THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY

-KUSHWANT SINGH

Theme
‘The Portrait of a Lady’ is written in an autobiographical style by Kushwant Singh.
In this story, the author draws a pen portrait of his grandmother. He beautifully
unfolds their relationship which undergoes several changes. The theme of
innocence, friendship, love, connection, kindness, selflessness, respect and
acceptance is unfolded in this story. It is a loving tribute from a grandson to his
grandmother. The story gives a picture of human relationships. It is a realistic
account of how the grandparents give all their time, attention and love to their
grandchildren.

Answer the following questions:

1. Mention the three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before
he left the 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 given below.

The first phase was the period of the author’s early childhood. During this phase, he
used to live with his grandmother in the village. The grandmother used to take care of
him from waking him up and getting him ready to accompanying him to the school. Both
shared a good friendship with each other.

The second phase was the time when the author and the grandmother moved to the
city to live with the author’s parents. This was a turning-point in their friendship
because now they ‘saw less of each other’.

The third phase was the time the author joined University. He was given a room of his
own and the common link of their friendship was snapped. The grandmother turns to
wheel-spinning and reciting prayers all day long. She accepts her seclusion with silence.
2. Mention three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when he
started going to the city school.

Answer

The author’s grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the city school
because:
(i) She could not help him with his lessons in English and Science. She didn't believe in
them.
(ii) No teaching of God and scriptures.
(iii) She was unhappy with the idea of music lessons being given at school. She
considered music not suitable only for decent people and gentlefolk. It was the
monopoly of harlots and beggars.

3. Mention 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
by spinning the wheel, reciting prayers and feeding the sparrows.

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

Answer

The grandmother told the family that her end was near. She had omitted to pray, she
was not going to waste any more time talking to anyone. She lay peacefully in bed
praying and telling her beads.

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. They paid
their tribute to the grand old lady in a unique way.

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 every day. She would sit
and read scriptures. 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. When the author went to study at the university,
she went into seclusion and spent her whole day in chanting prayers.

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.
********