Class 11 : English Compulsory – Lesson 1. The Portrait of a Lady
EXPLANATION & SUMMARY
🟢 Introduction: A Loving Portrait
➡️ The story begins with Khushwant Singh’s description of his grandmother. He recalls her as an old, wrinkled lady whom he couldn’t imagine as ever being young or beautiful.
✔️ He humorously admits it was hard to believe she had ever been “pretty” since he had only seen her in her old age.
🔴 Key Descriptions:
She was short, fat, and slightly bent.
Her face was crisscrossed with wrinkles, stretching from everywhere to everywhere.
She always wore white clothes and leaned on a walking stick.
💡 Concept: The author’s tone here is affectionate and slightly teasing, reflecting a deep bond between him and his grandmother.
🟢 Early Life Together: Constant Companionship
➡️ In the village, the grandmother and grandson shared a close relationship. She took care of all his needs, waking him up, getting him ready for school, and even accompanying him there.
🟡 Grandmother’s Morning Routine:
Woke him up and got him ready.
Said her morning prayers in a low, monotonous tone while helping him bathe.
Fed him a thick, stale chapatti with butter and sugar.
🌿 She also fed street dogs with leftover chapattis on their way to school, showing her compassion for animals.
✏️ Note: This phase reflects the interdependence and simplicity of their village life.
🟢 At School and Temple
➡️ The school was attached to the temple, where children learned prayers and the alphabet. While the boy studied, the grandmother sat in the temple reading scriptures.
✔️ Her Devotion:
Spent time praying and counting beads on her rosary.
Was deeply religious and believed in imparting moral and religious education.
🧠 Tip for Students: Notice how Khushwant Singh contrasts his grandmother’s traditional mindset with his later exposure to modern education.
🟢 Moving to the City: A Growing Distance
➡️ When they shifted to the city, their relationship started to change. The physical closeness they once shared diminished.
🔵 Key Changes:
The author now traveled to school by bus.
Grandmother could no longer accompany him.
He began studying English, Science, and Western education—subjects his grandmother couldn’t relate to.
✏️ Note: She felt distressed that there was no teaching about God or scriptures in his new education system.
💡 Concept: This part reflects the theme of generation gap and changing lifestyles.
🟢 University Days and Further Separation
➡️ As the author went to the university, he was given a separate room. The gap widened further, and their interaction reduced.
🟡 Grandmother’s Response:
Accepted the change quietly.
Spent more time praying and spinning the wheel (a symbol of her simplicity and detachment).
⚡ Turning Point: When Khushwant Singh left for abroad, she didn’t display any emotion but kissed his forehead silently.
🟢 The Grandmother’s Transformation
➡️ During his absence of five years, she maintained her routine—prayers, spinning, and feeding sparrows.
✔️ Upon his return, she celebrated unusually:
Collected women from the neighborhood.
Sang songs of homecoming and beat an old drum.
Skipped prayers for the first time!
🌿 Symbolism: This celebration showed her immense joy and hinted at her spiritual satisfaction.
🟢 Her Last Moments
➡️ The next day, she fell ill. Despite being weak, she didn’t stop her prayers.
🟢 Key Points:
She predicted her own death calmly.
Stopped talking and kept praying with her rosary beads.
Passed away peacefully.
💡 Concept: Her calm acceptance of death mirrors her deep spirituality and detachment from worldly affairs.
🟢 The Mourning Sparrows
➡️ The entire house seemed engulfed in silence after her death—not just from humans but also from nature. Thousands of sparrows sat quietly on rooftops, in the house, and around it.
🌿 The Sparrows’ Behavior:
No chirping, no movement.
Left quietly after the cremation.
⚡ Symbolism: Sparrows here symbolize grief and nature’s participation in mourning.
🟢 Closing Scene: Return to Routine
➡️ After her cremation, life resumed. The sparrows flew away, and the house regained its usual liveliness.
✔️ The narrative ends with a subtle reflection on the cycle of life and death.
🟢 SUMMARY (300 Words)
🌿 “The Portrait of a Lady” by Khushwant Singh is a nostalgic tribute to his grandmother, capturing her simplicity, deep faith, and the special bond they shared.
🔴 Key Highlights:
The author remembers his grandmother as an old, wrinkled, white-clad woman, always saying her prayers and counting rosary beads.
In the village, she took care of him completely—waking him up, getting him ready for school, and feeding him.
She would accompany him to school, feed stray dogs, and read scriptures while he studied.
Moving to the city created distance between them. She could not relate to his modern, science-based education and felt saddened by the lack of religious teaching.
When he went to the university and later abroad, their interactions reduced further. Yet, she remained devoted to her prayers and spinning.
Upon his return after five years, she celebrated joyfully with neighbors.
Soon after, she fell ill, predicted her death, and passed away peacefully while praying.
Thousands of silent sparrows mourned her death by sitting quietly around the house, leaving only after her cremation.
🟡 Takeaways:
The story emphasizes love, devotion, and the generation gap.
It beautifully portrays the acceptance of death and highlights the profound bond between grandmother and grandson.
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QUESTIONS FROM TEXTBOOK
“She was an old lady who could never have been pretty, but she was always beautiful. Her face was a crisscross of wrinkles running from everywhere to everywhere. She was short, fat, and slightly bent. Her silvery white hair was scattered untidily over her pale, puckered face. She looked like the winter landscape in the mountains, an expanse of pure white serenity breathing peace and contentment.”
🔵 Q1: MCQ – Synonym
Which word in the paragraph means the same as “folded and wrinkled”?
(A) Scattered
(B) Puckered
(C) Serenity
(D) Crisscross
✔️ Answer: (B) Puckered
🟢 Q2: One-line Answer
➡️ How does the author compare his grandmother’s appearance to nature?
✔️ Answer: He compares her to a winter mountain landscape, symbolizing calmness and peace.
🟡 Q3: 30-word Answer
➡️ Why does the narrator say his grandmother was “always beautiful” despite never being pretty?
✔️ Answer: Her beauty came from inner peace, simplicity, and dignity. Her wrinkled face reflected a life of grace, making her look serene, like a tranquil winter landscape.
🔴 Q4: 60-word Answer
➡️ Explain how the narrator’s description of his grandmother highlights both her physical features and her personality.
✔️ Answer: The narrator describes his grandmother’s wrinkled face, silvery hair, and bent figure, yet portrays her as beautiful. Her appearance reflects years of wisdom, patience, and contentment. The comparison to a winter mountain landscape emphasizes her calm, peaceful nature, showing her inner beauty that transcends physical aging.
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OTHER IMPORTANT QUESTIONS FOR EXAMS
🔵 Q1: Why does the narrator find it hard to believe that his grandmother was once young and pretty?
✔️ Answer: The narrator only remembers his grandmother as an old woman with wrinkles and white hair. Her aged appearance and calm demeanor made it impossible for him to imagine her as a youthful, attractive person.
🟢 Q2: How does the narrator describe his grandmother’s relationship with animals?
✔️ Answer: The grandmother was deeply compassionate towards animals. She fed stray dogs in the village and later, in the city, would spend her afternoons feeding sparrows. This highlights her gentle and nurturing personality.
🟡 Q3: What changes in their relationship occurred after the narrator went to the city?
✔️ Answer: Moving to the city created a distance between them. The narrator’s English education disconnected her from his studies. She felt out of place and spent most of her time spinning the wheel and praying quietly.
🔴 Q4: How does the author use the sparrows to symbolize grief after his grandmother’s death?
✔️ Answer: Thousands of sparrows silently sat on rooftops and verandas, showing an unusual stillness. Their quiet mourning reflected the profound loss and created a poetic, natural tribute to the grandmother’s peaceful, spiritual life.
🟣 Q5: What qualities of the grandmother made her unforgettable to the narrator?
✔️ Answer: Her simplicity, spiritual devotion, and silent strength left a lasting impact. Her routines—feeding animals, spinning, and praying—reflected a life of purpose. Even in her death, she embodied dignity and peace, making her unforgettable.
🔶 Q6: Analyse how The Portrait of a Lady portrays the transition of traditional values in a modern world through the grandmother’s character. (120 words)
✔️ Answer: The grandmother represents traditional Indian values—simplicity, spirituality, and compassion. She adapts to village life, integrating religion into daily routines, but feels alienated in the modern city setting. Her disapproval of English education, science, and music symbolizes the clash between old and new values. Yet, she shows resilience, withdrawing into prayer and spinning as the narrator grows distant. Even in her death, her quiet dignity and the sparrows’ mourning highlight her harmony with nature and spirituality. This contrast reflects the erosion of old-world values in modernity, but also their timeless beauty, leaving the narrator with a deep sense of respect and loss.
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