The Portrait of a Lady’ PART
THREE
Summary of The Portrait of a Lady
‘The Portrait of a Lady’
is one of the greatest works of Khushwant Singh. The author gives a pen picture
of his close and affectionate association with his grandmother. He draws a picture of warm relations with his
grandmother from his early childhood right up to his homecoming from abroad.
Appearance
His grandmother was short
and fat and had a slight bent. She had
wrinkles on her face. She kept on hobbling about in pure white with one hand
resting on her waist and the other hand telling the beads of her rosary. She
was pure and pristine like a stretch of a serene winter mountain.
Togetherness with grandmother in the
village
The author’s parents left
him and his grandmother back in the village. She used to wake him up early in the
morning; said morning prayer; got him ready for school and accompanied him to
school. Not only that, she would sit inside and read the scriptures while the
author would study the alphabet and morning prayers. They had a very affectionate
relationship with each other.
Life in the city
When the parents were
settled in the city, the author and the grandmother also moved there. It was a
turning point for them. Although they shared the same room, the granny did not
come to the school. With the passage of time they saw less of each other. Since
he started going to an English school she did not like it. She could neither help him in his study nor
did she like his lessons. She was very upset because they did not teach him
about God and scriptures. Besides they were giving him music lessons which
seemed to her a moral degradation. She silently expressed her disapproval. Now
she rarely talked to the author
Author’s going to university
When the author went to university, he was given a room of his own. It snapped the link of
friendship between them. The grandmother secluded herself and took to spinning wheel.
In the afternoon she relaxed in feeding the sparrows. They were her new
companions, perched on her and gave her the happiest half-an-hour of the day.
Going abroad
The grandmother was very
upset when he went abroad for further studies.
She came to the station stoically to leave him. She kept on praying and
planted a silent kiss on his forehead signifying a trace of affection between
grandmother and grandson. The author nurtured the moist mark probably as a sign
of last physical contact between them.
Coming back home
After five years when he
came back home, she went to the station to bring him back. She seemed never a
day older; but she hardly had time for words because she was busy in saying her
prayers. Even on the day of his arrival she had her happiest moment in feeding
the sparrows with mild scoldings, in the evening she collected women from the
neighbourhood and started singing and playing an old drum to welcome the author
back home. She overstrained herself. This was the first time she did not pray.
Grandmother ill
The following morning she
was down with mild fever. She understood that her end was near so she never
wasted time but kept on praying and telling her beads.
The
grandmother dies
She lay peacefully on her
bed. Her lips stopped moving and her rosary fell from her fingers; she was
dead. There was a red glow of sunlight on the verandah. Her dead body was
shrouded with red cloth. Thousands of sparrows came to bid farewell to the
grandmother. They were silent spectators in bidding adieu to their beloved
grandmother.
Understanding the text
1. Mention the three phases of the author’s
relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad.
Ans. The first phase of the author’s relationship with his grandmother was
in his early childhood when he lived in the village with her. They were very
close friends. They lived together. She used to wake him up in the morning, get
him ready for school, reach him school, stayed with him there, and brought him
back home. So there was a very close
affinity between them.
In the second phase
of their relationship they moved to the city. It was the turning point in their
relationship. Although they shared the same room but the grandmother did no
longer come to the school nor could she help him in his study because he used
to go to an English school. There was a rift in their relationship.
The third phase
started when the author went to a university. He was given a separate room. The
thread of relationship snapped between them with this separation. The
grandmother took to spinning and feeding sparrows.
2. Three reasons why the
author’s grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the city school.
Ans. As he started going
to city school, the grandmother did not like the lessons taught there. Secondly
she hated the fact that they did not teach him about God and scriptures.
Finally, she was very displeased that the grandson was learning music which
seemed to have lewd association.
3. Three ways in which the
author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up.
Ans. After the author grew up she spent her days
by spinning wheels in seclusion, reciting her prayers continuously and relaxed
for a while in the afternoon by feeding the sparrows.
4. The odd way in which
the author’s grandmother behaved just before she died.
And. Just before she died
the grandmother behaved strangely. She had mild fever and the doctor told that
she would be alright soon. But the grandmother thought differently. She knew
that her end was near. She stopped talking to anybody. She lay on her bed
peacefully and kept praying and telling her beads. Soon her lips ceased to move
and the rosary fell off her lifeless fingers. She was dead.
5. The way in which the
sparrows expressed their sorrow when the author’s grandmother died.
Ans. The sparrows
expressed their sorrow silently and without touching the crumbs of bread. As the dead body lay on the ground, they came in thousands and
sat all around on the floor of the courtyard
and verandah. They did not chirp neither did they peck at the crumbs. It was
their silent solidarity to bid farewell to their beloved grandmother.
Talking about the text
1. The author’s
grandmother was a religious person. What are the different ways in which we
come to know this?
Ans. The grandmother was a
pious lady. She was always in her prayers. She used to hobble about the house
saying her prayers with one hand always telling the beads of her rosary. While
giving bath to him and dressing him up she would say her morning prayers in a
monotonous manner just to teach him prayers. While he went to village school,
she would read scriptures sitting in the temple. When he went to an English in
the city, she did not like the fact that they did not teach him about God and
scriptures. When the author went to the university she found her solace in
constant recitation of her prayers while she was at her spinning wheel. In the
last phase of her life she lay peacefully on her bed constantly saying her
prayers and telling her beads.
2. Describe the changing
relationship between the author and his grandmother. Did their feelings for
each other change?
Ans. In the course of time
there was a gradual change in the relationship between them. In the village they
had a very close relationship. The grandmother was intimately involved in every
activity of the author starting from his academics right up to his religious nourishment
Their shift to the city
caused a narrow rift between them. The city life was a turning point in their
relationship. The school with music lessons and western
education void of religious studies widened the rift in their relationship.
The author’s admission to
university was another blow to their relationship. The author had his own room
and the grandmother secluded herself with stoic resignation taking to feed
sparrow and spinning her wheel.
The author’s decision of
going abroad caused a chasm in their relationship. The grandmother ceased to be
sentimental anymore.
In spite of a wide gap
between their relationships there was no change in their feelings.
3. Would you agree that
the author’s grandmother was a person strong in character? If yes, give instances
that show this.
Ans. Indeed the
grandmother was the quintessence (perfect example) of a strong character.
In the village she solely
took the responsibility of looking after the author when his parents left for the city. In the city she did not like many things but she quietly secluded
herself. When he was going abroad the grandmother ceased to express her emotion
and abstained from talking. When the author came back from abroad, she sang to
celebrate his homecoming in spite of protest. In the last phase of her life
she proved the doctor wrong, ignored the protest, and lay peacefully saying
prayers and telling her beads. All these instances prove that she was a person
of strong character.
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?
Working with words
Notice the following uses
of the word ‘tell’ in the text.
1. Her fingers were busy
telling the beads of her rosary.
Ans.----- count while
reciting
2. I would tell her English
words and little things of Western science and learning.
Ans.----- give information to
somebody
3. At her age one could
never tell.
Ans.----- be sure
4. She told us that her end
was near.
Ans.----- make something
known to someone in spoken or written words
Notice the different
senses of the word ‘walk’.
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. shuffle = to walk slowly without lifting feet
stride = to walk with long step in particular
direction
waddle =to walk with short steps swinging from side to
side
paddle = to walk or stand with
no shoes or socks in shallow
water
swagger = to walk in a proud and confidant manner
trudge = to walk slowly or with
heavy steps because you
are tired or carrying something heavy
slog = to walk or travel with great effort or
difficulty
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