The Portrait of a Lady New Pattern Questions for Class 11

The Portrait of a Lady New Pattern Questions for Class 11: 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 can avail The Portrait of a Lady New Pattern Questions for Class 11.

The Portrait of a Lady Class 11 Important Questions Answers for AHSEC 2023

Q1. In this story titled "Portrait of a Lady" which lady is referred to ?

Ans: In this story "Portrait of a Lady", the author has referred to his grandmother with whom he spent almost his entire childhood. According to him, she was kind hearted, religious and a great lady for whom he had a lot of respect.

Q2. Why did the author think the same way about his grandfather as he did about his grandmother ?

Ans: The author only saw his grandfather in the picture hanging on the wall. In his typical Sikh attire, he looked 100 to him. When the author looked at his picture, he did not even think that he too must have ever been young and that he too would have a wife and some children. Seeing his old age, he felt as if his grandfather would have many grandsons and grand daughters.

Q3. Which thought about the grandmother was often revolting for author ?

Why it was hard for the author to believe that his grandmother was once young and pretty. AHSEC 2011, 2012

Ans: People often told the author that his grandmother was once very beautiful. This thought was a bit difficult for him to digest. He thought she was always old. He used to think that the lady who walks so slow, has grey hair and has lot of wrinkles on face can never be young. All these thoughts were revolting for him.

Q4. Why does the author find his grandmother not pretty but beautiful ?

Ans: Being pretty means your outward appearance appeals to people. Beautiful, however comes from within and is considered a stronger term as compared to pretty. She was a beautiful fair-skinned woman whom the author compares to the white Himalayas.

The Portrait of a Lady New Pattern Questions for Class 11 English

Q5. What was the problem with grandmother walking upright ?

Ans: The problem with grandmother walking upright was she was short, fat and slightly bent. She put one hand on her waist to support the stoop. She used to limp a bit while walking.

Q6. How did this grandmother raise her grandson being away from parents ?

Ans: Away from the children, this grandmother did not leave any stone unturned in the upbringing of her grandson. She used to wake up author in the morning, prepare him for school and escort him till there. She used to bring him back from school too.

Q7. How can you say that his grandmother was a kind hearted person ?

Give two examples of the author's grandmother's love of animals. AHSEC 2018

Ans: She was an old widowed woman who used to spend all her time in worship. When she was in the village, she used to feed the dogs in the morning and when she came to town, she used to feed sparrows every day. This shows that her heart was kind and compassionate towards not only humans but also towards animals and birds.

Q8. What difference do you see between studies of village and city school ?

What the difference between village school education and urban school education is as brought out in the lesson 'The Portrait of a Lady' ? AHSEC 2015

Ans: There was a lot of difference in the studies of both the places. In village, more emphasis was given on religious scriptures, alphabet and morning prayer. The city school focused mainly on English, western Science, Mathematics and music.

Q9. Describe how the grandmother spent her time while the narrator sat inside the village school.

Ans: As long as the narrator studied in the village school, his grandmother used to read religious books sitting in the temple adjacent to the school and she used to bring him back again when school was off in afternoon.

The Portrait of a Lady New Pattern Short Questions for Class 11

Q10. Was Grandmother happy with the studies being done in the city ?

Ans: No, his grandmother was not happy with the kind of studies done in the city. She was against western education and hence English and other subjects were beyond her comprehension. She wanted like village school; there should also be education on religion and social development and she was strictly against music education.

Q11. How did the grandmother spend her time when the narrator went up to university ?

Ans: When the narrator goes to the university, the conversation becomes very less. His grandmother accepted the loneliness and spent most of her time in spinning the wheel and reciting prayers. She rarely talked to anyone. She used to take some time out to feed the birds only in the afternoon and it made her very happy.

Q12. Why did author think that grandmother would not be alive when he came from abroad after studying ?

Ans: It seemed to him because his grandmother was already very old and 5 years was a long time. Her walking style and health condition was poor, so it was easy to judge for grandson.

Q13. Was his grandmother in favor of him going abroad ? How did she behave at the railway station ?

Ans: Her grandmother was not in favor of her grandson going abroad, but she did not opposed to it because she knew it was for his good sake. She didn't get emotional about it. She also went to railway station to drop him. At the station, she kept chanting the name of the God. Just before the train departed, she kissed her grandson's forehead and bid him farewell.

Q14. What was different on the day when narrator returned from abroad ?

How did the grandmother celebrate the homecoming of the author ? AHSEC 2022

Ans: When the narrator came back to his homeland, his grandmother jumped with joy. She didn't talk much like she did always. But something happened in the evening which surprised everyone. She expressed her joy by invitation all neighbourhood women, beating drum and singing for hours of the homecoming of warriors.

The Portrait of a Lady HS 1st Year Important Questions Answers for AHSEC 2023

Q15. Were the birds sad about the death of the grandmother ? If yes then how ?

Ans: The birds were very fond of grandmother. She used to feed daily, so they recognized grandmother very well. The birds expressed their sorrow in a unique and moving manner. Author's mother threw the crumbs to the sparrows as the grandmother used to do. The sparrows took no notice of the bread. When they carried the grandmother's corpse off they flew away quietly.

Q16. What is the significance of sparrows in grandmother's life ?

Ans: When grandmother shifted to the city, she spent half an hour everyday feeding the sparrows. The birds became very friendly with her and came everyday in the verandah of her house. It was the happiest hour of the day. When she died after her short illness, hundreds of sparrows flew in the verandah and sat near her body. They were quiet and not chirping. They even ignored the bread crumbs given by the author's mother. In this way they expressed their grief and their bonding with the grandmother.

Q17. The grandmother's reception and send off of her grandson were very touching. Comment

Ans: When the writer went abroad, the grandmother saw him off at the railway station, silently praying and telling her beads, and she kissed his forehead. When he returned, she expressed her joy by invitation all neighbourhood women, beating drum and singing for hours of the homecoming of warriors.

Q18. When the grandmother was taken ill, how were her views different from the doctor's ?

Ans: When the grandmother was taken ill, the doctor felt it was mild fever and would go. But the grandmother thought differently. She felt her end was near. She refused to waste any more time talking instead of spending it in prayers as she sensed that only a few hours remained before her life came to an end.

Q19. When people are pious and good, even nature mourns their death. Justify

Ans: When the grandmother died, the sparrows, along with the author's family, mourned her death. Thousands of sparrows came and sat quietly all around her dead body. The writer's mother threw breadcrumbs but the sparrows took no notice of them. After her cremation they flew without touching the crumbs.

Q20. Everybody including the sparrows mourned the grandmother's death. Elaborate.

Why have the sparrows refused to eat the crumbs of the bread on the death of the author's grandmother ? AHSEC 2019

Ans: When the grandmother died, thousands of sparrows collected and sat in the courtyard. There was no chirruping. When the author's mother threw some breadcrumbs for them, they took no notice of the breadcrumbs. They were full of grief at her death and flew away quietly after the cremation.

The Portrait of a lady Textual Qns

The Portrait of a lady Important Qns