spent most of
her time at the spinning wheel. Thus we find that the distancing in the relationship
was due to demand of situation. The graph of life never follows a straight line.

Question 6:
The word ‘portrait’ generally means a painting, a drawing or a photograph but here it
implies a representation or impression of someone in language. Write a pen picture of
your grandparents describing the qualities you admire and appreciate most.
Answer:
I am lucky that my grandparents are still alive. They live in our native village. My
grandfather is about 70. My grandmother is about 65. My grandfather served in the
army before he retired as a colonel 20 years ago. He is still active and smart. He has
strong will power and manliness in the way he carries himself. He is fond of walking
and jogging. He looks after the family farm and briefs the workers every morning. In
the evening he asks each of them to report the progress and work done. He believes
in trusting people. Even then he has some surprise checks. My grandmother is a bit
fat and small. She is slow moving. She is deeply religious. She visits the temple every
morning. She supervises the household work and activities. She helps the poor and
the needy. She is kind, generous and hospitable. My grandparents visit us in the city
on important days such as birthdays or marriage anniversaries etc. We spend a part
of our holidays with them. Their company is a blessing.

Question 7:
Imagine that you are Khushwant Singh. Record the changes that came in your
relationship with your grandmother as you grew up from kid to university student.
Answer:
During my boyhood days I lived with my grandmother in the village. She used to wake
me up in the morning and prepared me for school. She accompanied me to school. A
turning point came in our friendship when my parents sent for us in the city. Now I
went to an English school in the motor bus. I was taught English, Science and music.
She could not help me in my studies. She hated Science, music and Western
education. We still shared the same room, but talked less and less. When I joined the
university, I was given a separate room and our common link of closeness was finally
snapped.