The Portrait of a Lady

1. How does Khushwant Singh describe his old grandmother?

Ans. Khushwant Singh says that his grandmother was so old that she could not get any older. Her face was
full of wrinkles. She was short, fat and somewhat bent. It was unbelievable to imagine that she had once
been young and pretty, and had a husband. The thought of her being a child once was almost revolting to
him.

2. Why did the narrator’s grandmother give the impression of ‘winter landscape in the mountains’?
Ans. The author’s grandmother used to wear spotless white clothes. She had silvery hair. White all over,
she looked like the winter landscape in the mountains covered with snow. She recited her prayers all the
time, so had a serene expression on her face which was like the peaceful, white mountains.

3. How did the old lady look after the narrator in the village?
Ans. The narrator was left to the care of his grandmother in the village home when his parents went to live
in the city. She looked after the child with care and love. She bathed him, dressed him, fed him, got his
school bag ready, and then took him to temple-school. She helped the boy with his lessons.

4. Why did the grandmother feed dogs and birds in the village and then in the city? What did the habit tell
about her nature?
Ans. The old lady was a caring person. She had a love for birds and animals. In the village, she threw
chapattis to the street dogs. In the city, she had no dogs around, so she began to feed little birds. This
showed her affection for all living creatures and her noble nature.

5. How can you say that the grandmother was a deeply religious-minded lady?
Ans. The author’s old grandmother was deeply religious-minded. She all day long counted the beads of the
rosary and recited prayers. She read scriptures inside the temple. She was disturbed to know that there
was no teaching about God and scriptures at the city school. She fed the dogs in the villages and the birds
in the city.

6. My grandmother and I were good friends. When was the friendship cemented and broken?
Ans. The author and his grandmother became good friends in the village home. The grandmother readied
him for school and accompanied him there. They were together almost the whole day. Her affection and
care lasted until her last breath. But in between, when they lived together in the city that link grew weak.
The author studied in an English school and was not taught about God and scriptures at all. Now she could
not help him with his studies. Finally, he got a room of his own and this made her withdraw from him. But
the friendship was broken only after she had died.

7. What made the grandmother unhappy in the city?

Ans. In the city, the friendship between the old lady and the little grandson came under strain. She was
disturbed because she could not go with him to school, nor help him with his lessons. She did not approve
of English education, particularly the music lessons. The author, as he grew up, got a room of his own. The
growing distance between them upset her. All this made her unhappy.
8. How did the old grandmother keep herself busy in the city home?
Ans. When the author got a room of his own in the city home, the old lady accepted her aloofness calmly.
She worked on her spinning wheel all day long and recited her prayers. Only in the afternoon did she take a
half-hour break to rest and to feed the birds.

9. Give a brief account of the grandmother’s friendship with the sparrows in the city.
Ans. The old grandmother lost even the last link of friendship with the author so she made friends with the
sparrows. In the afternoon, she threw small bits of bread to the birds who even sat on her shoulders and
her head. After her death, the sparrows also grieved for her. Thousands of them made a circle round her.
They made no noise, no movement. They refused to eat the crumbs offered to them. They flew away only
after her dead body was taken away.

10. Give a brief account of how the grandmother saw the narrator off at the station and then celebrated
his homecoming.
Ans. The old grandmother went to the railway station to see her dear grandson off. She showed no
sentiments, no emotions. She only kissed his forehead. She was still there to receive him at the end of five
years. She seemed to be very happy. In the evening, she celebrated his home-coming by singing songs and
beating the drum. She was so tired that she was taken ill and she died the next day.

11. How and why did the sparrows mourn the death of the old grandmother?
Ans. The association or friendship of the old lady with the sparrows began in the city. Left alone, she
sought the company of the sparrows. She fed them every day in the afternoon. The birds became very
friendly and attached with her. So they felt bereaved when she died. They gathered around her and sat
quietly until the dead body was carried off.