The Portrait of a Lady

 Chapter  –  1

The Portrait  of  a Lady

Khushwant  Singh is one of the leading  Indian authors and columnists.  He has written on different subjects and issues.  He has given a thorough account in this lesson,  who had a  long association with him.  The old,  robust,  short and a  little bent grandmother is dressed in white clothes and keeps on telling beads of her rosary.   

The  grandmother  used  to  wake  up  the  narrator  in  the  morning during  their  long  stay  in  village, and  she accompanied  him  to  school.  She  took  care  of  all  little  things  and  continued  her  daily prayers  and  scriptural reading.  She  fed  stray dogs  with  stale  chapatis on  the  way  back  home. Shifting  to  city  home  was  a  turning  point in their relationship as  it  increased  distances. Now,  the author  was  going  to  a  school in the city and  learning  all  modern  day  subjects. In  his  studies,  the  grandmother  was not  able  to  assist  the  author and  she  felt  disturbed  as  there  was  no  teaching  of  God and scriptures. 

The  grandmother  spent  her  time  in  praying,  spinning  and  feeding  sparrows.  When  the  author  was  leaving  for  abroad,  she  did  not  get disturbed  and  saw  him  off  keeping her  peace  and calm.  The narrator felt, seeing  her  old  age,  that  this might  be  his  last  meeting  with  his affectionate  grandmother.  Yet,  contrary  to  his  thinking, his grandmother was there to receive him after  a  span  of  five  years.  She  celebrated  her  grandson’s  home  coming  in  an  usual way by beating  a  drum  and singing.  She  had  a  peaceful  end  and the death of a brave, religious, realistic,  responsible and caring person aggrieved  all, even sparrows.

Page No 3:

Question 1:

Notice these expressions in the text. Infer their meaning from the context.

• the thought was almost revolting

• an expanse of pure white serenity

• a turning-point

• accepted her seclusion with resignation

• a veritable bedlam of chirrupings

• frivolous rebukes

• the sagging skins of the dilapidated drum

Answer:

The thought was almost revolting: The thought that the author’s grandmother was once young and attractive raises a question in the author’s mind. It is too hard for him to believe.

An expense of pure white serenity: It refers to the calm, quiet and serene character and actions of the author’s grandmother. She is compared to the peaceful winter landscape in the mountains.

A turning-point: It refers to the point in which the relationship of the author with his grandmother radically changes as they move to the city-house.

Accepted her seclusion with resignation: This indicates the author’s grandmother’s passive submission to her retreat after she gradually loses touch with her grandson.

A veritable bedlam of chirruping: It refers to the noise, confusion and chaos caused by the chirruping and scattering sparrows around the author's grandmother.

Frivolous rebukes: It refers to the casual and light-hearted rebukes of the grandmother to the sparrows.

The sagging skins of the dilapidated drum: It points out that the drum is shabby and worsened.

Page No 6:

Question 1:

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

Answer: The author had number of phases of his relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad. These are:

The first phase was the early childhood  of the author. He used to live in the village with his grandmother during that time. The grandmother used to wake him up and get him ready to go to school. She accompanied him to the school. Both shared a strong relationship with each other.

The second phase was when the author and the grandmother went to the city to live with the parents of the author. This was a turning-point in their relationship, they now ‘saw less of each other’.

The third phase was when the author joined University. He got his own room and the mutual bond of their relationship was snapped. The grandmother turned to wheel-spinning and reciting prayers all day long. She acknowledged her seclusion with silence.

Question 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 disappointed after discovering that the topics taught to him at school were linked to western science and learning. Secondly, she did not believe those things that were taught at his new school. She was disturbed that there was no teaching about God and the scriptures. Third, she was dissatisfied with the idea of the music lessons being given at school. She felt music was only appropriate for people of low integrity. The grandmother's disapproval was evident in her silence.

Page No 7:

Question 1:

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

Answer: The author and his grandmother might have spoken with each other in their mother-tongue. As the author, Khushwant Singh, belongs to Punjab, the language used by them might be Punjabi.

Question 2:

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

Answer: I speak in Bengali to talk to the elderly relatives in my family.

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

Answer: In Bengali, we would call ‘a dilapidated drum ‘phata dhol’

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 about 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

Answer: 1. Make something known to someone in spoken or written words: I would tell her English words and little things about western science and learning.

2. Count while reciting: Her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary.

3. Be sure: At her age, one could never tell.

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.

Answer: The instances where these phrases have been used in the story are given below.

1. “... she took to feeding sparrows in the courtyard of our city house”. This phrase refers to the daily activity that the author’s grandmother took up when they shifted to the city.

2. “The next morning she was taken ill.” This phrase refers to the author’s grandmother’s sudden illness.

Q: 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.

Answer: The words that also refer to a manner of walking are: shuffle, stride, waddle, paddle, swagger, trudge, slog.