Portrait of a Lady
Q1. Why the essay is called “Portrait of a Lady”?
In this story, Khushwant Singh describe s his grandmother.
He tells us how he had spent his childhood with her in the village. He also
describes the change that came in the relationship in the city. Ultimately, he
describes the moving scene of her death. As he paints the picture of his
grandmother vividly, the story is called as “Portrait of a Lady”.
Q2. What does Singh say about the beauty of his grandmother?
What kind of beauty was hers?
Khushwant Singh says that his grandmother was tender, loving
and deeply religious old lady. She was
so old that her face was wrinkled. It was difficult to believe she would ever
been young and pretty. Her hair was white as snow. She had a little stoop in
her back. She could be seeing reciting her rosary all the time. The author says that “yet she was beautiful”
and adds that "she was like the winter landscape in the mountains and
expanse of pure white serenity breathing peace and contentment."
Q3. Why did the writer’s grandmother accompany him to
school?
The writer’s grandmother accompanied his to school as Singh
was the only child at that time, and 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. She would also feed him with Chappathi. The School was
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.
Q4. What was the turning point in the relationship of the
grandmother and the grandson?
After a friendly relationship with his grandmother, the author
went to city to join his parents. He had to adopt a new life. This was a
turning point for the grandmother and the grandson. Both of them were made to settle
down in the city. 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, which she considered not suitable for
gentlefolks.
Q5. Who were the grandmother’s friends in the absence of the
writer?
In due course, Singh went up to a University. He was given a
separate room in the house. This indeed snapped the common link of the relationship
between the grandmother and the grandson.
The grandmother agreed the fact and adjusted her life accordingly. She
used to spin the wheel from sunrise to sunset. 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.
Q6. How did the grandmother react when the writer returned from
studying abroad? What does this relation show of her character?
Singh went up abroad for higher studies for five years. He
had a doubt in his mind that his grandmother may not survive or not until his
return. His also taught that it might be the last physical contact between them
when she came in the railway station to see him off. When he came back after five
years, he was welcomed by his grandmother who was not grown a single day older.
She celebrated the return of her grandson by collecting some women of
neighbourhood and beating drum for several hours. The incident shows that she
was tender, loving and deeply religious.
Q7. What kind of a relationship did the grandmother have
with animals?
The grandmother had a special relationship animals like sparrows and dogs. When the author was going to school in his village, the grandmother
would walk back home with him, feeding the dogs. When she came to city she would
relax by feeding the sparrows with little pieces of bread in the afternoon.
They were her best friends and the sparrows also liked her company. Singh says
that his grandmother's happiest moments were with her sparrows.
