PORTRAIT OF A LADY

Wrinkled- having lines or folds

Portrait- painting or picture
Mantelpiece- a structure of wood, marble, or stone above and around a fireplace.
the thought was almost revolting- it was very hard for the author to believe
Revolting – unpleasant
Absurd – Illogical
Undignified- disrespectful
Fables- fictitious stories with a moral teaching
Prophets- saints
Criss- cross – a pattern of intersecting straight lines
Hobbled – walked in an awkward way
spotless white – she wore clean, white coloured dresses
Stoop – bend one’s body forward
Rosary- a string of beads for keeping count of number of chants made of a
religious prayer
Locks- hair
Scattered – disorganized
Untidily – not neat
Puckered – a face contract into wrinkles
Inaudible- unable to be heard
Serenity – the state of being peaceful and calm
an expanse of pure white serenity – refers to the calm, relaxed and peaceful
character of the author’s grandmother
Contentment – a state of happiness and satisfaction
Monotonous – dull and boring
Bothered- to be concerned
Fetch – go for and then bring back something for someone
Slate- a flat plate of slate formerly used for writing on in schools
Plastered- covered with a layer of plaster
Earthen- made of baked or fired clay
Stale- no longer fresh and pleasant to eat; hard, musty, or dry.
Scriptures – the sacred writings of a religion
Growling – making a low guttural sound in the throat
Courtyard- verandah
Years rolled by- time passed
Distressed – suffer from extremely sorrow, anxiety or pain
Lewd Association – Indecent or Obscene
Harlots – Prostitutes
Gentlefolk – People of noble birth
Snapped- break suddenly and completely
Seclusion – the state of being private and away from the people
accepted her seclusion with resignation- the grandmother accepted a lonely life as
she accepted the separation from her grandson without objection
Spinning-wheel – a household machine with a wheel attached to it for spinning
yarn
A veritable bedlam of chirrupings – refers to the noise and confusion caused by the
chirrupings of the sparrows
Veritable – use to describe something which is very interesting or unusual
Bedlam – confusion
Chirrupings – the noise of a small bird
Perched – alight or rest on something
Shooed – make a person or animal go away by shouting or saying ‘shoo’
Sentimental – a feeling of nostaglia, sadness or tenderness; an emotional feeling
Beads – a small piece of glass or stone threaded with others to make a rosary or
necklace
Cherished – hold something dear
Clasped – hold tightly
Frivolous – not having any serious purpose, light-hearted
Rebuke – disapproval of something or someone
frivolous rebukes – light hearted scoldings
Sagging – sinking downwards
Dilapidated – in a state of despair or ruin
the sagging skins of the dilapidated drum- The loose surface of the worn out drum
Persuade – to talk someone into doing something, requeste
Overstraining- overdoing something
Omitted – leave out or exclude something
Customary – traditional
Crude – in a natural state, roughly made
Cremated – dispose of or burn a body after it is dead
Blaze – a very large burning fire
Shroud – a piece of cloth used to wrap a dead person
Corpse- dead body
1. The Portrait Of A Lady -Khushwant Singh
Q1 .Read the extract below and choose the most suitable alternative
(A)“My grandmother, like everybody’s grandmother, was an old woman. She had
been old and wrinkled 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. My grandfather’s portrait hung above the mantelpiece in the drawing
room. He wore a big turban and loose-fitting clothes. His long, white beard
covered the best part of his chest”
(I)”She” in the above extract refers to the author’s __________
(a) Mother.
(b) Grandmother.
(c) Neighbourhood woman.
(d) None of the above.
(ii)The people thought she was_______________
(a) old and wrinkled.
(b) once young and attractive.
(c) beautiful though wrinkled.
(d) charming though old.
(iii)What was difficult for the author to believe?
(a) The portrait of the grandfather
(b) The prettiness of the grandmother in her youth
(c) The grandmother had children once
(d) The old age and her appearance
(iv) The word that does not describe the appearance of the grandmother
is__________ .
(a) Youthful.
(b) Good-looking.
(c) Adolescent.
(d) Prepossessing.
(B). “Yes, she was beautiful. She was like the winter landscape in the mountains,
an expanse of pure white serenity breathing peace and contentment”
(i)The literary device used in the above extract is _________
(a) Metaphor
(b) Paradox
(c) Simile
(d) Oxymoron
(ii)The narrator describes the appearance of the grandmother as
(a) Symbolic of peace, serenity, contentment and spiritualism.
(b) Pretty, old and wrinkled.
(c) An Expansion of a landscape.
(d) A Grey haired lady with white clothes.
(iii) The grandmother was a kind- hearted woman since she____________
(a) escorted the author to the school
(b) was spinning the wheel
(c) fed the stray dogs and sparrows
(d) left the village and went to live in the city.
(iv) The grandmother had a divine beauty as______________
(a) she had silver locks and her lips always moved in inaudible prayer.
(b) she hobbled around the house in spotless white.
(c) she was always busy telling the beads of her rosary.
(d) all the above
(C). “When I went up to University, I was given a room of my own. The common
link of friendship was snapped. My grandmother accepted her seclusion with
resignation. She rarely left her spinning-wheel to talk to anyone. From sunrise to
sunset she sat by her wheel spinning and reciting prayers”
(i)The ‘common link’, described in this context is the bonding
(a) between the grandmother and her son
(b) between the author and the grandmother
(c) of the grandmother with the neighbourhood women
(d) of the grandmother with the sparrows
(ii) The ‘common link was________
(a) lost forever.
(b) an indelible mark in the sands of time.
(c) broken off after the narrator went to the university.
(d) nourished better.
(iii) The statement “accepted her seclusion with resignation” refers to
(a) the death of the grandmother
(b) loneliness and inactivity of sparrows
(c) isolation of the author in university
(d)The grandmother’s loneliness without being sentimental
(iv) The activity that was not done by the grandmother after the author went to the
university was____________
(a) feeding the sparrows
(b) spinning the wheel
(c) reading religious scriptures
(d) reciting prayers.
(i) What was the turning point of the friendship between grandmother and
author?
 a) When he became an adult
b) When his parents called both to the city
c) When he left her to live in the city with his parents
d) When they stopped talking.
(ii) What made the grandmother unhappy about the author’s new
English School?
a) Because they were in the city
b) The fact that she could no longer help him with the lessons
c) Because she did not understand English
d) Because she did not understand English and no longer help him with the
lessons
(iii) Why did not the grandmother like music?
(a)It was the monopoly of harlots and beggars and not meant for gentlefolk
(b)She liked only religious prayers
(c)She liked traditional folk music
(d)She thought it would distract him from studies
(iv) How did the sparrows express their sorrow at the death of their
grandmother?
(a)They did not come on that day
(b)They came and sat silently
(c )They ate the bread crumbs
(d)They chirruped a lot
(V) What was the reaction of the grandmother when the author was going
abroad?
(i) Happy
(ii) Sad
(iii) Not even sentimental
(iv) Sentimental
Q1 (A) Read the extract below and choose the most suitable alternative
“People said that she had once been young and pretty and had even had a husband,
but that was hard to believe”.
(i)Who is ‘she’ referred to in the above extraction?
(ii)What did people think of ‘she’?
(iii)What was hard to believe and why?
(B). “She was like the winter landscape in the mountains, an expanse of pure
white serenity breathing peace and contentment”
(i)What is the literary device used in the above extraction?
(ii)How does the narrator describe appearance of the grandmother?
(iii)Explain, “an expanse of pure white serenity breathing peace and contentment”.
(C). “The common link of friendship was snapped. My grandmother accepted
her seclusion with resignation”.
(i)What is the ‘common link’, described in this context?
(ii)What happened to the ‘common link ‘?
(iii)How did the grandmother react in such a scenario?
Q.2. Choose the most suitable alternative.
(i) The turning point of the friendship between the grandmother and the author
was when_____
(a) he became an adult
(b) his parents called both to the city
(c) he left her to live in the city with his parents
(d) they stopped talking with each other
(ii) The statement, “His long, white beard covered the best part of his chest”
describes
(a) the long white beard falling on the chest of the grandfather
(b) the chest was the best part of the grandfather’s appearance
(c) the long white beard covering the chest of the grandfather
(d) ‘a’ and ‘c’only
(iii) “the thought was almost revolting” reflects the author’s_____
(a) doubt that the grandmother was once young and pretty.
(b) pensive moments when he was separated from the grandmother.
(c) protest against his parents.
(d) mental afflictions when he left for the university.
(iv) Based on your understanding, choose the most suitable option that describes
the plot of the text.
(a) Turning point of the author and grandmother’s relationship.
(b) Sparrows mourning the death of the grandmother.
(c) Life of the author and the grandmother in Village.
(d) Grandmother’s secluded life in the city
(i) cabd (ii) dabc (iii) cadb (iv) cdab
(V) Which of the following statements does not describe the relationship between
the author and the grandmother?
(a) She thumped the sagging skins of the dilapidated drum and celebrated his home
coming.
(b) The lips of the grandmother stopped moving and the rosary fell from her
lifeless fingers.
(c) The grandmother accepted her seclusion from the author.
(d) The author thought she was like the winter landscape in the mountains.
Question Answers
1. Mention the three phases of the author’s relationship with his
grandmother before he left the country to study abroad.
Ans: The three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he
left the country to study abroad are as follows:
1. First Phase: The period of his early childhood where he used to live with her in
the village. His grandmother used to wake him up and get him ready for school.
They both would walk to school together and come back home together. They had
a good friendship with each other.
2. Second Phase: In this phase, the author and his grandmother shifted to the city as
the author’s parents settled well in the city. Although they shared the same room,
this was the turning point of their friendship. Now, they saw less of each other.
3. Third Phase: When the author went to the university, he was given a room of his
own. This made their friendship bond weaker as the common link between them
‘the same room’ snapped. She became quieter and private and kept the spinning
wheel all day long. She would feed the sparrows once a day and this was the only
thing that made her happy now.

2. Mention three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when
he started going to the city school.
Ans: When the author used to live in the village with her, they both had a good
friendship. She used to wake him up, got him ready and would also accompany
him to school. All this changed when they moved to the city. The grandmother was
disturbed for the following reason:
1. She no longer could help him in his lessons. As he started going to the English
medium school, this became a barrier for her.
2. There were no teachings about God and the scriptures.
3. She didn’t like him taking the music lessons. According to her, music was only
for beggars and harlots.

3. Mention three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after
he grew up.
Ans: His grandmother changed a lot since he grew up. She would spend her day at
the spinning wheel, chanting prayers and feeding sparrows.

4. Mention the odd way in which the author’s grandmother behaved just
before she died.
Ans: She didn’t pray the evening before dying. She collected the women from the
neighbourhood and started singing homecoming of the warriors with the help of
the drum. The next morning when she fell ill, she said her end was near. She
started praying peacefully while laying on her bed. She refused to talk to anyone
during her last hours.

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.

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 everyday. 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.

9. Which language do you think the author and his grandmother used while
talking to each other?
Ans: The author and his grandmother used to talk to each other in their mother
tongue. As the author belongs to Punjab state, they would talk in Punjabi language.

The Portrait of a Lady Grammar exercises

I. Notice the following uses of the word “tell” in the text.
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 meanings
to the uses listed above.
1. Make something known to someone in spoken or written words
2. Count while reciting
3. Be sure
4. Give information to somebody
Ans:
1. I would tell her English words and little things of Western science and learning.
2. Her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary.
3. At her age one could never tell.
4. She told us that her end was near.

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: to suddenly become ill

Locate these phrases in the text and notice the way they are used.
Ans: These phrases have been used in the story as follows:
1. “… she took to feeding sparrows in the courtyard of our city house”
She would feed sparrows daily in the verandah. She made this her habit when they
moved to the city.
2. “The next morning she was taken ill”
This phrase refers to the fact that the author’s grandmother was suddenly 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.
haggle shuffle stride ride waddle
wriggle paddle swagger trudge slog

Ans: The words which also refers to a manner of walking are: shuffle, stride,
waddle, swagger, trudge, and slog.

Q3. Answer the following questions in about 30-40 words.

(i) The grandmother’s send off and the reception of her grandson were very
touching. Comment.
(ii) Explain, “As for my grandmother being young and pretty, the thought was
almost revolting”.
(iii) Evaluate, “Old, so terribly old that she could not have grown older....”
(iv) Interpret how the author brings out the feeling of divine beauty in the
grandmother.
(v) Why did the grandmother stop talking to anybody before her death?
Q4.Answer the following questions in about 120- 150 words.
(i) The grandmother herself was not formally educated but was serious about the
author’s education. Substantiate with evidence from the chapter.
(ii) “The Portrait of a Lady” partly dwells on the loneliness and insecurity of the
old age and effort of the old to fit in. Driven by such thoughts while reading the
lesson, you think about the life of many old men and women in India, who lead a
lonesome existence towards the end of their life. Analyse.
(iii) The Sparrows and the Grandmother in the story, “The Portrait of a Lady”
reflect the bonding of animals with human beings. But it is a matter of dismay that
due to insensitive and cruel attitude of humans, rare species of birds and animals
have been disappearing from our environment. Do you agree? Support your answer
relating to the text.