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The Portrait of A Lady Final 2-1
The Portrait of A Lady Final 2-1
AND
Companionship
The Portrait of a Lady
By
Khushwant singh
Khushwant Singh
Khushwant Singh was an Indian author, lawyer,
diplomat, journalist and politician. He was
born in 1915 to a Sikh family and grew up in
the Muslim majority village of Hadali, border
of Punjab and now in Pakistan. His native
tongue is Punjabi but he was also fluent in
Urdu.Later he would become a prolific Urdu
translator.His experience in the 1947 , partition
of India ,inspired him to write "Train to
Pakistan" in 1956, which became his most
well-known novel.He died in 2014 in New
Delhi.
He also worked as an editor for a variety of
well-known periodicals and magazines,
including 'The Hindustan Times,' 'The National
Herald,' and 'The Illustrated Weekly of India.'
Singh was more recognized for his writing,
with works such as 'Train to Pakistan' (1956),
'Delhi: A Novel' (1990), 'The Company of
Women' (1999), 'Truth, Love, and a Little
Malice' (2002), 'The Good, the Bad, and the
Ridiculous' (2013), and others.
During his lifetime, Khushwant Singh received
numerous awards The Padma Bhushan (which
he returned in 1984 in protest against
Operation Blue Star), the Punjab Rattan Award
(2006), the Padma Vibhushan (2007), the
Sahitya Academy Fellowship Award (2010), the
Tata Literature Live Award (2013), and the
Fellowship of King's College, London (2014)
among them
INTRODUCTION
The Portrait of lady is a part of an
autobiography of Khushwant Singh. In this
story the writer draws the pen portrait of
his grandmother, he beautifully unfolds
their relationship and how it goes under
the several changes. In other words the
story is a beautiful tribute from a grandson
to his grandmother, the story gives a
beautiful picture of human relationship.
Theme ---- This story describes the
modern contemporary lifestyle where
relationships fade as all get busy with their own
lives. The older generation suffers the most as they
need time and attention. In this story, the old lady
seems to have accepted the fact that her children
are busy making their lives and she peacefully
accepted the changes. She got herself busy with
the birds and God. This lesson gives a clear picture
of the life of an old age person who is left all alone
and has learnt to live with the solitude.
Character sketch of grandmother
Values learnt
Needs to give love and company
to elderly people.
Love and emotion is
experienced not only by human
beings but animals and birds
too.
Literary Devices
Alliteration------Shagging skin,dilapidated
drumdrum, peaceful pallor, pale puckered,
sparrows sat Scattered.
Metaphor----Silver lock
Personification----An expanse of pure white
serenity breathing peace and contentment.
Simile----Like everybody's grandmother, like
the fables of the prophets, like the
winterscape in the mountains.
Oxymoron----frivolous rebuke
Short answer questions
1.How did the narrator's grandfather appear in the
Portrait?
2.Which thought about the grand mother was often
revolting and for whom?
3.How did the narrator and his grandmother become
good friends?
4.Why didn't the grandmother pray in the evening
on the day the narrator came back?
5. Describe in brief how grandmother spent half-an-
hour with the sparrows. How did she feel then?
Long Answer Question
1.The grandmother herself was not formally
educated but was serious about the author's
education. How does the text support this
number ?
2.Write a character sketch of the author's
grandmother by using following words -
affectionate ,caring, kind and benevolent,
religious and a strong woman?
Thank you