HORNBILL (CH – 1): THE POTRAIT OF A LADY

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

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.

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 verandas 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.