THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY

By Khushwant Singh
About the Author –

Khushwant Singh (1915-2014) was one of the paramount Indian writers and journalists of all times. His
experience in the 1947 Partition of India inspired him to write “Train to Pakistan” in 1956 (made into film in
1998), which became his most well-known novel. Khushwant Singh was educated in New Delhi, and studied
law at St. Stephen's College, Delhi, and King's College London. After working as a lawyer in Lahore Court for
eight years, he joined the Indian Foreign Service upon the Independence of India from British Empire in 1947.
He was appointed journalist in the All India Radio in 1951, and then moved to the Department of Mass
Communications of UNESCO at Paris in 1956. These last two careers encouraged him to pursue a literary
career. As a writer, he was best known for his secularism, humour, sarcasm and an abiding love of poetry. His
comparisons of social and behaviour characteristics of Westerners and Indians are laced with acid wit. Between
1980 to1986, he served as Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha.

Khushwant Singh was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 1974 and Padma Vibhushan in 2007, Sahitya
Academy Fellowship and many prestigious awards.

Summary of Story –

The writer recalls his Grandmother as short, healthy and slightly bent. Her hairs were silver in colour and were
scattered messily on her wrinkled face. She used to walk around the whole house in white clothes. She kept her one
hand resting on her waist and the other hand was telling the beads of her rosary. The writer thinks of her as not very
pretty but constantly beautiful all the time. He compares her calm face with the winter landscape.

During their lengthy stay in the village, Grandmother woke him up from the bed in the early morning, got him
ready, plastered his wooden slate, organized his breakfast, and accompanied him to the school. The temple was
connected to the school. She sat inside and studied the sacred texts while the children learned the alphabet. On their
way back to the home she used to give the stale chapattis to the street dogs.

A turning point in their beautiful relationship arrived when they went to live in a city. Despite the fact that they
shared a room, their relationship started to grow apart. Now, the writer used to go to the city school on a school bus
and studied subjects like English, Physics, mathematics and many more subjects that his grandmother could not
understand at all. His grandmother could no longer drop him to school. She felt upset that there was no teaching
about God and scriptures at the city school. Instead, he was given music lessons, but she said nothing. She thought
music was dreadful. It was just good for prostitutes and beggars, according to her. It was not intended for
gentlemen.

When the writer went to a university, he got a separate room in his house. The common link of the relationship
between the grandson and the grandmother was broken now. Grandmother rarely talked to anyone in the house
now. The writer’s grandmother quietly accepted her loneliness. She was constantly occupied with her spinning
wheel and reciting prayers and she hardly ever spoke to anyone. She took a break in the afternoon. Her daily
routine consisted of breaking bread into pieces and giving it to the birds. The birds would perch on her legs, head,
and even her shoulders.

When the writer was leaving on a trip abroad for his further studies, his grandmother did not get disturbed at all.
Rather she went to the train station to say goodbye, but she didn’t say anything and merely kissed his forehead. Her
lips were moving in prayer, her thoughts were consumed by prayer and her fingers were busy telling the beads of
her rosary. Seeing her grandmother at this old age, the writer was thinking that it might be his last meeting with his
grandmother. But when he came back home after a duration of 5 years, his grandmother was there to welcome him
back and he saw her celebrate his return.

The next morning after the return of his grandson she got ill. Although the doctor told them that it was a slight fever
and would go away very soon, still she could foresee that her time to leave this world was near. She did not want to
waste her time talking to anyone. Her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary till her lips stopped moving
and the rosary fell down from her lifeless hand. After keeping her body on the floor, family got busy in arranging
for the last rituals. To grieve her death, thousands of sparrows flew in and sat around her body quietly. All the
sparrows flew away without making any noise when the dead body of the old lady was carried away for the last
rites.

Theme of the Story -

The fact that generation gap is not an unsurpassable gulf is characterised by the fact that a wave of nostalgia
overpowers us when we think of the simple and serene days of our childhood spent with parents and
grandparents. We might grow up and grow apart but the morals and principles instilled in us by the older
generation refuse to die.
The story tells how circumstances may change our lifestyle, our preferences and our changing relationship with
our dear ones.
We also have the underlying themes of innocence, friendship, love, kindness, selflessness, respect and
acceptance.

Understanding The Text -

Mention:

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

Answer: The three phases of the relationship of the author with his grandmother before leaving the country to
study abroad are:

(i) Early childhood – His grandmother helped him while getting ready and went to the village school along with
him.

(ii) Boyhood – He shared a room with his grandmother when he studied at the city school. She was not able to
help him in his studies.

(iii) Early youth – The link of their friendship snapped when he was provided a separate room at the university.

2. Three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the city school.

Answer: The three reasons why the grandmother of the author was disturbed when he went to the city school
are:

1. She did not like Western learning and Science.

2. She was hurt when she came to know that there were no scriptures and teachings of God there.
3. She did not like music and thought that it was not for gentlefolk and decent people. In her opinion, it was the
monopoly of beggars and prostitutes.

3. Three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up.

Answer: Three ways how the grandmother of the author spent her days after he grew up are:

1. She accepted the loneliness and lived unaccompanied in the room.

2. She would recite prayers while sitting at the spinning wheel.

3. She fed the sparrows for half an hour every afternoon.

4. The odd way in which the author’s grandmother behaved just before she died.

Answer: The grandmother of the author did not speak to them before her death. The night before she died, she
did not pray while singing homecoming songs and beating the drum, as she was not ready to waste time. She
laid peacefully in her bed praying and telling beads and ignored the protests of her family members.

5. The way in which the sparrows expressed their sorrow when the author’s grandmother died.

Answer: The dead body of the author’s grandmother was surrounded by thousands of sparrows which did not
chirrup. They did not even notice the bread crumbs which were thrown by the author’s mother to feed them.
They quietly flew away once the corpse of the grandmother was carried away. Hence, this way the sparrows
expressed their sorrow when the author’s grandmother died.

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?

Answer: The grandmother of the author was a deeply religious person. This can be known from the different
ways of her behaviour. Every morning, she visited the temple and read the scriptures. She always mumbled
inaudible prayers at home and kept telling the rosary beads. She constantly repeated prayers like a song while
helping the author get ready for school. She wished that the author would learn it by heart. She did not like the
English school as there was no teaching of scriptures and God.

She would recite prayers even while spinning in her spinning wheel. Once, she forgot to say her prayers. Prior
to her death, she felt over-excited in the evening while celebrating her grandson’s arrival with beatings of drums
and songs. She continued telling beads of rosary and praying till her last breath.

2. Describe the changing relationship between the author and his grandmother. Did their feelings for
each other change?

Answer: The author was entirely dependent on his grandmother during his boyhood. She was an important part
of his life. However, a turning point came in their friendship when they moved to the city. As he went to school
by bus, she was not able to accompany him. She could not help him in his studies though they shared the same
room. She used to ask him what his teachers taught him and did not believe in the things which were taught at
school. She was pained that he was not taught about scriptures and God. As music was being taught, she felt
offended and expressed her disapproval silently. She rarely spoke to the author after this. The link of their
friendship was snapped as he was given a separate room when he went to the university. However, their feelings
towards each other did not change. They loved one another deeply. When he left the country and moved abroad
for higher studies, she went to the railway station to send him off. She quietly kissed his forehead and showed
no emotion. This was valued by the author as it was the last sign of physical interaction between them. After
five years, when the author returned, she received him at the station. She clasped the author in her arms and
celebrated his homecoming in the evening by beating an old drum and singing songs.

3. Would you agree that the author’s grandmother was a person strong in character? If yes, give
instances that show this.

Answer: Yes, I agree that the grandmother of the author was a person with a strong character. She was a
woman with strong beliefs. Though she was not educated formally, she was serious about the education of the
author. She was not able to adjust herself to the western lifestyle, English and Science education. She did not
like music and disapproved of its teaching in schools.

She was a religious woman whose lips were always moving in a silent prayer and was telling the beads of her
rosary. She daily went to the temple and read scriptures. When she got to know that there was no teaching of
scriptures and God at New English School of Khushwant, she was distressed.

She was a kind woman who used to feed the dogs in the village. She was feeding sparrows in the city. Though
weak in body and old in age, she had a strong mind. She refused to talk to the family members before her death
as she was not ready to waste her time. She wanted to make up the time she did not pray to God the previous
evening. She laid peacefully in bed telling the beads of rosary and saying prayers until her last breath.

Thinking About Language –

(To be done in the Book only)

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

Answer: I think the author and his grandmother used Punjabi, which was their mother tongue while talking to
each other.

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

Answer: ‘Phata-purana dhol’ is the expression used to say ‘a dilapidated drum’ in Hindi language.

Working with Words -

I. 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 of 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:

Phrases Meaning

1. telling the beads count while reciting

2. tell her give information to somebody

3. one could never tell be sure

4. told us make something known to someone in spoken or written words

II. 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:

In the text, these phrases are used as follows:

1. to take to: She took to feeding sparrows in the courtyard of our city house.

2. take ill: The next morning she was taken ill.

III. 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

wriggle paddle swagger trudge

Answer: The words in the box that also refer to a manner of walking are:

Shuffle stride swagger waddle trudge

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