Class 11 English Chapter 1 The Portrait of A Lady ( HORNBILL PROSE)

THE POTRAIT OF A LADY ( HORNBILL)

(Textbook Exercise Understanding the Text)

Q. 1. Describe the three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to go abroad.

Ans: The author’s first phase of relationship with his grandmother began when he was a child and before he started going to school. In those days she appeared old and wrinkled and he could not believe in the idea that once she had been young and pretty. She used to tell author and the other children about the games she used to play during her childhood. The children found her stories absurd and treated them like the fables of the prophets she used to tell them.

The second and the most intimate phase of their relationship began when the author was left with his grandmother in the village while his parents had gone to live in the city. During those days the author and his grandmother were constantly together. She used to wake him up, bathed him, dressed him and made him ready for school. She used to feed him with chappattis, butter and sugar. Together they went to school that was held in the varandah of the temple. While he learnt the alphabet and the prayer taught by the priest, the grandmother used to read scriptures inside the temple. After school they would together walk home feeding the village dogs with the stale chapattis which the grandmother had taken with her.

The third phase of their relationship began when they arrived at the city home of the author’s parents. Still they lived in the same room and for some-time the grandmother used to wake him up and make him ready for school. But their relationship began dwindling when the author was sent to an English school. He went to that school in motor bus. He was taught English words and some of the things of western science. Nothing about God and scriptures was taught. The grandmother did not like that sort of education. Then the author went up to university and was given a room of his own. Till then he used to share the same room with his grandmother. Their living in separate rooms snapped their link of friendship. The grandmother accepted her seclusion silently and without protest.

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

Ans: The author and his grandmother were sent for to come to the city house of the author’s parents. Then the author was sent to an English school. He used to go in a motor bus. While in the village his grandmother accompanied him to the school held in the varandah of the temple. Also they used to come back home together feeding the village dogs with the stale chapattis that the grandmother had taken with her. In the city it was not necessary for the grandmother to accompany the writer to his school. That was one of her disturbance.

Then the grandmother came to know from the author that in the city school English words and some of the Western science were taught. She did mot like lessons like the law of gravitation, Archimedes’ Principle and the earth being round etc. She felt disturbed when she learnt that nothing about God and the scriptures was taught in the school.

One day the author told her that they were being given music lessons. She felt very disturbed to hear that. This was the monopoly of the prostitutes and the beggars and had nothing to do with gentlefolk.

The author’s grandmother was disturbed by the things mentioned above.

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

Ans: The intimacy between the author and his grandmother began to dwindle after they came to live in the city and the author was admitted to an English school. The grandmother did not like the things taught in the city school. Till then they used to live in the same room. When he went to University he was given a room of his own and thus their common link of friendship swapped. The old lady accepted her seclusion with calm resignation.

The grandmother changed her way of spending the day. From sunrise to sunset she would sit beside her spinning wheel spinning yarn and reciting prayer. She did not care to talk to anyone.

Only in the evening she used to relax for a while feeding the sparrows with crumbs of bread. She would break the break into pieces and throw them to the sparrows. The birds in hundreds would sit round her. Some of them perched on her legs and shoulders. Some of them even sat on her head. She smiled but never drove them away. That used to be the happiest moment for her during the day.

Q. 4. Mention the old ways in which the author’s grandmother behaved just before she died.

Ans: After five years stay abroad the writer came back home. He was received by his grandmother at the station. She did look a day older than what she had been five years before. She clasped him with her arms without any emotion. All the while she was reciting her prayers. In the evening a change came over her. She called in the women of the neighborhood, got an old drum and started singing thumping on the drum. She sang home-coming of the warriors. She sang so long and so minutely that she had neglected her prayers. She had to be persuaded not to over strain herself.

In the following morning she was taken ill. She had a mild fever. The doctor said that she had nothing serious. But she herself declared that her end was nearing. She did not like to waste her time talking to anyone. She was absorbed in her prayer and telling the beads of her rosary. She lay peacefully. At one time her lips stopped moving and the rosary fell from her fingers. Her face turned pale. She lay dead. Her body was covered with a shroud of red cloth.

Thus she behaved in a strange manner before her death. She was over excited at the home coming of her dear grandson and exerted herself beyond her endurance. As a result she died. But she died peacefully praying and telling the beads of her rosary.

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

How did the sparrows react to the death of the author’s grandmother?

Ans: The writer’s grandmother used to feed the dogs when she was living in the village. After coming to the city she had to lead a secluded life. Then she took to feeding the sparrows in the afternoon. She would throw crumbs of bread and hundreds of sparrow feed on them. The birds would come close to her. Some of them would perched on her feet and shoulder. Some of them even sat on her head. But she would never drive them away.

When she died her dead body was covered with a shroud of red cloth. In the afternoon thousands of sparrows gathered in the varandah and in the room where the grandmother’s body was lying. The writer’s mother threw some crumbs of bread to them. But they refused to eat. They took no notice of the crumbs of bread. When the corpse was carried off the sparrows quietly fled away. Thought small birds they too condoled the death of their dear lady who used to feed them with affection. The crumbs were swept away in the following morning and thrown into the dustbin.

Talking About the Text

Q. 1. The author’s grandmother was a religious person. What are the different ways in which we come to know about this?

How do you know that author’s grandmother was a deeply religious person?

Ans: There is no doubt that the author’s grandmother was a religious person. Prayer and telling the beads of her rosary were her constant practice. All the while her lips constantly moved in inaudible prayer. Getting up early in the morning she said her prayer in a monotonous sing song. She used to accompany the writer to the village school because she could read the scriptures inside the temple while he sang the prayer or the alphabet sitting in the varandah.

Her deep devotion to religion made her a conservative old woman. She did not like the Western science taught to the author in the English school. She did not like the type of education in which nothing about God and scriptures was taught in the English school. She believed that music had lewd association. According to her music was the monopoly of the harlots and the beggars.

She never neglected her prayer and telling the beads of her rosary. Even while spinning yarn from down to dusk she continued to recite her paryer. While she went to see off the author and receive him at the station she continued to recite her prayer. The only time she missed her prayer was when she sang the home-coming of the warriors to celebrate the home coming of her grandmother.

She fell ill. But her illness was mild. But she could feel that her death was approaching. She died reciting prayer and telling the beads of her rosary. She was so deeply religious that her love extends beyond humanity. Her feeding the dogs and the sparrows amply justifies this. She lived absorbed in prayer and died reciting prayer.

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

Ans: Human life is not static. It goes on changing. So is the relationship. The author’s relationship went on changing with the passage of time. Situation changed and their relationship too changed. When the author was a child living with his grandmother only their relationship was intimate. They lived very close to each other. The grandmother used to wake him up, bathed him, fed him and not only made him ready for school but accompanied him to and from school. At the school held in the temple the author learnt the alphabet and the prayers and the grandmother read the scriptures.

Then they were sent for the city. That was the beginning of their separation from each other. The author was admitted to an English school where he was taught English words and western science. The grandmother did not like those things. She did not like his school when she was told that nothing about God or scriptures were taught in it. She did not like music taught to the student. Their separation widened and she began to spend her time spinning and reciting prayers.

When the writer went up to University and was given a room of his own their common link of friendship snapped. They began to see each other less and less. When the author went abroad and stayed there for five years they did not see each other.

No, their feeling for each other never changed. The grandmother went to the station to see off the writer when he went abroad. Again when he returned home after five years she went to the station to receive him. She celebrated his home coming beating drum and singing home coming of the warriors. Thus it is seen that the distancing relationship between the author and his grandmother was never deliberate, but it was beyond their control.

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

Ans: Undoubtedly the author’s grandmother was a woman who was strong in character. She had a strong personality. Her faith in God, religion and the scriptures was unwavering. She used to spend her time reciting prayer and telling the beads of her rosary. She was a conservative woman who disliked western science, music and education in white nothing about God and scriptures was taught. Her sense of likings and dislikings was steady. As an old widow she wore which clothes and never indulged in luxury. She liked to lead a pietic life reposing her trust on God. She was rigid in her views. She liked not only human beings. Her love extended beyond humanity. She thought it a pious act to feed the animals. In the village she fed the dogs and in the city she used to feed the sparrows. She was non violent. She did not drive away the sparrows some of which perched on her legs and soldiers and even sat on her head. She was all along indulgent to them. The best quality of her character was that she never turned emotional. She accepted everything with equal calmness. She prefered work to idleness and so spent her time spinning from sunrise to sunset. She was a woman who could accept everything with calm resignation.

Q. 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?

Ans: Yes, I have Known my grandmother, my father’s mother very intimately. She was not very much different from the author’s grandmother. During my childhood and throughout my school life she was my best friend, philosopher and throughout my school life she was my best friend, philosopher and guide. I being the eldest child of my parents was her first grandson. She showed all her love and affection on me.

I had the good fortune of growing up under her indulgent care. She would never rebuke me, not to speak of scolding or beating. But she was always watchful on my character. She was capable of detecting my small mistakes and would try to ractify me making me to realise my mistake. She used to wake me up early in the morning, bathed me, fed me and sat baside me at the reading table. As we lived in village she would accompany us to our playground. While we played she watched. In the morning and evening she took care of my study. She always inspired me to read well so that she would be able to see me becoming a big man in some noble profession. She was kind to all and full of affection. It was probably because of her inspiration that I could become what I am now.

It is sad to mention that my grandmother died in December last year. Her death is a personal loss to me. She passed away peacefully as if in a sleep. I shall never forget her love and affection and her indulgent care.

Additional Questions and Answers

Very short type questions and answers

Q. 1. Who is the writer of the article “The Portrait of a Lady’?

Ans: Khushwant Singh is the writer of the article, ‘The Portrait of a Lady’.

Q. 2. For how long the did the writer know his grandmother?

Ans: The writer knew his grandmother for twenty years.

Q. 3. “……… but that was hard to believe”. What was hard to believe?

Ans: That the writer’s grandmother had once been young and pretty and even had a husband was hard to believe.

Q. 4. What was the dress of the writer’s grandmother as he could be seen in the portrait?

Ans: As was seen in the portrait the writer’s grandmother wore a big turban and loose fitting clothes.

Q. 5. How was the writer’s grandmother to look at?

Ans: The writer’s grandmother had been old, short, fat and slightly bent.

Q. 6. With what is the appearance of the writer’s grandmother compared?

Ans: The appearance of the writer’s grandmother is compared with the winter landscape in the mountains.

Q. 7. Why did the writer listen to his grandmother’s morning prayer?

Ans: The writer listened to his grandmother’s morning prayers because he loved her voice.

Q. 8. What kind of breakfast was given to the writer by his grandmother?

Ans: The writer was given a breakfast of thick, stale chapatti with a little butter and sugar spread on it.

Q. 9. Why did the writer’s grandmother go to the villages school with him?

Ans: The writer’s grandmother went with the writer to the village school because the school was attacked to the temple.

Q.10. What did the writer’s grandmother do in the village school?

Ans: In the village school the grandmother read the scriptures in the temple.

Q.11. “That was a turning point in our friendship.” Whose friendship is mentioned here and what is the turning point?

Ans: The friendship of the writer, Khushwant Singh and his grandmother is mentioned here. The turning point in their relationship was when they had been sent for to come to the city.

Q.12. Why did the writer’s grandmother no longer go to school with him after they came to live in the city?

Ans: The writer’s grandmother no longer went to school with him because he used to go in a motor bus.

Q. 13. Why was the writer’s grandmother distressed at the teaching in the English school?

Ans: The writer’s grandmother was distressed at the teaching in the English school because nothing about God and scriptures was taught there.

Q.14. What were the things of western science taught to the writer in the English school.

Ans: The things of western science taught to the writer in the English school were law of gravity, Archimedes’ Principle and the world beings round etc.

Q.15. What was the opinion of the writer’s grandmother of music?

Ans: The writer’s grandmother believed that music had lewd association and it was the monopoly of the harlots and beggars and had nothing to do with gentlefolk.

Q.16. “The common link of friendship was snapped.” What was the common link of friendship and how was it snapped?

Ans: The common link of friendship was the room in which the writer and his grandmother used to live in the city. When the writer went up to University he was given a room of his own and their link of friendship snapped.

Q.17. “It used to be the happiest half hour of the day for her.” Which was the happiest half hour” mentioned here?

Ans: The half hour during which the writer’s grandmother used to feed the sparrows in the courtyard of their house was the happiest halfhour for her.

Q.18. How did the writer find his grandmother when he came back from abroad?

Ans: The writer on his return from abroad found his grandmother in the same state of old age as he had left-her five years ago. She did not look a day older.

Q.19. What did the writer’s grandmother tell when she had fallen ill?

Ans: When the writer’s grandmother had fallen ill, she told that her end was near. She could realise her approaching death.

Q. 20. How did the sparrows react when the writer’s mother had thrown crumbs of bread to them?

Ans: The sparrows took no notice of the crumbs of bread.

Q. 21. What type of a woman, do you think, was the writer’s grandmother?

Ans: The writer’s grandmother was a pious woman. Religion and prayer and telling the beads of her rosary.

Short Type Questions and Answers:

Q. 1. What sort of portrait of a lady has been drawn by the writer Khushwant Singh?

Ans: The writer, Khushwant Singh has drawn a brief but touching pen picture of his grandmother. He has described how he lived with her in the village during his childhood in constant company of each other. He has also described their gradually declining relationship after they came to live in the city. Finally the death of the old woman has been described in most touching manner.

Q. 2. Why was the thought of the writer’s grandmother once being young and pretty almost revolting?

Why was it hard for the author to believe that the grandmother was once young and Pretty?

Ans: The writer’s grandmother had been old and wrinkled for twenty years that he had known her. Her face was full of wrinkles and the lock of her gray hair scattered over her face. Besides, the appearance of the writer’s grand-father visible in the portrait also justified the writer’s idea that she could never be young and pretty. The old woman’s appearance since the writer had known her left such an indelible mark in his mind that he could never imagine her youthful and pretty appearance.

Q. 3. Describe the appearance of the writer’s grandfather as he could be seen in the portrait.

Ans: In the portrait the writer’s grandfather looked at least a hundred years old. He wore a big turban and loose fitting clothes. His long white beard covered the best part of his chest. He did not look like a person who would have a wife or children. He looked as if he had many grandchildren.

Q. 4. How did the writer react when his grandmother told of the games she used to play as a child?

Ans: The writer’s grandmother often told them about the games she used to play when she was a child. The children thought that such talks of her were quite absurd and undignified on her part. They treated such stories like the fables of the prophets she used to tell them.

Q. 5. “………. the thought was almost revolting.” What was the thought and why was it revolting?

Ans: The thought of the writer’s grandmother being young and pretty was revolting.

The thought was revolting because the writer had known her as an old woman for twenty years. Her old appearance had left a permanent impression in his mind. He could not imagine any other shape of the old woman. So the idea of her being young and pretty was revolting.

Q. 6. “Old, so terribly old that she could not have grown older”……. Elucidate the idea contained in the above line.

Ans: The writer’s grandmother looked very old. The writer had known her in that physical appearance for twenty years and so thought that she could not have grown older. Her face was full of wrinkles. The writer, from his long association with her could not imagine her in any other shape.

Q. 7. “She could never have been pretty; but she was always beautiful.” Explain how the writer’s grandmother could be beautiful without being pretty.

Ans: At the surface level ‘pretty’ and ‘beautiful’ seem to give the same meaning. But ‘pretty’ is generally used to describe physical beauty of young women or girls. Beautiful, on the other hand means one attractive not only in appearance but also in mental qualities. Physically the writer’s grandmother was not pretty to look at. But the noble qualities of her head and heart, her pietic (পবিত্র) lifestyle and her love for all living beings made her a beautiful woman. In that sense she was beautiful without being pretty.

Q. 8. Why did the writer say that his grandmother was “like the winter landscape in the mountains”?

Ans: The writer’s grandmother was an old woman, quite ripe in her age. With her wrinkled face, silvery hair and immaculate white dress she wan dered through the house. Her pietic way of life and tolerant behaviour lent her extra beauty. To describe her beauty the writer her compared her with the winter landscape in the mountains. During winter the landscape in the mountains remain covered with snow and look glowing in white colour. The writer has tried to say that with grave and dignified manner his grandmother clad in white resembled the winter landscape in the mountains.

Q. 9. “My grandmother and I were good friends.” Why does the writer say so?

Ans: The writer’s parents had gone to live in the city and he was left with his grandmother. The writer and his grandmother were thus constantly together. She would wake him up, bathed him and made him ready to go to school. She used to give him breakfast of thick, stale chapattis with a little butter and sugar spread over it. She would accompany him to school and together they would come back home. Their constant companionship made them friends.

Q. 10. Where was the village school held, what were taught there and by whom?

Ans: The village school was held in the temple. Students sat on either side of the varandah. Alphabet and prayer were taught there. The priest taught the students.

Q. 11. Why did the grandmother accompany the writer to the school? What did she do there?

Why did the grandmother always accompany the author to the school?

Ans: The writer and his grandmother were constant companions of each other and good friends. The grandmother accompanied the grandson least he should go to school alone. Besides she used to read the scriptures inside the temple while her grandson sang the alphabet and prayer sitting in the verandah of the temple.

Q. 12. “That was a turning point in our friendship.” What was the turning point of friendship between the writer and his grandmother?

Ans: The writer had been left with his grandmother in the village when his parents came to live in the city. After sometime the parents sent for them to come to the city. In the city the writer was sent to an English school. The writer used to go to the school in motor bus and his grandmother no longer accompanied him. She did not like the things of western science and lessons on music taught in the English school. She could no longer help him with his lessons. Besides she did not like the schools in which nothing of God and Scriptures was taught. They began to meet less and less of each other. Thus their coming to the city was a turning point in their friendship.

Q. 13. What was the grandmother’s opinion of the English school in the city?

Ans: The writer’s grandmother did not like the English school in which he read. She felt unhappy when she was told of English words and things of western science taught in it. She was also displeased when she learnt that nothing of God and Scriptures were taught. When she was told of the music lessons taught in the school she was highly displeased. As a conservative old woman she did not like the English school imparting education on topics mentioned above.

Q. 14. What is the opinion of the writer’s grandmother on music?

Why did the writer’s grandmother hate music?

Ans: The writer’s grandmother was an old woman quite conservative in attitude. She cherished her beliefs. She hated music because she thought that it had lewd association. She thought that music was the monopoly of the harlots and beggars and it had nothing to do with gentle folk. She could not support the idea of teaching music to school children.

Q. 15. How did the grandmother treat the sparrows?

Ans: While in the city home the grandmother used to feed the sparrows every afternoon. She would break bread into crumbs and throw them to the birds. The sparrows would sit around her. Some of them perched on her legs. Some of them even sat on her head. She smiled but never drove them away. That half hour when she fed the sparrows was the happiest time for her during the day.

Q. 16. “It used to be the happiest half hour of the day for her.” What was the happiest half hour of the day and for whom?

Q. 17.”……… I cherished the moist imprint as perhaps the last sign of physical contact between us.” Why did the writer make the above remark?

Ans: The writer was going abroad for five years. At that time his grandmother was a terribly old woman. At the railway station she was reciting her prayer and telling the beads of her rosary. Just then she silently kissed the forehead of the writer. The writer could feel the moist on his forchead and thought that perhaps that was their last physical contact. Because he was not sure whether he would find his grandmother alive after five years.

Q. 18. “I would be away for five years and her age no one could tell.” Why did the writer make the above remark?

Ans: The writer was going abroad for five years for further study. At that time his grandmother was a terribly old woman. No one could say for certain how long she would live. Five years was a long span of time. The writer was not sure whether she would survive till his return after five years. So he made the above quoted remark.

Q. 19. How did the writer’s grandmother relax when she fed the sparrows?

Ans: The writer’s grandmother was an old woman. When the writer started going to English school in the city she used to spend her time spinning from dawn to dusk. Only in the afternoon for half an hour she would relax feeding the sparrows. She fed them with crumbs of bread. She was so indulgent to them that some of them would perch on her legs and some even sit on her head. She smiled but never drove them away.

Q. 20. How did the writer’s mother behave when she came to the station to see him off at the station?

Ans: The writer’s grandmother came to leave him at the railway station. At the station she did not talk or show any emotion. Her lips moved in prayer and her mind was lost in prayer. Her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary. Then silently she kissed the writer’s forehead.

Q. 21. How did the grandmother celebrate the homecoming of the writer?

What was the happiest day for the grandmother?

How did the grandmother celebrate the homecoming of the author?

Ans: The writer’s grandmother received him at the station when he came back from abroad after five years. In the evening she collected the women of the locality, got tan old drum. She thumped the sagging skins of the old and broken drum. She sang the home-coming of the warriors. She did not pray that evening. She sang for so long that she had to be persuaded to stop to avoid overstraining. That was the happiest day for her.

Q. 22. How did the writer’s grandmother behave before her death?

Ans: The writer’s grandmother fell in the morning of the day following his home coming after five years. She had an attack of mild fever. But she told that her end was near and so she would not waste time talking to anybody. She lay peacefully in bed praying and telling the beads of her rosary. Before the writer could suspect her lips stopped moving and the rosary fell from her lifeless fingers. She died peacefully in the afternoon.

Q. 23. How did the writer’s grandmother die.

Q. 24. How did the sparrows react the death of the writer’s grandmother?

How did the sparrows behave at the death of the writer’s grandmother?

Why have the sparrow refused to eat the crumbs of the bread on the death of author’s grandmother?

Ans: The writer’s grandmother used to feed the sparrows every after-noon with crumbs of bread. As usual they gathered near the corpse of the old woman. The corpse lay covered in with a shroud of red clothes. Thousands, of sparrows sat on the floor of the room and in the verandah. They did not chirrup. The writer’s mother threw some crumbs of bread to them. But they took no notice of them. When the grandmother’s corpse was carried off for cremation they flew away silently. The sparrows too condoled her death and refused to cat.

Q. 25. How did the writer’s grandmother treat the birds and beasts?

Give two examples of the author’s grandmother’s love of animals.

Ans: The grandmother of the writer treated the birds and beasts kindly. Probably she thought that it was a pious act to feed them because they too were the creation of the same God. While in the village she used to feed the dogs with stale bread. In the city home she used to feed the sparrows every afternoon with crumbs of bread.

Q. 26. Write five sentences describing the character of the writer’s grandmother.

Ans: The writer’s grandmother was a grand old woman who preferred to live a life guided by her principles. She was a deeply religious lady. Reciting prayer and telling beads of rosary was her favourite works. She was affectionate not only to mankind but also to birds and beasts. She was a conservative old woman who knew the art of living in contentment in every situation of life.

Q. 27. Write five sentences describing the relationship between the writer and his grandmother.

Ans: The writer and his grandmother were good friends. While living in the village grandmother was the constant companion of the writer. Their relationship began to dwindle when the writer started going to the English school in the city. When the writer went up to the University the common link of their friendship, the living room got snapped as the writer was given a room of his own. However, their unchanging affection for each other could be seen from the manner the old woman celebrated the home-coming of her grandson.

Long Type Questions and Answers:

Q. 1. Draw after Khushwant Singh a pen portrait of his grandmother highlighting her noble qualities.

Give a description of the author’s grandmother after your read- ing of ‘The Portrait of a Lady’

Ans: Khushwant Singh’s grandmother was a grand old woman with all the virtues of a typical Indian grandmother. The writer had known her for twenty years as the same old woman. During his childhood he lived with her in the village. In the city also she lived with him in the same house and in the same room for a considerable period of time. As a conservative old widow she used to wear white clothes and her silvery locks lay scattered on her face. She hobbled round the house with one hand on her waist to balance stoop. The writer was so familiar with her old shape that it was revolting for him to imagine that once she had been young and pretty. She was beautiful without being pretty. The writer and she were good friends.

Her mental qualities made her a beautiful person. During his childhood the writer was given all sorts of happiness and kindness by her. She show- ered on him all her affection. She was a deeply religious woman who constantly went on praying and telling the beads of rosary. As a conservative old woman she did not like western science, music and English school where nothing about God and scriptures were taught. The writer’s grand- mother was kind to birds and beasts also. She used to feed the dogs and the sparrows. Her love for her grandson, the writer was unwavering. In spite of the changing circumstances of life her love for him did not change. She knew how to live adjusting herself with the varying situations of life. As a pious woman she could feel that her end was near. Her simplicity, piety, and affectionate nature made her an endearing old woman. Even the sparrows whom she used to feed mourned her death.

Q. 2. Briefly describe the life of the grandmother of the writer in the village and in the city. Was she concerned with the education of the writer?

Contrast the life of the writer’s grandmother spent in the village with the kind of life she spent in the city. Was she happy with the writer’s education in the English school?

Ans: The writer’s parents had gone to live in the city living him with his grandmother in the village. While living in the village the grandmother and the grandson were constant companions of each other. The writer’s grandmother would get up early, wake the writer, bathed him, dressed him and made him ready for school. She would accompany him to and from school. While the writer was taught the alphabet and prayer in the school his grandmother would read scriptures inside the temple. While coming back home she enjoyed feeding the village dogs with state bread.

In the city the old woman helped her grandson for sometime. But she could no more help him with his lessons because he had started going to an English school. She used to sit by the spinning wheel reciting prayers and spinning yarn from dawn to dusk. In the afternoon she relaxed for a while feeding the sparrows. When the writer went up to University and was given a room of his own their common link of friendship snapped, but her love for her grandson remained unchanged.

The writer’s grandmother was concerned with his education. While living in the village she accompanied him to and from school. She made him ready for school. She was distressed with his education in the English school in the city. As a conservative woman she did not like things of western science and music taught to the students. She did not like the sort of education in which nothing about God and scripture was taught. Her delight could be seen when she celebrated the home coming of her grandson in the evening of the day before her death.

Q. 3. “My grandmother and I were good friends.” Give an idea of the friendship between the speaker and his grandmother.

Describe the childhood days spent in the village by the author with his grandmother.

Ans: The writer Khushwant Sing and his grandmother together lived in the village while his parents lived in the city. In the village they were constantly together. The writer’s grandmother used to wake him up, in the morning. She bathed him, dressed him and made him ready for school. She fed him thick stale chapatti with butter and sugar spread on it. They went to the village school together. The school was held in the verandah of the temple and the priest taught the alphabet and the prayer. While the writer read the alphabet his grandmother read the scriptures inside the temple. Together they would come back home. On the way the grandmother fed the village dogs with state chapattis.

When they came to live in the city they continued to live in the same room till the writer went up to University and was given a room of his own. That snapped the link of their friendship. But their affection for each other never lessened.

Q. 4. Give a pen picture of the narrator’s grandfather as he ap- peared in the portrait.

Ans: The narrator’s grandfather also looked like a hundred years old man in the portrait. He had a long white flowing beard that came up to his chest. He had the appearance of a man who would neither have a wife nor children. He wore big turban and loose-fitting clothes. His beard, turban and loose-fitted clothes made him look like a person who could only have lots and lots of grandchildren. The narrator was unable to believe that his grandfather ever had a spouse and children. On the other hand, it was difficult for him to believe that grandmother was ever young and pretty and that she too had a husband or she played as a child. He could only associate her image with the old and wrinkled grandmother he has seen her as since forever.

Q. 5. Why did the narrator’s grandmother give the impression of ‘winter landscape in the mountain’?

Ans: The narrator’s grandmother gave the impression of ‘winter landscape in the mountains’ because of her white hair and spotless clothes. She was always dressed in spotless white and she had silvery hair. Her white locks spread untidily over her pale and wrinkled face. She looked like an expanse of pure white serenity similar to the stretch of snow over the mountains that of pare looks equally white and peaceful. Her expressions used to be very calm and peaceful which looked like the silent mountain covered with snow.

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