The Portrait of a lady by KHUSWANT SINGH CLASS-XI

Introduction: - The Portrait of a Lady is alphabet, she sat inside and read the holy
a real story about the grandmother of the texts.
writer. The name of the writer is Kushwant
They came back together after school. She
Singh. Singh remembers his grandmother as
gave the village dogs bread. After a while,
an eternally old woman. The writer tells us
they went to the city. The author was now
the story of his childhood that he spent with
at an English school. The grandmother was
his grandmother. Over the years, he
unable to assist him with his lessons. She
explains his relationship with his
wasn’t satisfied with what he learned there.
grandmother. He reflects on her everyday
She was told by the writer that he was
activities and how she matured as
taught music. The grandmother didn’t like it
a character as time went by. He describes
at all. She believed that music was meant
her appearance, which helps in creating an
for prostitutes. She was upset because
image in the reader’s mind. She had been
there was no religious education at the
an intensely religious person. It was hard for
school. There were no stray dogs there. She
him to believe that the was also young once
took the sparrows to feed.
and that she was beautiful like most
women. The stories of her childhood games After that, the author went to England to
were like fairy tales to him. continue his education. She was not upset.
She went to the station to bid him farewell.
Summary:- In ‘The Portrait of a
She kissed the author as they parted ways.
Lady’, Khushwant Singh sketches a pen-
When he returned after five years, she went
picture of his grandmother. He talks about
to the station to receive him. She didn’t
growing up in the village with her. He also
seem to have aged a day. She was already
talks about how their relationship changed
reciting her prayer. She did not pray
after moving to the city. Finally, he
throughout the evening. She carried a drum
mentions her burial, which is a moving
with her. She made a phone call to a group
scene.
of women in her neighbourhood. She sang
Grandmother was a very old woman and songs to commemorate her grandson’s
she had wrinkled face. She was overweight, return. She became sick the following
short and bent. She walked around the morning. She prayed quietly in her bed. She
house with her rosary in her hand. She was passed away peacefully. And the sparrows
always dressed in white. Her hair was white. were affected by her passing. They didn’t
Her lips were always moving in prayer. She even chirp. They ignored the crumbs that
would wake the author up and make him were thrown at them.
ready for school. She went to school with
Main Characters:-
him. The school was attached to the
temple. While the children learned the 1. The Author
2. His Grandmother

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 The Portrait of a lady by KHUSWANT SINGH CLASS-XI

WORKSHEET butter and sugar spread in it

1. Who is the author of ‘The Portrait of a B. thick bread with butter
Lady’? C. upma
A. Ruskin Bond D. rice and curd
B. Kushwant Singh  
C. Naipaul 8. Why would grandmother accompany the
D. Vikram Bhatt author to his school?
  A. to keep an eye on him
2. Who is the main character of the B. to wait for him to take him back to home
chapter ‘The Portrait of a Lady’? C. because of the temple attached to school
A. Mother D. she wanted to meet villagers
B. Sister  9. Where were the parents of the author?
C. Grandmother A. Abroad
D. Daughter B. City
  C. Other Village
3. How did the grandfather in the portrait D. Other state
hung on the wall look like? 10. What would the grandmother do in the
A. Old, long white beard, worn big turban temple on a daily basis?
B. Old, skinny, wrinkly A. Meditation
C. Young, Handsome, Well-Built B. Read Scriptures
D. Old, Well-Built C. Sing religious prayers
  D. teach other kids religious prayers
4. How did the grandmother look? Class 11 Important Links
A. Old, Fat, Long  
B. Long, Fat, Slightly Bent 11. What was the turning point of the
C. Old, Short, Slightly Bent, Fat friendship between grandmother and
D. Slightly Bent, Fat author?
  A. When he became an adult
5. When did the author’s parents leave him B. When his parents called them both to the
with his grandmother? city
A. When he was a kid C. When he left her to live in the city with
B. When he was an infant his parents
C. When he became a teenager D. When they stopped talking
D. When he failed and became a teenager 12. Where did the author go to study in the
  city?
6. Which animal did the grandmother used A. English School in motorbus
to feed in the village? B. by walking down to nearby school
A .Dogs C. Hindi School
B. Cows D. Nowhere
C. Sparrows 13. What made the grandmother unhappy
D. Cats about the author’s new English School?
  A. the fact that she could no longer help
7. What did the author eat for breakfast? him with the lessons
A. thick and stale chapatis with a little B. Because they were in city

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 The Portrait of a lady by KHUSWANT SINGH CLASS-XI

C. Because she didn’t understand English 20. How did the grandmother react to her
D. Because she didn’t understand English illness?
and could no longer help him with the A. She said her end was near
lessons B. She ignored her health
14. Why didn’t the grandmother like C. She took care of her
music? D. She was admitted to the hospital
A. It was the monopoly of harlots and 21. What did the grandmother do in her
beggars and not meant for gentlefolk final hours?
B. She liked only religious prayers A. Talked to everyone in the house
C. She liked the traditional folk music B. worried about everyone
D. She thought it would distract him from C. Silently praying and telling her beads
studies D. Went to the temple
15. How did the grandmother spend her 22. How did the grandmother die?
time in the city? A. during telling beads laying on the bed
A. feedings dogs B. In the hospital
B. reading scriptures C. While sleeping
C. spinning the wheel D. None of the above
D. talking to neighbours 23. How did the sparrows express their
16. How did the grandmother spend her sorrow at the death of their grandmother?
afternoon everyday? A. They didn’t come that day
A. by feeding hundred of sparrows B. they came and sat silently in the
B. by taking a nap verandah
C. by talking to author’s mother C.They ate the bread crumbs
D. by going to temple D. they chirruped a lot
 17. What happened when the author 24. What happened when they took the
moved abroad to study for five years? grandmother’s corpse away?
A. grandmother bid goodbye by silently A. Neighbours visited them to pay
kissing his forehead condolences
B. No one came to see him B. they mourned her death in her room
C. Grandmother moved back to village C. birds flew away quietly
D. Parents moved with him D. Nothing happened
18. What change came in the 25. How do you feel about the character of
grandmother’s evening schedule? the grandmother in the chapter?
A. She collected the women of the A. Emotional
neighborhood B. Strong
B. She would go for a walk C. Selfless
C. She would sleep early D. Loving
D. She would talk to his parents 26. Where was the author’s grandfather’s
19. What happened when the portrait placed?
grandmother didn’t pray for the first time? A. on a shelf
A. She fell ill the next day B. hung above the mantelpiece
B. She made this her routine C. put on the mantelpiece
C. She took a break and went to the village D. on a table
D. None of the above

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 The Portrait of a lady by KHUSWANT SINGH CLASS-XI

27. Did the author bother to learn the 3] How did the grandfather on the wall
morning prayers that his grandmother look like ? 
recited?
A- old but wearing jeans
A. yes
B- young,  long hair
B. he listened but did not bother to learn
C- Old, with a long white beard, wore a big
C. he could not learn
turban 
D. no
D- none of the above
28. When was their common link of
friendship snapped? 4] Did the author bother to learn the
A. when he went to college morning prayers that his grandmother
B. When he went to the university, they recited ?
were given seperate rooms A- yes he bother to learn
C. when he started working B- He listened but did not bother to learn 
D. When he went abroad C- he don't  bother
29. What was grandmother’s reaction D- neither bother nor listen
when the author was going abroad?
A. Happy 5] When did the author's parents leave
B. sad him with his grandmother ? 
C. not even sentimental A- when he was an adult
D. Sentimental B- when he was 5 years old
30. What was her reaction when he came C- when he was an old man
back after 5 years? D- When he was a kid
A. Overwhelmed
B. clasped the author in her arms and said 6] Which animal did the grandmother use
prayers to feed in the village ?
C. happy A- sparrows 
D. sentimental B- Dogs 
C- crow
WORKSHEET-2 (HOMEWORK) D- pigeon 
1] Where was the author's grandfather's
7] What did the author eat for breakfast ? 
portrait placed ?
A- Thick and stale chapattis with little butter
A- On The Table
and sugar spread on it
B- Hung Above The Mantelpiece  
B- daal and rice
C- Hung Beneath  The Light 
C- jam bread
D- None Of The Above
D- bread toast
2] Who is the main character of the
8] Why would grandmother accompany
chapter "The Portrait of a Lady ?"
the author to his school ? 
A- Grandmother
A- because he was innocent 
B- Khushwant singh
B- Because of the temple being attached to
C- author
the school 
D- sparrows 
C- because he used to forget way
D- none of the above
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 The Portrait of a lady by KHUSWANT SINGH CLASS-XI

9] Where were the parents of the author ? 15] How did the grandmother spend her
time in the city ? 
A- in a house
B- in village  A- feeding dogs
C- in a town B- feeding sparrows 
D- In the city C- Spinning the wheel 
D- reading scriptures 
10] What would the grandmother do in the
temple daily ?  16] How did the grandmother spend her
afternoons in the city ? 
A- she study literature 
B- she used to play A- By feeding hundreds of sparrows
C- Read scriptures B- by feeding dogs
D- none of the above  C- by feeding author
D- by feeding  herself
11] What was the turning point of the
friendship between grandmother and 17] What happened when the author
author ?  moved abroad to study for five years ?
A- When his parents called them both to  A- she was crying
the city  B- she was quite
B- when author  went for abroad  C- Grandmother bid goodbye by silently
C- when he start going to school kissing his forehead
D- when grandmother passed away D- none of the above 
12] Where did the author go to study in 18] What change came in the
the city ? grandmother's evening schedule when her
end came ? 
A- in temple
B- English school in motor bus A- She collected the women of the
C- in religious school  neighborhood
D- none of the above  B- she just laying down
C- she was talking to her family
13] What made the grandmother unhappy
D- she did nothing 
about the author's new English school ?
19] What happened when the
A- because  it was small school
grandmother didn't pray for the first
B- because she didn't  like teachers
time ? 
C- she don't  want him to study 
D- Because she didn't understand English A- she was fit and 
and could no longer help him with lessons B- She fell ill the next day
C- nothing happened  to her
14] Why didn't the grandmother like music
D- none of the above
? 
20] How did the grandmother react to her
A- she didn't  listen it before
illness ?
B- It was the monopoly of harlots and
beggars  A- She said her end was near
C- she like the music B- she was happy
D- none of the above
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 The Portrait of a lady by KHUSWANT SINGH CLASS-XI

C- she was sad  C- Premchand 

D- she was amazed  D- None Of The Above 
21] What did the grandmother do in her 27] The Portrait of a Lady is written in ? 
final hours ?
A- Biographical mode 
A- sing a song B- Autobiographical mode
B- Prayed silently and counted the beads of C- It was a book 
her rosary  D- none of the above
C- she was crying
28] Grandmother was wearing ? 
D- feeding sparrows 
A- Spotless white saree
22] How did the grandmother die ? 
B- Salwar kurta
A- While telling beads, laying on the bed  C- black saree
B- from heart attack  D- green saree
C- in grief of author
29] Grandmother was uttering the
D- she died happily 
monotonous song while she was ?
23] How did the sparrows express their
A- crying 
sorrow at the death of the author's
B- writing
grandmother ? 
C- Bathing 
A- by chirping  D- playing
B- by eating food 
30] Grandmother woke Khushwant Singh
C- They came and sat silently in the veranda
up while constantly muttering her prayers
D- none of the above 
in the hopeless hope that he would imbibe
24] What happened when grandmother's some of the religious verses which he..? 
corpse was taken away ?
A- read before
A- nothing happened  B- Never did
B- the author was crying  C- forget it
C- the dogs we're came D- mug up all this
D- The sparrows flew away silently 
25] What happened to the scattered
breadcrumbs which the sparrows did not
eat ? 
A- Thrown in the dustbin
B- then dogs ate that
C- sparrows  ate that
D- nothing 
26] The Portrait of a Lady is written by? 
A- Khushwant Singh
B- Anees Jung 

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