Class 11 English Chapter 1 The Portrait of a Lady

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Class 11 English Chapter 1 The Portrait of a Lady

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 The Portrait of a Lady

HORNBILL PROSE SECTION 

Understanding The Text

Mention:

1. The three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad.

Ans:- (a) The author’s childhood spent in the tender care of his grandmother when his parents moved into the city.

(b) The second phase was when they were called to join his parents in the city and he was sent by bus to an English medium school.

(c) The third phase was when they were given separate rooms which broke the common link of friendship between them.

2. Three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the city school.

Ans:- (a) She could no longer help him with his lessons as he studied English words, western science and learning.

(b) She was distressed that there was no teaching about God and the scriptures.

(c) She was disturbed to know he was being taught music. According to her music was for a culture of the lowly people and not for their likes.

3. Three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up.

Ans:- (a) She spent time at the spinning wheel.

(b) She recited her prayers and chanted on her rosary.

(c) She spent the happiest hours feeding hundreds of sparrows in the verandah.

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

Ans:- (a) She collected the neighborhood women, got an old drum and sang of the home-coming of warriors in order to celebrate the return of her grandson.

(b) For the first time, she missed her prayers.

(c) She announced her impending death and lay down peacefully in bed, praying and telling her beads.

5. The way in which the sparrows expressed their sorrow when the author’s grandmother died.

Ans:- (a) Thousands of sparrows gathered all over the verandah and in her room right up to where she lay dead.

(b) They sat scattered but there was no chirruping.

(c) They took no notice of the bread crumbs thrown to them by the author’s mother.

(d) They quietly flew away when the corpse was lifted off.

S.L. No.	CONTENTS
	HORNBILL PROSE SECTION
Chapter 1	The Portrait Of A Lady
Chapter 2	“We’re Not Afraid To Die… If We Can All Be Together”
Chapter 3	Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues
Chapter 4	Landscape Of The Soul
Chapter 5	The Ailing Planet: The Green Movement’s Role
Chapter 6	The Browning Version
Chapter 7	The Adventure
Chapter 8	Silk Road
Chapter 9	My Impressions Of Assam
	HORNBILL POETRY SECTION
Chapter 1	A Photograph
Chapter 2	The Laburnum Top
Chapter 3	The Voice Of The Rain
Chapter 4	Childhood
Chapter 5	Father To Son
	SNAPSHOTS
Chapter 1	The Summer Of The Beautiful White Horse
Chapter 2	The Address
Chapter 3	Ranga’s Marriage
Chapter 4	Albert Einstein At School
Chapter 5	Mother’s Day
Chapter 6	The Ghat Of The Only World
Chapter 7	Birth
Chapter 8	The Tale Of Melon City

Talking About The Text

Talk to your partner about the following:

1. The author’s grandmother was a religious person. What are the different ways in which we come to know this?

Ans:- Since his childhood, the author had always seen her chanting on her prayer garland. While she used to get him ready for school, she kept saying her morning prayers with the hope that he might memories them by listening to it. She accompanied Beit him to school because it was attached to the temple, so that while he learnt the lessons, she could read the scriptures inside. Later, when the author was sent to an English school, it distressed her that there were no lessons on God and the scriptures. When she finally fell ill, she was sure that it was because she had not prayed the previous evening in the excitement of her grandson’s return. Despite everyone’s protests, she lay in her bed and peacefully prayed to her death. All these facts very clearly portray a devout and pious woman.

2. Describe the changing relationship between the author and his grandmother. Did their feelings for each other change?

Ans:- The earliest phase of their relationship was one of friendship and togetherness when he lived with her after his parents moved to the city. The first change came over when they too had to move to the city. Grandmother felt deprived of her grandson’s company when she could no longer be a part of his school life. As he grew up, they saw less of each other everyday. In fact, she rarely talked to him anymore. Finally, the common link of friendship was broken when he was given a separate room in the house.

Yet, their inherent feelings for each other did not change. She went to the railway station to see him off when he left for higher studies. The author cherished the moist imprint of her kiss on his forehead. When he returned, her happiness, though subtly expressed, was seen in everything she did.

3. Would you agree that the author’s grandmother was a person strong in character? If yes, give instances that show this.

Ans:- Yes, the author’s grandmother was a person strong in character. The strength in character of the old lady is seen in the fact that the author’s parents entrusted the entire responsibility of their son on her when they left for the city. She not only looked after his well-being, but also helped him in his studies. Later, when they went to live in the city, she highly disapproved of the English school where the author was sent. But, she found other ways to keep herself occupied in moments of loneliness. She never displayed her emotions or broke down into tears. At the railway station to see off her grandson, she just kept on praying and kissed him on his forehead. She had extreme faith in God and her prayers. That was perhaps the source of her indomitable mean strength. Even when she fell ill, she accepted it as her fate and calmly started to pray. Her face or behavior never betrayed her emotions.

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?

Ans:- My own grandmother was very much like the author’s grandmother. Though she never had to get me ready for school as my mother was always there, yet she always woke me up in the morning. She was a very pious lady and spent long hours in her puja room. It was she who instilled in me a deep faith in God. She was a widow and little conservative. She cooked her own food and always kept portions of that for me. Whenever she visited relatives and neighbors, she always took me along. However, as I grew up, I got busy with my work and studies and couldn’t spend much time with her.

Now that she is no more, I realize how important she was in my life. The moral and spiritual values she taught me, make me the person I am today. It is hard to come across a person so simple, loving, caring, selfless and yet so strong in personality and character.

Thinking About Language

1. Which language do you think the author and his grandmother used while talking to each other?

2. Which language do you use to talk to elderly relatives in your family?

3. How would you say ‘a dilapidated drum’ in your language?

4. Can you think of a song or a poem in your language that talks of homecoming?

[Please note: Students will attempt to answer these questions with the help of their class teacher and refer to their respective mother tongue ]

Working With Words

(a) 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. Her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary- count while reciting.

2. I would tell her English words and little things of Western science and learning-make something known to someone in spoken or written words.

3. At her age one could never tell-be sure.

4. She told us that her end was near- give information to somebody.

(b) 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:- There were no dogs in the streets and she took to feeding sparrows in the courtyard of our city house.”

Here, the author’s grandmother developed the habit of feeding sparrows in their city house as she could no longer feed the street dogs.

‘The next morning she was taken ill.’

The author’s grandmother suddenly fell ill in the morning due to excessive strain the previous evening.

(c) 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.

Shuffle – walk without lifting one’s feet clear of the ground

Stride – walk with long steps

Waddle – walk with short steps and a swaying movement

Paddle – walk with bare feet in shallow water

Swagger – walk with excessive pride

Trudge – walk laboriously

Slog – walk hard and steadily

Noticing Form

Notice the form of the verbs italicized in these sentences.

1. My 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.

2. When we both had finished we would walk back together.

3. When I came back she would ask me what the teacher had taught me.

4. It was the first time since I had known her that she did not pray.

5. The sun was setting and had lit her room and verandah with a golden light.

These are example of the past perfect forms of verbs. When we recount things in the distant past we use this form.

Thing  To Do

Talk with your family members about elderly people who you have been intimately connected with and who are not there with you now. Write a short description of someone you liked a lot.

Ans:- My Grandfather:

If I am asked about just one person I liked a lot and miss even more is definitely my grandfather. He was the liveliest person I have come across in my life till now. He was the oldest in years but youngest in mind and spirit among all family members. He was always happy with life. We lived together and I have spent many a memorable moment in his company. He was friendly even with my friends and used to play cricket with us when we were young. Whenever he returned home from his evening walks, I just had to dig my hands into his pockets and there would always be something for me. Later, whenever I brought something for him, he would be so excited that it would be proudly displayed to any guest who visited us. I sometimes wonder how a person of his age could have so much zest in life! Be it eating out or watching bihu function, he was always enthusiastic. Every passerby, every shopkeeper and every person of the neighborhood happened to be his companion.

His death, though at an old age, was an irreparable loss to us, especially in my life. The void and emptiness that I feel now can never be compensated by anyone.

Additional Questions And Answer

Long Answer Type

1. Give a character sketch of the author’s grandmother highlighting her noble qualities.

Ans:- The author’s grandmother was an epitome of love, affection and tenderness. She had that typical attachment which grandmothers generally have for their grandsons. She had a devout faith in God, was pious and conservative about tradition and spiritual values. Always dressed in spotlessly white clothes, she presented a picture of peace and serenity.

She had deep love and affection for her grandson and looked after him and his studies while he was left in her charge. She did not consider it a burden, but instead enjoyed all the time spent with him. That is why when, in the city, she could no longer accompany him to school or take part in his studies, she was very upset.

She was compassionate towards birds and animals and feeding them was a great source of satisfaction for her.

She was very strong in character and never made a public display of emotions. Throughout the narration, we have not come across a single instance where she had shed tears. Even her disapproval of any matter was expressed through silence. She loved her grandson in her own special way though we see different phases of that relationship in the author’s journey from childhood to youth.

2. Describe the ‘turning point that came in the friendship of the author and his grandmother. How did it affect their friendship?

Ans:- The author lived with his grandmother in the village when his parents moved to the city. He was completely dependent on her and they became very close friends. She readied him in the morning and accompanied him to school. She sat there reading scriptures while he learnt his lessons. Later at home, she would often ask what he had been taught. But, there came a turning point in this friendship when the author’s parents sent for them in the city. He was admitted to an English school where he went by bus. She could no longer accompany him nor could she take part in his studies. She highly disapproved of the things he was being taught in school, especially music lessons. She was depressed that he did not receive any teachings on God and the scriptures. She rarely talked to her grandson after that. Then when he moved to another room in the house, the friendship just snapped. Their relationship became more formal as the distance grew with time.

3. Describe the unique relationship of the grandmother with the sparrows. How did the sparrows mourn her death?

Ans:- The grandmother was very compassionate towards birds and animals. While in the village she fed the street dogs, in the city they were replaced by sparrows. She would sit in the verandah, break the bread into small pieces and throw the crumbs to the sparrows. Hundreds of sparrows would gather around her. Some of them even perched on her legs and shoulders. She never shooed them away. In fact, it was the happiest half-hour of the afternoon for her.

The sparrows paid a silent tribute on her death. They gathered all over the verandah and right up to the place where she lay. They did not chirrup nor take any notice of the bread crumbs thrown to them by the author’s mother. They quietly flew away now when the dead body was carried off for cremation.

Short Answer Type

1. What does the author describe in ‘The Portrait of a Lady’?

Ans:- Khushwant Singh, the author, draws a pen portrait of his grandmother. He elaborates on how he spent his childhood with her in the village and how changes developed in their relationship when they moved to the city. Finally, he describes the touching scene of her death.

2. Give a pen-picture of the narrator’s grandfather as he appears on the portrait.

Ans:- The portrait depicted the author’s grandfather as being at least a hundred years old. He had a long, white beard and wore a tress big turban and loose fitting clothes. He did not appear as one es who had a wife or children, but as one who had lots and lots of blues grandchildren.

3. How did the grandmother appear like the ‘winter landscape in the mountains’?

Ans:- Grandmother always wore spotlessly white clothes. Her hair was also silver white. Her whole appearance was like an expanse of pure white serenity like the snow of winter, and hence appeared like the mountainous winter landscape.

4. Why did grandmother accompany the narrator to his school? What did she do there?

Ans:- She accompanied him to school as it was attached to a temple. She sat inside the temple reading scriptures while the children bus learnt their lessons. They came back home together when school was over.

5. What was the turning point in their friendship?

Ans:- The turning point was their shift to the city. A gap developed as she found herself distanced from her grandson’s life. She could neither accompany him to school nor could she help him with his studies. They saw very less of each other.

6. How was the common link of their friendship broken?

Ans:- The city life had already taken its toll on their friendship. Later, when the narrator reached University level, he was given a separate room in the house. That breached the bond of friendship with his grandmother which existed in the early years of his life.

7. Why did the narrator think that the grandmother’s kiss was the last sign of physical contact between them?

Ans:- The narrator thought that the kiss was the last sign of physical contact between them because his grandmother was a very old lady. He feared she might not survive till his return after five years. He, thus cherished the moist imprint for a long time.

8. How did the grandmother celebrate the homecoming of her grandson?

Ans:- The author’s Grandmother went to receive him at the station. Her excitement was seen in the way she fed the sparrows. In the evening, she also collected the women of the neighborhood, took an old drum and sang songs on the homecoming of warriors.

9. Which was the happiest moment of the day for grandmother?

Ans:- Her happiest moments were those spent in feeding the sparrows. Hundreds of these birds gathered around her every Bands afternoon as she threw bread crumbs to them. She smiled but never shooed them away.

10. How did the sparrows mourn grandmother’s death?

Ans:- The sparrows sat in thousands around her dead body, but not one made any noise. Nor did they pay any heed to the crumbs of bread thrown to them. They quietly flew away when the dead body was carried off for cremation.

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