The Portrait of A Lady1

THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY
Summary:
The author’s grandmother was an old lady: Her face was full of wrinkles. She hobbled about the house
with one hand on her waist and the other telling the beads of her rosary. Her lips always moved in silent
prayer.
The author’s parents left the city: He was left in the village under the charge of his grandmother. They
became very good friends. She would accompany him to the school. The school was attached to a
temple. While the little child learnt at school, she used to read the scriptures in the temple. When the
school was over, both would come home together. On their way back home she would throw stale
chapattis to the dogs.
When the author’s parents were well-settled, he and his grandmother also went to the city: It proved a
turning point in their friendship. The author joined an English school. She could neither accompany him
to his school nor help him in his studies. They, however, lived in the same room. When the author went
to the college, he was given a separate room. Thus, the last link of their friendship was broken. The
grandmother kept herself busy in her prayers and spinning. In the afternoon, she would spinning and
feed the sparrows. Hundreds of sparrows would gather all around her and chirp.
The author went abroad for higher studies: He came back after five years. He found his grandmother
unchanged. However, in the evening a change came over her. She collected women of the
neighborhood and sang to celebrate the return of her grandson.
The next day she caught mild fever: Perhaps she knew that her end was near. She stopped talking and
closed her eyes. She was lost in her prayers- telling the beads of her rosary. Suddenly the rosary fell of
her hand. Her lips stopped moving. She was dead. She was wrapped in a red shroud and was cremated
in the evening. Her death affected even the sparrows. They neither chirped not ate the crumbs throw
to them. They came only to mourn and flew away silently.
Important Extra Questions and Answers
1) Why was it hard for the author to believe that the grandmother was once young and pretty?
It was difficult for the author to believe that his grandmother was once young and pretty. In fact, the
thought was almost revolting. He had seen her old for the last twenty years. He felt she could age no
further. The very thought of her playing games as a child seemed quite absurd and undignified.
2) The grandmother has been portrayed as a very religious lady. What details in the story create this
impression?
The author recalls his grandmother as a very religious woman. He remembers her hobbling about the
house, telling the beads of her rosary. He recalls her morning prayers and her reading scriptures inside
the temple. The author recounts how, during the last few days, she spent all her time praying.
3) The grandmother had a divine beauty. How does the author bring it out?
The grandmother was not pretty but had a divine beauty. She dressed in spotless white. Her silver
locks were scattered untidily over her pale, puckered face, and her lips constantly moved in an
inaudible prayer. The author describes her “like the winter landscape in the mountains”a
personification of “serenity, breathing peace and contentment.”
4) What proofs do you find of friendship between the grandmother and grandson in the story?
The grandmother and grandson were good friends. She got him ready and walked him to and back
from school. In the city, they shared a common bedroom. The author’s grandmother saw him off,
silently, but kissing him on his forehead, when he went abroad and celebrated his return five years
later.
5) The grandmother was a kind-hearted woman. Give examples in support of your answer.
The grandmother was a kind-hearted woman. On her way back from school, she would feed the village
dogs with stale chapattis. In the city, when she could not move out, she took to feeding sparrows that
came and perched on her legs, shoulders, and head.
6) “This was the turning point in our friendship.” What was the turning point?
The turning point in the friendship arrived when they shifted to the city. They saw less of each other as
she could neither accompany him to school, nor understand English. She did not believe in science.
She could not keep pace with the author’s modem education that he received in the city school.
7) Draw a comparison between the author’s village school education and city school education.
The village school was attached to a temple and the students were taught the alphabet and morning
prayers. The author and his grandmother walked to the school in the village. However, in the city he
went by the school bus. He was taught science and English but not taught about god. He was also
taught music.
8) What was the happiest moment of the day for the grandmother?
The happiest moment of the day for the grandmother in the city was when she was feeding the
sparrows. They perched on her legs, shoulders, and head but she never shooed them away.
9) What was ‘the last sign’ of physical contact between the author and the grandmother? Why did the
author think that to be the last physical contact?
The author was going abroad for five years. His grandmother kissed his forehead. He presumed this as
the last sign of physical contact between them. He feared that she would not survive till he returned
since he was going away for five years.
10) Everybody including the sparrows mourned the grandmother’s death. Elaborate.
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.

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Important Extra Questions and Answers

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