The Portrait of a Lady

The writer speaks of his own grandmother. By the time, he wrote the story, she was quite old and all her hairs had been white. Her wrinkled face and body gave him a kind of surprise. Since twenty years, the writer is with his grandmother. People said that once the old lady was as beautiful as a fairy. Her husband writers grandfather was also very handsome. His photo was being hung in the drawing room of the writer. Grandmother had always been short and fat, and her back was slightly bent. Wrinkles were across on her face. When the writer came to know her, she had been such condition. She was wearing a spotless white saree. Her silver locks were scattered untidily over her pale puckered face, and her lips constantly moved in inaudible prayer. She was like the winter landscape in the mountains. Both the writer and his grandmother were good friends. His parents had left him with his grandmother at village. His parents were in city. Every day, she used to wake up the writer to be ready to go to school. She was uttering the monotonous song while she was bathing. The writer liked her very much. His grandmother was going to school with him because there was the temple nearer the school. She would sit among the children and listen to the priests prayer. When writers parents were settled in the city, they sent for them. That was a turning point in their friendship. Both the writer and his grandmother started spending days separately and the writer became separated from the close relation with his grandmother. When he reported her about the music lesson he was being taught his grandma felt sorrow, because she knew that music had been associated with hariots. She said nothing but her silence meant disapproval. When the writer went to University, he was allotted a room for his staying. His grandmother spent time with her spinning wheel. From sunrise to sunset she sat by her wheel spinning and reciting prayers. In the afternoon, she relaxed for a while to feed the sparrows. She was always getting surrounded by sparrows that were perching on her legs and shoulders. Some even sat on her head. When the writer decided to go abroad for further studies and his grandmother would be upset. But she came to leave him at the railway station but did not talk or show any emotion. She was totally absorbed in prayer and her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary. After five years, he came back home and was received at the station by his grandmother. She did not look a day older. The author could feel her pulse as usual and her sparrows were with her. That evening she was seen very happy spending time with the older women folk. The next day morning she was found being ill. Doctor was called for and he told that the fever was mild and she would be well within a short time. But she told others that her time had come. She lay peacefully in bed praying and telling her beads. Next time she breathed her last. Then the funeral arrangements and proceedings went on. The dead body of the grandmother was covered with a red shroud. A crude stretcher was brought to take her to be cremated. By that time, thousands of sparrows sat scattered on the floor. There was no chirruping. When her corpse was taken, the sparrows flew away quietly. Here ends the portrait of a pious lady.

The story is written in first person and is in biographical mode. It is a perception of Khushwant Singh of his grandmother through his own eyes. Khushwant Singh recalls his grandmother as an eternally old person. She was an extremely religious person.It was difficult for him to believe that once she too was young and pretty like other women. The stories about her childhood games were like fairytales to him. She was short, fat and slightly stooped in stature. Her silvery white hair used to scatter on her wrinkled face. Khushwant Singh remembers her hobbling around the house in spotless white clothes with one hand resting on her waist to balance her stoop and the other busy in telling the beads of her rosary. Her lips constantly moved in inaudible prayers. Possibly she was not beautiful in worldly sense but she looked extremely beautiful with the peacefulness, serenity and the contentment her countenance displayed. Khushwants relationship with his grandmother went through several changes when he was a small boy. In the first stage Khushwant lived in a village with her as his parents were looking for the opportunity to settle down in the city. In village grandmother took care of all the needs of the child. She was quite active and agile. She woke him up in the morning, got him ready for the school, plastered his wooden slate, prepared his breakfast and escorted him to the school. They fed street dogs with stale chapaties on their way to school which was a great fun for them. She helped him in his lessons also .It was her domain and she was the queen of her kingdom. In this period she was the sole unchallenged guardian, mentor and creator of the child Khushwant. The turning point came in their relationship when they came to city to stay with Khushwants parents. In city Khushwant joined an English School and started to go to school in a motor bus. Here the role of his grandmother in his bringing up was curtailed a little bit. Now she could not accompany him to the school. Despite taking lot of interest in his studies she could not help him in his lessons because he was learning English, law of gravity, Archimedes principle and many more such things which she could not understand and this made her unhappy. She found herself at loss. One more thing which disturbed her a lot was that the kids were not learning about God and scriptures in the school instead they were given music lessons which was not an honorable thing in her opinion. To her music was not meant for gentlefolk. It was meant for beggars and prostitutes only. She highly disapproved this and as she could not change it she was dismayed and withdrew herself to some extent. Perhaps she had realized that in the makeover of the child her role was finished and this very thought saddened her most. After finishing school Khushwant went to university. He was given a separate room. The common link of their friendship was snapped. His grandmother confined herself to a self imposed seclusion. She spent most of her time in reciting prayers and by sitting beside her spinning wheel. She rarely talked to anyone. The only recreation for her was in the afternoon when she relaxed for a while to feed the sparrows. A kind hearted person, in village she

used to feed street dogs, here in city she focused on birds and they too became very friendly with her. This was the phase when she found herself totally isolated and aloof but she braved this isolation with grace and dignity. Khushwants grandmother was a strong person. Whatever she went through in her heart she always restrained herself from demonstrating her emotions. He recalls that when he went abroad for further studies his grandmother was there to see him off on railway station quite calm busy telling the beads of her rosary and reciting prayers as always. When he came back after five years he found her more and more religious and more and more self contained. She spent still more time in prayers and spinning the wheel. Feeding the birds was her only happy pastime. But just the day before her death for the first time she broke this routine and gave up her prayers. That day she sang the songs of the home coming of the warriors on a withered drum along with the ladies of neighborhood in order to celebrate her grandsons return from abroad. Next morning she got ill. Although the doctor said it was a mild fever and would go away she could foresee that her end was near. She was upset that she omitted her prayers just before the final departure from the world. She did not want to waste any more time talking to anybody. She lay peacefully in bed praying and telling the beads till her lips stopped moving and rosary fell from her lifeless fingers. To mourn her death thousands of sparrows flew in and sat scattered around her body in utter silence.They even ignored the breadcrumbs thrown for them by Khushwants mother. They only flew away after the corpse was carried away for last rites. So this was the charismatic grandmother of Khushwant Singh.

Objectives The character of the grandmother (Physical description + Nature) Village/Rural Education Vs City/Urban Education Turning point in the relationship between grandmother and grandson Return of grandson from abroad Everybody including the sparrows mourned grandmothers death. Elaborate. The day the grandmother died, thousands of sparrows came and sat silently around the corpse of the grandmother as if they too, had come to mourn the death of the old woman. They did not even eat the breadcrumbs scattered by the authors mother. The grandmother had a divine beauty. How does the author bring this out? The author brings out the inner beauty of the grandmother by comparing her to as now covered winter landscape. This comparison shows her calmness and serenity. Give a description of Khushwant Singhs grandmother according to his earliest memory of her? The author felt that his grandmother had always looked the same for the twenty years that he had known her. He felt she was always old, short, fat and bent. Her face was covered with wrinkles. She wore only white and walked with a stoop. What did Khushwant Singhs grandmother think of education in the city school? She disapproved of city schools as they taught only English and Science. There was no religious teaching and the worst was when she learnt that they taught music in the city school. Music was meant for harlots and beggars according to her. This distressed her. The three stanzas depict three different phases. What are they? The three stanzas depict the first phase, i.e. the mothers childhood, the second phase is the mothers adulthood and the third phase is the poets own adulthood where he is nostalgically remembering his mother who is no longer alive. Why was it hard for the author to believe that his grandmother was once young and pretty? The author had only seen and known his grandmother as an old woman. It had been the same situation for twenty years. As a child, therefore, he found it hard to believe that she was young and pretty once upon a time. What details in the story create the impression that the grandmother was religious minded? The grandmothers lips constantly mumbled some silent prayers. Her fingers would also keep moving the beads of a rosary. She would recite prayers while getting the author ready for school. While the author would be studying in school, she would be in the temple reading religious scriptures. What proofs of the friendship between the grandmother and the grandson do you find in the story? As a young child, the author was very close to his grandmother. She helped him to dress up, helped to get his bag packed for school. She even went to leave him at the village school. She helped him with his lessons. This friendship became less strong when they were in the city. Which language do you think the author and his grandmother used while talking to each other? The author was a Sikh by religion. Hence, it is evident that their native language was Punjabi and he talked with his grandmother in this language only. The grandmother was a kind-hearted woman. Give examples in support of your answer. The grandmother was very kind hearted and compassionate. She would feed stale chapattis to the village dogs everyday while leaving her grandson to school. In the city, she continues this practice but would feed sparrows with breadcrumbs, in the courtyard of the house. That was the turning point in our friendship. What was the turning point? The turning point in the friendship came when they shifted to the city. Life in the city was very difficult from village life and so were the studies. Grandmother could not help him with his studies and could not go to the school with him. Hence the bond started weakening. Draw a comparison between village school education and city school education. In the village school the author learnt his native language and the Morning Prayer. In the city school there was only English alphabet, no religious teachings. There was more emphasis on Science, English, Maths and also music. Grandmother did not approve of his learning music at school. What was the happiest moment of the day for the grandmother?

The happiest moment for the grandmother was when she fed the sparrows with breadcrumbs in the afternoon. The sparrows got so used to her and would even perch on her shoulders. This made her extremely joyous. What did the author think was the last physical contact with his grandmother? Was it really so? The author was kissed on the forehead by his grandmother as he was going abroad. He thought this might be the last physical contact with her because she was old and may not be alive when he would return after five years. Khushwant Singhs grandmother was not pretty but was always beautiful. Explain the meaning of this statement The authors grandmother was not a good-looking woman. But despite her unattractive physical appearance, there was a certain calm and serenity surrounding her. She had spiritual beauty that made her more divine and attractive. What was Khushwant Singhs and his grandmothers routine in the village? In the village the grandmother used to wake up the author, bathe and dress up and then leave him at the village school. While he attended lessons, she would read religious scriptures. On the way back, she would feed stale chapattis to village dogs. She even helped the author with his lessons. Which activity did the grandmother find most relaxing when she lived in the city? The grandmother would feed the sparrows daily in the verandah of the house. She used to let them perch on her shoulders and would talk to them. She had made it a daily ritual and she found it very relaxing. How did Khushwant Singhs grandmother bid him farewell when he was leaving for his studies abroad? The grandmother was in full control of her emotions. She did not even cry, but she kissed her grandson on his forehead and kept praying all the time. This was her way of bidding farewell to him. How did the grandmother celebrate Khushwant Singhs return from abroad? She gathered all the women of the neighborhood and got an old dilapidated drum. She sang songs while beating the drum. The songs were of the homecoming of warriors. She sang continuously so much so that she did not even pray that evening. Write a character sketch of grandmother. Grandmother was an old woman who was once young and pretty. She was short and fat and slightly bent. She was beautiful at heart. Being very caring, she used to wake up the author in the morning and get him ready for school. She was very concerned about the authors education. She would fetch the wooden board which she had already plastered with yellow chalk. She was very kind and would carry stale chapattis for the village dogs. She fed the sparrows with bits of bread. She was benevolent and fond of music. She called the neighborhood women and beat the drum when her grandson returned from abroad. She was very attached to him and would spend hours talking to him about his studies. She was deeply distressed at western education and learning of music. She was religious as she was always telling the beads of a rosary and would say a prayer in a sing-song manner. Give two instances to show that the authors grandmother was serious about education. The grandmother herself used to clean the authors slate every evening, pack his bag for school, help him with his homework and drop him at school. She would wait there till he would finish classes and then take him back home. In the city also, she took interest in what he was learning at school, but was unable to help him with his studies. 10 marks: Write the character sketch of Grandmother. Affectionate, caring, kind, benevolent, religious, a strong woman. Summary The story is written in first person and is in biographical mode. It is a perception of Khushwant Singh of his grandmother through his own eyes. Khushwant Singh recalls his grandmother as an eternally old person. She was an extremely religious person. It was difficult for him to believe that once she too was young and pretty like other women. The stories about her childhood games were like fairytales to him. She was short, fat and slightly stooped in stature. Her silvery white hair used to scatter on her wrinkled face. Khushwant Singh remembers her hobbling around the house in spotless white clothes with one hand resting on her waist to balance her stoop and the other busy in telling the beads of her rosary. Her lips constantly moved in inaudible prayers. Possibly she was not beautiful in worldly sense but she looked extremely beautiful with the peacefulness, serenity and the contentment her countenance displayed. Khushwants relationship with his grandmother went through several changes when he was a small boy. In the first stage Khushwant lived in a village with her as his parents were looking for the opportunity to settle down in the city. In village grandmother took care of all the needs of the child. She was quite active and agile. She woke him up in the morning, got him ready for the school, plastered his wooden slate, prepared his breakfast and escorted him to the school. They fed street dogs with stale chapattis on their way to school which was a great fun for them. She helped him in his lessons also .It was her domain and she was the queen of her kingdom. In this period she was the sole unchallenged guardian, mentor and creator of the child Khushwant. The turning point came in their relationship when they came to city to stay with Khushwants parents. In city Khushwant joined an English School and started to go to school in a motor bus. Here the role of his grandmother in his bringing up was curtailed a little bit. Now she could not accompany him to the school. Despite taking lot of interest in his studies she could not help him in his lessons because he was learning English, law of gravity, Archimedes principle and many more such things which she could not understand and this made her unhappy. She found herself at loss. One more thing which disturbed her a lot was that the kids were not learning about God and scriptures in the school instead they were given music lessons which was not an honorable thing in her opinion. To her music was not meant for gentlefolk. It was meant for beggars and prostitutes only. She highly disapproved this and as she could not change it she was dismayed and withdrew herself to some extent. Perhaps she had realized that in the makeover of the child her role was finished and this very thought saddened her most. After finishing school Khushwant went to university. He was given a separate room. The common link of their friendship was snapped. His grandmother confined herself to a self imposed seclusion. She spent most of her time in reciting prayers and by sitting beside her spinning wheel. She rarely talked to anyone. The only recreation for her was in the afternoon when she relaxed for a while to feed the sparrows. A kindhearted person, in village she used to feed street dogs, here in city she focused on birds and they too became very friendly with her. This was the phase when she found herself totally isolated and aloof but she braved this isolation with grace and dignity. Khushwants grandmother was a strong person. Whatever she went through in her heart she always restrained herself from demonstrating her emotions. He recalls that when he went abroad for further studies his grandmother was there to see him off on railway station quite calm busy telling the beads of her rosary and reciting prayers as always. When he came back after five years he found her more and more religious and

more and more self contained. She spent still more time in prayers and spinning the wheel. Feeding the birds was her only happy pastime. But just the day before her death for the first time she broke this routine and gave up her prayers. That day she sang the songs of the home coming of the warriors on a withered drum along with the ladies of neighborhood in order to celebrate her grandsons return from abroad. Next morning she got ill. Although the doctor said it was a mild fever and would go away she could foresee that her end was near. She was upset that she omitted her prayers just before the final departure from the world. She did not want to waste any more time talking to anybody. She lay peacefully in bed praying and telling the beads till her lips stopped moving and rosary fell from her lifeless fingers. To mourn her death thousands of sparrows flew in and sat scattered around her body in utter silence. They even ignored the breadcrumbs thrown for them by Khushwants mother. They only flew away after the corpse was carried away for last rites. So this was the charismatic grandmother of Khushwant Singh. Characteristics of Grandmother Religious Practical Caring Brave enough to tackle her end Her seclusion with her grandson Selfless Epitome of love What are the three reasons why the authors grandmother was disturbed when he started going to city school? She could not accompany him to school, as a motor bus was taking him to school. She could not help him in learning his lessons, which were getting increasingly difficult where he was learning English, Law of Gravity, Archimedes principle and all. Also lessons in morality with respect to God and scriptures were not taught in the school, which disturbed her a lot. Moreover, they were taught music lessons which were not honorable in her opinion.

The writer speaks of his own grandmother. By the time, he wrote the story, she was quite old and all her hairs had been white. Her wrinkled face and body gave him a kind of surprise. Since twenty years, the writer is with his grandmother. People said that once the old lady was as beautiful as a fairy. Her husband writers grandfather was also very handsome. His photo was being hung in the drawing room of the writer. Grandmother had always been short and fat, and her back was slightly bent. Wrinkles were across on her face. When the writer came to know her, she had been such condition. She was wearing a spotless white saree. Her silver locks were scattered untidily over her pale puckered face, and her lips constantly moved in inaudible prayer. She was like the winter landscape in the mountains. Both the writer and his grandmother were good friends. His parents had left him with his grandmother at village. His parents were in city. Every day, she used to wake up the writer to be ready to go to school. She was uttering the monotonous song while she was bathing. The writer liked her very much. His grandmother was going to school with him because there was the temple nearer the school. She would sit among the children and listen to the priests prayer. When writers parents were settled in the city, they sent for them. That was a turning point in their friendship. Both the wr iter and his grandmother started spending days separately and the writer became separated from the close relation with his grandmother. When he reported her about the music lesson he was being taught his grandma felt sorrow, because she knew that music had been associated with hariots. She said nothing but her silence meant disapproval. When the writer went to University, he was allotted a room for his staying. His grandmother spent time with her spinning wheel. From sunrise to sunset she sat by her wheel spinning and reciting prayers. In the afternoon, she relaxed for a while to feed the sparrows. She was always getting surrounded by sparrows that were perching on her legs and shoulders. Some even sat on her head. When the writer decided to go abroad for further studies and his grandmother would be upset. But she came to leave him at the railway station but did not talk or show any emotion. She was totally absorbed in prayer and her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary. After five years, he came back home and was received at the station by his grandmother. She did not look a day older. The author could feel her pulse as usual and her sparrows were with her. That evening she was seen very happy spending time with the older women folk. The next day morning she was found being ill. Doctor was called for and he told that the fever was mild and she would be well within a short time. But she told others that her time had come. She lay peacefully in bed praying and telling her beads. Next time she breathed her last. Then the funeral arrangements and proceedings went on. The dead body of the grandmother was covered with a red shroud. A crude stretcher was brought to take her to be cremated. By that time, thousands of sparrows sat scattered on the floor. There was no chirruping. When her corpse was taken, the sparrows flew away quietly. Here ends the portrait of a pious lady. Khushwant's grandmother: 'The Portrait of a Lady' Meet Khushwant Singh's grandmother, in his own words: '...short, fat and slightly bent... . Her face was a crisscross of wrinkles running from everywhere to everywhere'. Quite irreverently, he says: ...the thought of my grandmother being young and pretty was almost revolting.' She was his friend who woke him up while constantly muttering her prayers in the hopeless hope that he would imbibe some of the religious verses (which he never did), dress him up for school, get his

school kit ready and then walk him to school. While he went through his lessons, she went through her prayers in the temple adjoining the village school and then they both walked back home. But distances grew between the two close pals, once they moved to the city. Khushwant says: 'That was the turning point in our relationship.' He now went to school in a bus and she was horrified that the school taught him nothing of religion when he told her of the western science he had studied. She now had no time for words, 'her lips moved in prayer, her mind moved in prayer,' constantly, he says. She accepted seclusion, and spent time feeding the sparrows, now her soul mates. Khushwant's move to England for further studies widened the distance. She was there to see him off with a moist kiss which he cherished as perhaps her last touch. But she is there when he returns after five years, looking 'not a day older'. But she still had not time for words. Then one day, for the first time she does not pray and takes ill the next morning. Like a prescient, she knows better than the doctor that her end has come. Now more than ever, she has no time for words with the family. She takes up her rosary, her lips move in prayer and then the rosary falls from her hand... The sparrows she used to feed sit scattered about her. Khushwant's mother throws some breadcrumbs for them, like his grandmother did but the sparrows will not touch it. They carry the body away and then do the sparrows fly away. The breadcrumbs, which remained untouched, are swept away by the sweeper next morning. He writes: 'Always in spotless white, she was like the winter landscape in the mountains, an expanse of pure white serenity breathing peace and contentment." About the author: - Born 1915 - Prominent Indian: Anglican novelist, editor and journalist - Weekly column: 'With Malice Towards One and All' - Trenchant secularist, loves poetry, distinct style and sense of humour - Padma Bhushan (1974) - Honest Man of the Year (2000) - Punjab Rattan Award (2006) - Padma Vibhushan (2007) - Sahitya Academy Fellowship Award (2010) Points to note: The deconstruction of the title of the chapter. The grandmother's physical appearance, outer vs. inner beauty The grandmothergrandson relationship in the village Difference between village and city school The grandmother's spirituality The grandmother's kindness towards animals. Title: The author, Khushwant Singh, describes his grandmother, painting a word-portrait for the reader. To him, with her pious, kind, understanding and caring persona, she is the true embodiment of the term, lady. According to the author, the grandmother ma y not have been pretty, but her inner beauty shone through her persona making her beautiful.

Grandson and grandmother: The grandson and his grandmother shared a close bond. Initially, the grandson stayed with his grandmother in the village. She took care of his daily needs and even accompanied him to school. She was pious and religious and hoped to pass on her faith to Khushwant as well. Khushwant describes her as beautiful like the winter landscape in the mountains, serene and content. She might old and wrinkled but her spiritual aura, simplicity, calmness and general contentment with her life made her beautiful to Khushwants eyes. When the grandson and grandmother moved to the city, they stayed in separate rooms and the grandmother no longer accompanied him to school. The distance grew further when she came to know that he was taught music, science and English in his school. She did not trust these subjects and was distressed that there was no teaching about God or scriptures. Although the generation gap widened in the city, they still loved one another. She silently lent him support when he went to study abroad. Her death left a void in Khushwant even though he felt blessed for having had her as a part of his life. The village school vs. the city school: The village school was attached to a temple and the grandmother-grandson duo would walk to reach it. The teacher was a priest and prayers were taught along with the alphabet. Rote learning, wooden slates lathered with yellow chalk, ink pots and ink pens were used to facilitate learning. In the city school, the grandson travelled by a motor bus. The grandson learnt English, Science and Music. There was no teaching of God or the scriptures.

Prayers/Grandmothers spirituality: The grandmothers spiritual nature and devotion to the Almighty defines her personality. She prays daily and almost constantly. She wishes to pass on the same devotion into her grandson. The only day she did not pray was the day her grandson returned from abroad and the very next morning, she fell ill. She prayed from then up to the point of her death passing away with the same spiritual calmness on her face that she had possessed when alive. The animals: The grandmother was a kind woman who often fed stray animals on her way back from the village school. In the city, there were no stray dogs but she spent some time every day feeding the sparrows on the verandah. These sparrows came to her even on the day she passed away and sat silently near her body. They took no notice of the food off ered by Khushwants mother and flew away after a while. It was evident that they came to bid her a final good bye. With them flying off and later, with the sweeping away of the bread crumbs, the poet indicates that with time, the pain of the loss would also be swept away and only sweet remembrance shall linger. QUESTION BANK: Short Answer Questions: Q.1. Did you like the story? Why or why not? Q.2. What do you think is a pen-portrait? Has Khushwant Singh been successful at drawing such a portrait in this chapter? Discuss with reference to the text. Q.3. Despite her physical appearance, the grandmother has been called beautiful. Why? Q.4. The narrator and his grandmother were good friends. Discuss with examples from the text. Q.5. Physical distance does not dim the emotional connect. Comment based on the story read. Q.6. What differences does the story bring out between the village school and the city school? Q.7. The grandmother loved animals. We see this at two points of the story. Which are these points? Q.8. How did the move to the city prove to be the turning point of the grandmother-grandson relationship? Q.9. Feeding the sparrows was the happiest hour of the day for her. Highlight at least two traits that this statement brings out about the personality of the grandmother. Q.10. Why do you think the grandmother was not upset when the narrator left to study abroad for five years? Q.11. Discuss the spiritual and/or religious nature of the grandmother as evident in the story. Q.12. She sang of the homecoming of the warriors. What was the grandmother singing about? Q.13. Prayer can be a source of personal fortitude. Comment interspersing your opinion with the one highlighted in the text. Q.14. When the grandmother was carried away to the cremation ground, the sparrows flew away and the bread crumbs were later swept into the dustbin. Do you think these lines are important? Why or why not? Q.15. How was the grandmother a lady despite being unfamiliar with modern education? Long answer questions: Q.16. Justify the title of the chapter. Had you been given the choice to alter this title, what name would you give to the story? Q.17. Write a letter as the grandmother to your grandson on the eve of his return from abroad. Q.18. The grandmother is a silent voice in the story. However, her actions reveal her personality. Draw a character sketch for the

grandmother using examples from the text. Q.19. Based on this story, what do you think is Khushwant Singhs attitude towards religion? Q.20. Being alone can be loneliness or solitude. Which one was it for the grandmother after she moved to the city? What incidents/words from the chapter helped you form your opinion?