NCERT solutions for class 11 English Hornbill chapter 1 " SEBA BOARD " "The portrait of a lady" with full summary, questions and answers

 NCERT solutions for class 11 English Hornbill chapter 1 "The portrait of a lady" with full summary, questions and answers:

                          

The Portrait of a lady

The Portrait of A Lady is written by "Khushwant Singh."

The Portrait of A Lady Theme:

‘The Portrait of a Lady’ is part of an autobiography by Khushwant Singh. In this story, the author draws a pen portrait of his grandmother. He beautifully unfolds their relationship and how it undergoes several changes. In other words, the story is a loving tribute from a grandson to his grandmother. The story gives a picture of human relationships. It is a realistic account of how the grandparents give all their time, attention and love to their grandchildren.

The Portrait of A Lady Summary:

The Author Remembers his Grandmother and Grandfather.The author recalls his grandmother as a very old lady. For the twenty years that the author had known his grandmother, he had found her old and wrinkled.

It was hard for him to believe that she had once been young and pretty and she had a husband. Khushwant Singh’s grandfather’s portrait hung on the wall of the drawing room. He wore a big turban. His clothes were loose. He looked at least a hundred years old. Looking at his portrait, one could not imagine him in his youth with his wife and children.

Singh was the only child at that time. His parents had gone to live in the city leaving him behind the village under the care of his grandmother. She would get him ready for school. And would also feed him with Chappathi. The School as attached with a temple. All the children sat in the verandah reciting alphabets while his grandmother is engaged reading holy scriptures. Finally in the evening, the author and the grandmother would walk back home feeding the dogs.

After a friendly relationship with his grandmother, he had to adopt a new life in the city. This itself was a turning point for the grandmother and the grandson. Both of them was sent for to settle down in the city with his parents. The author went to an English school but the grandmother never liked the way he was taught. Though Singh and his grandmother shared the same room, she was unable to help him. Apart from this, she was also disappointed that he was learning music that she considered not for gentlefolks. In due course, Singh went up to a University and because of that, he was given a separate room. This indeed made the common link of their relationship snapped down completely. The grandmother agreed the fact and she used to spin the wheel from sunrise to sunset to compensate that. Only during the afternoon she would relax by feeding the sparrows with little pieces of bread. They were her best friends and the sparrows also liked her company.

Later, Singh went up abroad for higher studies which was for 5 long years. He had a doubt in his mind that whether his grandmother may survive or not until he come back. His also taught that it might e the last physical contact between them when she came in the railway station to see him off. After 5 years he came back, incredibly he was welcomed  his grandmother who was not grown a single day older. Singh notices that even at this time when everyone is joyful about his return, grandmother's happiest moments was with her sparrows.

Later in the evening there was a change in her attitude. She celebrated the return of her grandson y collecting some women of neighbourhood and beating drum for several hours. But in the morning, grandmother's health deteriorates and she reveals that she was nearing her end. So she decides that she is not going to waste a single moment by talking so she prayed. Quite suddenly, the rosary falls from her hand and she exhaled her last breath and it was clear that she was no more. After making the preparations for the funeral, the family members went to fetch her body for the last journey. The golden blaze of light of the setting sun glittered her room. And to pay the last homage to the grandmother, thousands of sparrows gathered in and around her room. The sparrows never did cheered nor did they do anything normal. They don't even bother to notice the read pieces thrown at them. Along with her funeral, the sparrows flew away.

CHARACTER OF THE Author’s GrAndmother:

The thought of the grandmother being young and pretty was almost revolting to him. She was short, fat and slightly bent in stature. Her face was a criss-cross of wrinkles. Her silvery white hair was scattered over her wrinkled face.

The author remembered her hobbling around the house in spotless white clothes with one hand resting on her waist to balance her stoop and the other hand busy counting the beads of her rosary. Her lips constantly moved in inaudible prayer.

To the author, she could never have been pretty, but she reflected a divine beauty. She was like the winter landscape in the mountains.

The Author’s Childhood with his GrandmotherThe author and his grandmother were good friends. His parents left him to stay with her when they shifted to the city. In the village, his grandmother took care of all his needs. She was quite active and agile. She used to wake him up in the morning and get him ready for school. She said her morning prayers in a sing-song manner while she bathed and dressed him in the hope that her grandson would learn them by heart. The author listened to the prayers because he loved her voice, but never bothered to learn them.

Then she would fetch his wooden slate which, she had already washed, and plastered it with yellow chalk. She would take an earthen inkpot and a reed pen and tie them in a bundle and hand it to author. After having a thick, stale chapatti with a little butter and sugar spread on it For breakfast, they used to leave for school. The author’s grandmother always accompanied him to the school as it was attached to the temple.

The Author at School:

The priest taught children the alphabet and the morning prayer. The children sat in two rows in the verandah. They would sing the alphabet or the prayer in a chorus. While the author learnt his lessons at school, the grandmother would read scriptures in the adjoining temple. On their way back, they would feed stale chapattis to the dogs The Turning Point in the Relationship of Grandmother and the AuthorThe turning point came in their relationship when they moved to the city to stay with Khushwant Singh’s parents. In the city, the author went to an English school in a motor bus. The grandmother could not accompany him to the school. As there were no dogs in the streets, the grandmother took to feeding the sparrows.

As the years rolled by, they saw less of each other. In spite of her immense interest in his studies, she could not help him in his lessons as he was learning English, the law of gravity, Archimedes’ principle and many more such things which she could not understand, and this made her unhappy. Sometimes she would ask him what the teacher had taught him.

Grandmother Distressed and DisturbedGrandmother didn’t believe in the things taught at the English school and was distressed to learn that there was no teaching about God and the scriptures in the school.

Moreover, she was very disturbed at the idea of music lessons being given at the English school. To her, music had lewd associations and she considered music to be unsuitable for gentle folk.

The Common Link of Friendship gets  common Snapped.The link of friendship between the author and the grandmother was broken when the author went to the University and was given a room of his own. The grandmother accepted her loneliness and rarely spoke to anyone. All day long, she sat spinning the wheel and reciting her prayers.

Only in the afternoon she relaxed for a while to feed the sparrows. They perched on her shoulders and some even on her head but she never shooed them away. It used to be the happiest half-hour of the day for her.

The Author Leaves for Higher Studies:

The author decided to go abroad for higher studies for five years. He was sure that his grandmother would be upset at his departure, but she was not even sentimental. She came to the railway station to see him off. She showed no emotion. She was absorbed in praying and counting the beads of her rosary. Silently she kissed his forehead. The author thought that perhaps it was the last sign of physical contact between them.

The Grandmother Celebrates the Author’s Return and Falls SickAfter five years, the author found his grandmother at the station when he returned. She held him in her arms. He found her more religious and more self-contained. He could hear her reciting prayers. Even that day, the happiest moment for her was feeding the sparrows herself. However, something strange happened to her in the evening.

For the first time ever, she did not pray. Instead, she collected the women of the neighbourhood, got an old drum and started to sing songs of the homecoming of warriors. They tried to persuade her to stop to avoid overstraining herself. But she didn’t listen. She fell ill the next morning.

Grandmother’s Death:

The grandmother was diagnosed with a mild fever by the doctor but she insisted that her end was near. She told everyone that she did not want to talk to anyone and would rather spend her last moments praying. She ignored everyone’s protests and started counting the beads in her rosary while praying.

After a short while, the author noticed that his grandmother’s lips stopped moving and the rosary fell from her lifeless fingers. She died a peaceful death. She was covered with a red shawl.

The Sparrows Mourn her Death:

When  the  author  and  others  came  to  take  away  the  grandmother’s body,  they  met a  strange  sight.  To  mourn  her  death,  a  lot  of  sparrows had  surrounded  the  grandmother’s  body.  They  were  all  silent.  When  the author’s  mother  offered  the  sparrows  some  bread,  they  refused  to  eat and  quietly  flew  away  after  the  grandmother’s  body  was  carried away for  the  last  rites. 

The  Portrait  of  A  Lady  Chapter  Highlights :

When  the  author,  Khushwant  Singh,  was  a  little  child,  his  parents  left him  in  the  village  with  his  grandmother  and  went  to  live  in  the  city. The  author’s  grandmother  was  an  old  lady.  She  w as  very  religious.  The author  shared  a  very  close  bond  with  his  grandmother.  They  became very  good  friends. The  grandmother  woke  him  up,  dressed  him  and  accompanied  him  to school.  The  school  was  attached  to  the  temple. While  the  author  was  at  school,  the  g scriptures  in  the  temple. When  the  author’s  parents  were  well randmother  used  to  read  the settled,  he  and  his  grandmother also  went  to  the  city.  It  proved  a  turning  point  in  their  friendship. In  the  city,  Khushwant  Singh  attended  an  English  school  and  trav elled in  a  motor  bus.  He  learnt  English  words  and  topics  of  Western  Science. The  grandmother  could  no  longer  accompany  him  to  his  school  nor  help him  in  his  studies.  However,  they  shared  the  same  room. When  the  author  went  to  the  University,  he  was  given  a Thus,  the  last  link  of  their  friendship  was  broken. separate  room, The  grandmother  kept  herself  busy  in  her  prayers  and  spinning  the wheel.  Her  favourite  part  of  the  day  was  feeding  the  sparrows. When  the  author  went  abroad  for  higher  studies,  the  grandmo ther came  to  see  him  off  at  the  station  but  she  showed  no  emotions  and  was not  even  sentimental. The  author  came  back  after  five  years  and  was  received  by  his grandmother  at  the  station.  She  was  unchanged  and  did  not  look  a  day older.

In the evening, the grandmother did not pray and instead collected the women of the neighbourhood and celebrated her grandson’s homecoming, The grandmother fell ill the next day and she knew that her end was near. She stopped talking and closed her eyes. She was lost in her prayers and counting the beads of her rosary. Suddenly, the rosary fell down and her lips stopped moving. She was dead. Thousands.of sparrows assembled in the room and sat quietly to mourn her death. They did not even eat the crumbs given by the author’s mother. After the grandmother’s body was taken for cremation, the sparrows flew away silently. 

The Portrait of A Lady  short type Questions and Answers:

1. Who is the writer of the porse "The portrait of a lady"?

Ans-   Khuswant Singh is the writer of the porse "The portrait of a lady".

2.  Name the person with whom the narrator Spent his childhood in the village?

Ans-   The narrator spend his childhood in the village with his grandmother.

3.  Where did the narrator study when he was in the village? 

Ans-   When the narrator was in the village he studied in the village school.

4.  Who accompanied the narrator to school in the village?

Ans-   Grandmother accompanied the narrator to school in the village.

5.  Who taught the narrator in the village school?

Ans-   The priest taught the narrator  in the village school.

6. What did the priest teach in the village school?

Ans- The priest taught alphabet and morning prayer in the village school.

7.  How did he go to the school in the city? 

Ans-   He went to school by motor bus in the city.

8.  Which creature created a variable bedlam of chirruping?

Ans-  The sparrows credited a veritable bedlam of chirruping.

9.  Where did the narrator  go to pursue his further studies?

Ans-  The narrator went abroad to pursue his further studies.

10.  Which creatures came to mourn the death of the grandmother?

Ans-  The sparrows came to mourn the death of the grandmother.

11.  What was taught in the city school?

Ans-  In the city school English words and little things of Western science & learning the law of gravity, Archimedes principle,the world being round etc.were taught in the city school.

12.  What was the narrator's breakfast in the village?

Ans-   In the village,the narrator was served a thik stale chapatti with a little butter and sugar spread on it in his breakfast.

Long type Questions and Answers "The portrait of a lady"

1. what was it hard for the writer to believe that his grandmother was young and pretty?

Ans-   The writer's grandmother was old. She was short, fat and slightly bent.She had criss - cross of wrinkles all over her face . All these created difficulties for the writer to believe in the fact that his grandmother was once young and pretty.

2.  What are the reasons why the author's grandmother was Disturbed when he started going to city school?

Ans-    When the author started going to the city school,the grandmother was Disturbed for several reasons.

             Firstly, the author went to school by motor bus so grandmother could not accompanied him.

             Secondly,she could not help him with the lessons as he was taught English words, Western science & learning the law of  gravity etc.This became a barrier for her.

            Thirdly,She was Disturbed by the thought that there was no lesson on the God and the scriptures, instead music taught in the school. She dislikedi it as she believed that it was the Monopoly of harlot and beggars and not mean for gentle folk.

3.  What are the three phases of the author's relationship with his grandmother before he lift the country?

Ans-    The three phases of the author's relationship with his grandmother before he left the country for abroad are-

             First phase was the period of the author's early childhood.  During the first phase ,he used to live with his grandmother who used to take care of him from waking him up and getting him ready for school and also accompanied him to the school.She helped him with his lessons and they shared a good relationship with each other.

          The second phase was the time when the author and the grandmother moved to the city to live with the author's parents. This was the turning point in there lives as they saw less of each other & the grandmother could no longer help him with his lessons.

           The third phase was the time when the author joined the university,he was given a separate room of his own. Their friendship was snapped. Grandmother became quieter and private and kept spinning the wheel whole day. She would feed the sparrows once a day recite prayers all day long.

4.  Give a pen picture of the narrator's grandmother as witnessed by him when he was a child?

Ans-      The writer's grandmother was old. She was short, fat and slightly bent.She had criss - cross of wrinkles all over her face. The narrator describe her as being not pretty in the traditional sense but her serinity made her beautiful . She was a religious minded lady who always carried a rosary in her hand reading the beads in an inaudible prayer. She was a noble heated lady who had deep love for animals. Her reading the village dogs with stale chapattis and then the sparrows with bread crumbs when she went to the city showed her love for animals. She treated the narrator with utmost care which is visible in her behavior.

5.  Give a short description of the narrator's grandmother as he appeared in the potrait?

Ans-     The narrator's grandmothers potrait was hung above the mantle piece in the drawing room. In the potrait,the grandmother wore a big turban and loose fitting clothes. He had long beard which had covered the best part of his chest . It gave him the look of a hundred years old man who could have only grandchildren.

 

6.   How did the sparrows express their sorrows when the author's grandmother died?

Ans-    The sparrows did not chirrup that day . They also joined the morning. They sat in thousands around her dead body . They didn't even touch the crumbs of bread thrown to them by the author's mother. They flew away quietly when the dead body was carried off for cremation.

7.   Mention the odd ways in which the author's grandmother behaved just before she died?

Ans-     Just before the death of the grandmother,she behaved in odd way she didn't pray her routine prayer on that particular day.Rather she collected the women of the neighborhood,got an old drum and started to sing the homecoming of the warriors. She felt ill with a mild fever . She said that her death was near so she didn't waste any time talking with others and started to tell the deads of her rosary. Finally her lips stopped moving and she was dead.

8.     What was grandmother's view on English education and music lessons at school?

Ans-     The old grandmother was old fashioned in her thinking as she herself was not much educated. She didn't believe in the things they taught in English schools . She was against English education as it imparted no religious teachings she was also of the view that music had lewd associated. To her it was the Monopoly of harlots and beggars and not meant for gentle folk.

9. What  was the happiest hour of the day for the grandmother?

Ans-   When the grandmother was shifted to the city,she spent half an hour in the afternoon feeding in sparrows. She sat in the verandah and fed the sparrows with bread crumbs. This used to be the happiest hour of the day for her.

10.  How can you say that the grandmother was a deeply religious-minded lady?

Ans-   The author's grandmother was deeply religious women . She all day counted the beads of the rosary and recited prayers,she was Disturbed to know that there was no teaching about the God and the scriptures at the city school. She fed the dogs in the village and the birds in the city.

11.  What was the common link of friendship between the narrator and his grandmother and when was it broken?

Ans-   The common link between the old lady and her grandson was that they shared the same room in the city for several years. It was broken when he went to university and got a room of his own . She was left alone but she accepted her 

12.  Mention three ways in which the author's grandmother spent her days after he grew up.

Ans-    The three ways in which the author's grandmother spent her days after he grew up are-

           She lived alone in her room as she accepted her loneliness quietly.

           She sat at her spinning wheel reciting prayers

            She enjoyed the most feeding the sparrows in the afternoon.

Next Chapter  will publish From Alternative English for SEBA Student (CLASS 11TH) on 25th July

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