Updated on 22/12/2021
1. The Portrait of a
Lady (Khushwant Singh)
Main Points of the Chapter
- The child Khushwant Singh lived in the village with his grandmother because his parents had gone to the city.
- She was a very old woman. Her face was full of wrinkles.
- She was fat and short. Her hair was white like snow. She had stoop in her body.
- She was always dressed in white
- The school was attached to a temple. While the writer studies there; the grandmother prayed in the temple.
- On the way, she fed the village dogs with stale chapattis.
- When they shifted to the city, Khushwant Singh joined an English school.
- Then the author went abroad for five years.
- His grandmother passed most of her time in prayer and feeding the sparrows.
- When he came back, the grandmother became very happy.
- She collected the women of the neighbourhood. She beat on an old drum and started singing for long time.
- But next morning she fell ill and died.
- Even the sparrows whom she used to feed were sad at her death.
- The writer’s mother threw the, bread crumbs. But they did not eat them.
*Ch. 1 The Portrait of a
Lady*
Very Short Type Question-ans.
*1. Who is the narrator
of the lesson ‘The Portrait of a Lady’?*
Ans. Khushwant Singh
*2. How was the physical
appearance of Grandmother?*
Ans. She was short and
fat
*3. How was her face?*
Ans. Her face was full
of wrinkles.
*4. The clothes which
the writer’ grandmother wore, were....*
Ans. white
*5. The grandmother’s
one hand was on her waist. What was in her other hand?*
Ans. A rosary
*6. What did she do when
she bathed and dressed the writer?*
Ans. She said her
morning prayer
*7. Why did the
grandmother accompany the author to the school?*
Ans. Because the school
was attached to a temple
*8. When the writer was
at school, what did his grandmother do?*
Ans. She sat in the
temple and read scriptures
*9. What did the
grandmother do on her way back to the home?*
Ans. She threw stale
chapattis to the village dogs.
*10. How did she relax?*
Ans. By throwing bread
crumbs to sparrows.
*11. Why was she not
satisfied with English school education?*
Ans. Because they didn’t
give religious education.
*12. What type of
education did she like to be given in a school?*
Ans. Religious education
*13. After how many
years, the writer came back from abroad?*
Ans. After 5 years
*14. When the writer
came back from abroad after 5 years, what did his grandmother do?*
Ans. She collected
neighbourhood women, beat old drum and went on singing for long time.
*15. What happened the
next morning?*
Ans. The grandmother
fell ill. After a few hours she was dead.
*16. What did the
sparrows do when the writer’s mother threw the bread crumbs to them?*
Ans. They did not eat
the bread crumbs
*17. The dead body of
the writer’s grandmother was covered with......*
Ans. A red shroud
Short Type
*Q. 1 Why was it hard
for the author to believe that his grandmother was once young and pretty?*
Ans. It was hard for
author to believe that his grandmother was once young and pretty as when he
opened his eyes he saw his grandmother old, so terribly old that one could not
grow older. Her skin was a criss cross of wrinkles spread all over her face.
Therefore it was beyond the expectations of author to believe that his
grandmother had been pretty once.
*Q. 2 The grandmother
was a kind-hearted woman. Give examples in support of your answer.*
Ans. The grandmother was
very kind hearted lady. She would feed stale chapattis to the village dogs
everyday while leaving her grandson to school. In the city, she feeds the
sparrows with breadcrumbs. All this show that she was a kind-hearted woman.
*Q. 3 What was the
happiest moment of the day for the grandmother?*
Ans. The happiest moment
of the day for the grandmother in the city was to feed the sparrows. Hundreds
of little birds collected round her. While feeding, the sparrows used to sit on
her legs and on her shoulder. Feeding the sparrows was 'the happiest half-hour
of the day for her'.
*Q. 4 Why did
grandmother always accompany the author to his school?*
Ans. The grandmother
always accompany the author to the school as she had deep love and affection
for her grandson. Another reason was that the school was attached to the temple
so she sat inside the temple reading scriptures when the author studied there
and they came back together when school was over.
*Q. 5 Draw a comparison
between village school education and city school education.*
Ans. The village school
education was quite different from the city school education. In the village
school students were taught the alphabet and the morning prayer and there was
teaching about the God and the scriptures. But in the city the students were
taught Western science, English and music lessons. There was no religious
education.
*Q. 6 Why did the
sparrows in ‘The Portrait of a Lady’ not pick the bread crumbs on the last
day?*
Ans. In the last day, when
grandmother died. The author's mother threw some crumbs of bread to them.
They took no notice of them. They didn't pick those bread crumbs because
they were very sad over the old lady's death. As soon as the grandmother's
corpse was carried off, they flew away quietly.
Long Answer
*Write a character
sketch of Khushwant Singh's grandmother.*
Khushwant Singh’s
grandmother was a very old lady. She was short, fat and slightly bent. Her face
was full of wrinkles. She had white hair. She was very affectionate.
She lived in the village with her grandson. 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 a kind hearted
lady. She used to feed dogs in the village. In the city, she took to feed the
sparrows. She was a religious lady. Her lips were always moving in a silent
prayer. She went to the temple and read the scriptures. Although
she was not formally educated, she was serious about 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 Singh’s new English school. In
brief we can say that she was a nice, affectionate, kind hearted and religious
lady.