The Portrait of a Lady Class 11 Questions Answer

The Portrait of a Lady Class 11 Questions Answer : The Portrait of a lady is a lesson from class 11 NCERT English main text-book Hornbill. The portrait of a lady is written by Khushwant Singh. Here, in this post you'll get The Portrait of a Lady Class 11 Questions Answer. 

The Portrait of a Lady Class 11 text book Questions Answer

Q1. The three phases of the author's relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad. 

Ans: The three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad are;

1. Childhood - when he went to the village school and the grandmother helped him to get ready and went to school with him.

2. Boyhood - when he went to the city school in a bus. He shared a room with grandmother but she could no longer help him in his studies.

3. Early youth - when he went to the university and was given a room of him own. The common link of friendship was snapped.

Q2. Three reasons why the author's grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the city school. 

Ans: The three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the city school are:

(i). She hated western Science and learning.
(ii). She was pained to know that there was no teaching of God and the scriptures there.
(iii) . She was allergic to music. She thought it was not meant for decent people and gentlefolk. It was the monopoly of prostitutes and beggars.

Q3. Three ways in which the author's grandmother spent her days after he grew up. 

Ans: The three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up are. She lived alone in her room as she had accepted her loneliness quietly. She sat at her spinning wheel reciting prayers. In the afternoon, she would feed the sparrows for half an hour.

Q4. The odd ways in which the author's grandmother behaved just before she died. 

Ans: Just before her death, the author’s grandmother refused to talk to them. Since she had omitted to pray the previous night while she was singing songs of homecoming and beating the drum, she was not going to waste any more time. She ignored their protests. She lay peacefully in bed praying and telling beads.

Q5. The way in which the sparrows expressed their sorrow when the author's grandmother died. 

Ans: Thousands of sparrows sat silently surrounding the dead body of the author’s grandmother. There was no chirruping. The author’s mother threw some crumbs of bread to them. They took no notice of them. As soon as the grandmother’s corpse was carried off, they flew away quietly. Thus the sparrows expressed their sorrow.

Talk to your partner about the following

Q1. The author's grandmother was a religious person. What are the different ways in which we come to know this ? 

Ans: The author’s grandmother was a deeply religious lady. We come to know this through the different ways of her behaviour. She visited the temple every morning and read scriptures.

At home she always mumbled inaudible prayer and kept telling the beads of rosary. She would repeat prayers in a sing-song manner while getting the writer ready for school. She hoped that he would learn it by heart. She didn’t like English school as there was no teaching of God and scriptures.

Even while spinning at her spinning-wheel she would recite prayers. Perhaps it was only once that she forgot to say her prayers.

It was on the evening prior to her death when she felt over excited while celebrating the arrival of her grandson with songs and beatings of drum. She continued praying and telling beads of her rosary till her last breath.

Q2. Describe the changing relationship between the author and his grandmother. Did their feelings for each other change ? 

Ans: During his boyhood, the author was completely dependent on his grandmother. She was a part of his life. The turning point in their friendship came when they went to city. She could no longer accompany him to school as he went there by bus.

They shared the same room but she could not help him in his studies. She would ask him what the teachers had taught. She did not believe in the things that were taught at school.

She was distressed that there was no teaching about God and the scriptures. She felt offended that music was also being taught. She expressed her disapproval silently. After this she rarely talked to him. When he went to university, he was given a room of his own. The common link of friendship was snapped.

However their feelings for each other did not change. They still loved each other deeply. She went to see the author off at the railway station when he was going abroad for higher studies. She showed no emotion but kissed his forehead silently. The author valued this as perhaps the last sign of physical contact between them.

When the author returned after five years, she received him at the station. She clasped him in her arms. In the evening she celebrated his homecoming by singing songs and beating an old drum.

Q3. Would you agree that the author's grandmother was a person strong in character ? If yes, give instances that show this. 

Ans: Yes, I agree that the author’s grandmother was a person strong in character. She was a strong woman with strong beliefs. Although she was not formally educated, she was serious about the author’s education. She could not adjust herself to the western way of life, Science and English education.

She hated music and disapproved of its teaching in school. She was a deeply religious lady. Her lips were always moving in a silent prayer. She was always telling the beads of her rosary. She went to temple daily and read the scriptures. She was distressed to know that there was no teaching about God and holy books at Khushwant’s new English school.

She was a kind lady She used to feed dogs in the village. In the city she took to feeding sparrows. Although old in years and weak in body she had strength of mind. Just before her death, she refused to talk to the members of the family as she did not want to waste her time. She wanted to make up for the time last evening when she had not prayed to God. She lay peacefully in bed saying prayers and telling the beads of her rosary till she breathed her last.

The Portrait of a Lady Class 11 short Questions Answer

Q1. Why was it hard for the author to believe that his grandmother was once young and pretty ?

Ans: She was quite an old lady. She had been old and wrinkled for more than two decades. It is said that once she had been young and pretty. But it is hard to believe so.

Q2. The grandmother was a kind-hearted woman. Give examples in support of your answer.

Ans: Grandmother had a very kind heart. She loved her grandson. She loved even birds and animals. In the village, she fed the street dogs. In the city, she would feed the sparrows.

Q3. How did grandmother react to the narrator’s receiving education in English school ?

Ans: She did not believe in the things they taught at the English school. She hated Western Science and learning. She was pained to know that there was no teaching of God and the scriptures there.

Q4. When was the common link of friendship between the narrator and his grandmother finally snapped ?

Ans: The narrator went to the university. Now he was given a room of his own. This separated the narrator from his grandmother. The common link of their friendship was thus finally broken.

Q5. How did the narrator’s grandfather appear in the portrait ?

Ans: His grandfather looked very old. He had a long white beard. His clothes were loose fitting. He wore a big turban. He looked too old to have a wife or children. He looked at least a hundred years old. He could have only lots and lots of grandchildren.

The Portrait of a Lady Class 11 Extra Questions Answer

Q1. Why was the narrator’s grandmother so much allergic to music ? 

Or

Why was the grandmother disturbed when she came to know that music lessons were being given at school ?

Ans: She considered that music had lewd associations. It was not meant for decent people and gentlefolk. It was actually the monopoly of prostitutes and beggars.

Q2. How long had the narrator known his grandmother—old and wrinkled ? What did people say ? How did the narrator react ?

Ans: The narrator had known his grandmother- old and wrinkled for the last twenty years. She was terribly old. Perhaps she could not have looked older. People said that she had once been young and pretty. They said that she even had a husband. The narrator found it hard to believe.

Q3. Explain: “As for my grandmother being young and pretty, the thought was almost revolting”.

Ans: The narrator’s grandmother was terribly old. She could not appear young and beautiful. Her face was a criss-cross of wrinkles. She was short, fat and slightly bent. The very idea of her being young and pretty did not appeal to the mind.

Q4. “That was a turning point in our friendship.” What was the turning point ?

Ans: The turning point in their friendship came when they shifted to the city. Now the narrator went to an English school in a bus. Grandmother could no longer accompany him to school. Although they shared the same room, they saw less of each other.

Q5. Draw a comparison between village school education and city school education.

Ans: Elementary education was given in village school. The pupils were taught alphabet and multiplication tables. It was quite simple- reading, writing and arithmetic. In the city school, English, Science and Music were taught. Unlike the village school there was no teaching about God and scriptures.

Q6. Describe how the grandmother spent her time while the narrator sat inside the village school.

Ans: The grandmother went to the school with the narrator. The school was attached to the temple. The narrator would learn alphabet and morning prayer at school. The grandmother would sit inside the temple receiting prayer.

The Portrait of a Lady Class 11 important Questions Answer

Q1. The narrator’s grandmother ‘could never have been pretty, but she was always beautiful’. Explain the importance of the statement.

Ans: She was terribly old to appear pretty. Her face was a criss-cross of wrinkles. She was short, fat and slightly bent. She didn’t create any physical appeal or attraction. However, in her spotless white dress and grey hair she was a picture of serenity, peace, sobriety and beauty.

Q2. The narrator’s grandmother looked like the ‘winter landscape in the mountains’. Comment.

Ans: The grandmother was always dressed in spotless white. She had silvery hair. Her white locks spread untidily over her pale and wrinkled face. She looked like an expanse of pure white serenity. The stretch of snow over the mountains looks equally white and peaceful. So her silvery locks and white dress made her look like the winter landscape in the mountains.

Q3. How did the narrator and his grandmother become good friends ?

Ans: During his childhood, the narrator stayed with his grandmother in the village. She was his constant companion. She looked after him. She used to wake him up. She got him ready for school in the morning. She would give him breakfast. She went to school with him.

Q4. Why could the grandmother not walk straight ? How would she move about the house ?

Ans: The grandmother was short and fat. She was also slightly bent. She put one hand on her waist to support the stoop. She could not walk straight. She walked like a lame person. She limped or hobbled about while moving.

Q5. What led to the gradual distancing of the narrator from his grandmother in the city ? Give three reasons.

Ans: As the years rolled by, the narrator grew older. His dependence on grandmother became lesser. He started going to an English school in a motor bus. She could not go with him. Moreover she couldn’t help him in teaching English and Science. She hated English school. There was no teaching about God and scriptures there. All these things distanced the narrator from his grandmother.

Q6. How did the grandmother spend her time when the narrator went up to university ?

Ans: She now lived alone in her room. She accepted her loneliness quietly. She was now always busy with her spinning wheel. She sat at her spinning-wheel reciting prayers. She hardly talked to anyone. In the afternoon, she would feed the sparrows. This was her only pastime.

Q7. Why did the grandmother take to feeding sparrows in the courtyard of their city house ?

Ans: In the village, she used to throw ‘chapattis’ to the street dogs. But there were no dogs in the streets of the city. So, she took to feeding the sparrows in the courtyard of their city house.

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