NCERT Solutions For Class 11 English Hornbill: The Portrait of a Lady

Summary of the Chapter

"A Portrait of a Lady" is a touching autobiographical account by Khushwant Singh, where he pens down a beautiful portrait of his grandmother. He describes the three distinct phases of their relationship, starting from their life in the village. In the village, they shared a deep bond; she was his constant companion, waking him up, getting him ready for school, and accompanying him.

The second phase began when they moved to the city to live with the author's parents. This move marked a turning point in their friendship. The author started going to an English school in a motor bus. His grandmother could no longer accompany him or help him with his lessons. She felt distressed by the Western science and music being taught, which she found ungodly. Their bond weakened as the years rolled by.

The third phase began when the author went to university and was given his own room, severing their last common link of a shared bedroom. The grandmother "accepted her seclusion with resignation." She spent her days at her spinning-wheel, reciting prayers, and in the afternoon, she would happily feed the sparrows. This half-hour was the happiest of her day.

When the author left for abroad, she showed no emotion but kissed his forehead. On his return after five years, she was overjoyed. To celebrate, she collected women of the neighbourhood, got an old drum, and sang of the homecoming of warriors for hours. This overstrained her, and she fell ill. She knew her end was near and spent her last moments praying, not talking to anyone. After her death, thousands of sparrows gathered silently in the courtyard to mourn her, and they only flew away after her body was taken for cremation.

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NCERT Textbook Questions and Answers

Understanding the Text (Page 6)

Question 1: The three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad.

Answer-
The three phases of the author's relationship with his grandmother are:

1.Childhood (Village Life): This was the first and most intimate phase. The author lived with his grandmother in the village. She was his constant companion. She would wake him up, bathe him, dress him, plaster his wooden slate, and walk him to and from the temple school. They shared a very strong bond.

2.Boyhood (City Life): This phase began when they moved to the city. It was a turning point. The author went to an English school in a motor bus, and they saw less of each other. She could not help him with his lessons, and she disapproved of the English education, science, and music he was receiving. Their common link of friendship was snapping.

3.Early Youth (University): In this phase, the common link of their friendship was broken completely. The author was given his own room. The grandmother accepted her seclusion quietly. She spent her time at the spinning-wheel, reciting prayers, and feeding the sparrows in the afternoon.

Question 2: Three reasons why the author’s grandmother was distressed when he started going to the city school.

Answer-
The three reasons for the grandmother's distress were:

1.She could no longer help him with his lessons in English, science, or Western learning, which she did not understand or approve of.

2.She was pained to know that there was no teaching about God and the scriptures at the new school.

3.She was very disturbed and felt that music was an indecent art. She associated music with harlots and beggars, not with gentlefolk, and was appalled that it was being taught at his school.

Question 3: The three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up.

Answer-
The three ways she spent her days were:

1.From sunrise to sunset, she sat by her spinning-wheel, spinning and reciting prayers. She rarely left it to talk to anyone.

2.In the afternoon, she would relax for half an hour to feed the sparrows. This was her happiest time of the day as hundreds of birds collected around her, creating a "veritable bedlam of chirrupings."

3.She would continuously recite her prayers, and her fingers would remain busy telling the beads of her rosary.

Question 4: The odd way in which the author’s grandmother behaved just before she died.

Answer-
The evening before she died, a change came over her. She did not pray. Instead, she collected the women of the neighbourhood, got an old, dilapidated drum, and for several hours, she thumped the sagging skins of the drum and sang of the homecoming of warriors. This was the first time the author had ever known her to not pray. The family had to persuade her to stop to avoid overstraining, but she fell ill the next day.

Question 5: The way in which the sparrows expressed their sorrow when the author’s grandmother died.

Answer-
When the grandmother died, thousands of sparrows came and sat scattered silently in the courtyard and on the veranda, right up to where her body lay. They were not chirruping. The author's mother fetched some bread for them, broke it into crumbs, and threw it to them, just as the grandmother used to. However, the sparrows took no notice of the bread. When the family carried the grandmother's corpse off, the sparrows flew away quietly. The next morning, the bread crumbs were swept away untouched.

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Talking about the Text (Page 7)

Question 1: The author’s grandmother was a religious person. What are the different ways in which we come to know this?

Answer-
We know the grandmother was a deeply religious person in several ways:
1.Constant Prayer: Her lips constantly moved in an "in-audible prayer," and her fingers were always busy "telling the beads of her rosary."

2.Daily Routine: She visited the temple daily when they lived in the village and read the scriptures inside.

3.Disapproval of English School: She was distressed that the city school had no teaching about "God and the scriptures."

4.Final Moments: When she knew her end was near, she stopped talking to her family and spent her last moments praying, wanting to not waste any time.

Question 2: Describe the changing relationship between the author and his grandmother. Did their feelings for each other change?

Answer-
The relationship between the author and his grandmother changed significantly over time, but their underlying feelings of love and affection did not.

1.Phase 1 (Village): They were constant companions and best friends. She was entirely responsible for him, and they shared a deep, dependent bond.

2.Phase 2 (City): Their friendship saw a "turning point." The distance grew as he started going to an English school. She could no longer participate in his life, and they "saw less of each other."

3.Phase 3 (University): The "common link of friendship was snapped" when he got his own room. She accepted this "seclusion with resignation."

Despite this growing physical and intellectual distance, their feelings for each other remained strong. She went to the railway station to see him off when he went abroad, showing no emotion but kissing his forehead—a "moist imprint" he cherished. When he returned, she celebrated so joyfully that she fell ill. Their love was constant, even when their daily interactions faded.

Question 3: Would you agree that the author’s grandmother was a person strong in character? If yes, give instances.

Answer-
Yes, the author's grandmother was undeniably a person strong in character.

1.Emotional Strength: She did not show any sentimentality or emotion when the author was leaving for abroad for five years. She was not "even sentimental" and showed no emotion.

2.Independence and Acceptance: When she moved to the city and later when the author got his own room, she "accepted her seclusion with resignation." She did not complain but found new ways to occupy her time, like with the spinning-wheel and feeding sparrows.

3.Control in Final Moments: When she knew her end was near, she took control of her final moments. She declared that her end was near and, ignoring the family's protests, she lay peacefully in bed praying, demonstrating immense calm and self-possession.

Question 4: Have you known someone like the author’s grandmother? Do you feel the same sense of loss with regard to someone whom you have loved and lost?

Answer-
(This is a personal response question. A sample answer is provided.)
Yes, I knew my own great-grandmother who was very similar to the author's grandmother. She was deeply religious, always kind, and spent much of her day in prayer and quiet chores. She had a calm and serene presence that made our home feel safe.

Yes, I have felt the same profound sense of loss. When she passed away, it felt as though a part of my childhood and a source of unconditional love was gone forever. The author's description of cherishing the "moist imprint" of the last kiss is very relatable, as it is often the small, physical memories of our loved ones that we hold onto the most. The sense of loss is a deep ache, just as the author felt.

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Thinking about Language (Page 7)

Question 1: Which language do you think the author and his grandmother used while talking to each other?

Answer-
Given that the setting of the initial part of the story is a village where the grandmother accompanied the author to a school attached to a temple, and she spent her time reading scriptures, they most likely used their mother tongue, which would be a regional Indian language. The grandmother was deeply religious and associated with traditional learning taught by the priest. It is clear that she did not understand English or Western education, as she was disturbed when the author started learning "English words and little things of western science" at the city school. Therefore, their primary language of communication was certainly not English.

Question 2: Which language do you use to talk to elderly relatives in your family?

Answer-
This question requires a subjective response based on the reader’s personal experience. Generally, one uses the home language or the native language common to the family environment to communicate with elderly relatives. This choice of language often reinforces the emotional bond and comfort, similar to how the author and his grandmother maintained their connection in the village.

Question 3: How would you say ‘a dilapidated drum’ in your language?

Answer-
This question asks the reader to find an equivalent phrase in their native language for 'a dilapidated drum'. In the text, the grandmother used "the sagging skins of the dilapidated drum" to celebrate the homecoming of warriors. The phrase describes a drum that is old, worn out, and in poor physical condition.

Question 4: Can you think of a song or a poem in your language that talks of homecoming?

Answer-
This task encourages relating to songs with emotional significance in one's own language. The grandmother's final act of celebration, before she lay peacefully praying, was thumping the drum and singing of the "home-coming of warriors". This demonstrates the deep cultural and emotional import that themes of homecoming carry.

Working with words (Pages 7-8)

Question 5: I. Notice the following uses of the word ‘tell’ in the text.
1. Her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary.
2. I would tell her English words and little things of Western science and learning.
3. At her age one could never tell.
4. She told us that her end was near.
Given below are four different senses of the word ‘tell’. Match the meanings to the uses listed above.
1. make something known to someone in spoken or written words
2. count while reciting
3. be sure
4. give information to somebody

Answer-
The different senses of the word 'tell' can be matched to their uses in the text as follows:

Question 6: II. Notice the different senses of the word ‘take’.
1. to take to something: to begin to do something as a habit
2. to take ill: to suddenly become ill
Locate these phrases in the text and notice the way they are used.

Answer-
These common phrases are used in the text to denote specific changes in routine or health:

(a) to take to something: to begin to do something as a habit

This phrase is used when the author and his grandmother moved to the city: "There were no dogs in the streets and she took to feeding sparrows in the courtyard of our city house". This shows that she began a new routine or habit—feeding sparrows—to replace the routine of feeding village dogs, which marked a new phase in her life.

(b) to take ill: to suddenly become ill

This phrase describes the beginning of her final sickness: "The next morning she was taken ill". This denotes that she suddenly developed a mild fever, although she herself interpreted it as her end being near.

Question 7: III. The word ‘hobble’ means to walk with difficulty because the legs and feet are in bad condition.
Tick the words in the box below that also refer to a manner of walking.
haggle shuffle stride ride waddle
wriggle paddle swagger trudge slog

Answer-
The grandmother "hobbled about the house" due to her physical condition. The words from the provided list that also describe a specific manner of walking are:

shuffle

stride

waddle

swagger

trudge

slog

Important Keywords from the Chapter

• Portrait: A representation or description of someone.
• Mantelpiece: A shelf above a fireplace.
• Absurd: Wildly unreasonable or illogical.
• Fables: Short stories, typically with animals as characters, conveying a moral.
• Hobbled: Walked in an awkward way, typically due to pain or injury.
• Rosary: A string of beads used for counting prayers.
• Serenity: The state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled.
• Expanse: A wide, continuous area.
• Monotonous: Dull, tedious, and repetitious.
• Seclusion: The state of being private and away from other people.
• Resignation: Accepting something undesirable but inevitable.
• Bedlam: A scene of uproar and confusion.
• Frivolous: Not serious; carefree and light-hearted.
• Dilapidated: In a state of disrepair or ruin.
• Pallor: An unhealthy pale appearance.
• Shroud: A cloth in which a dead person is wrapped for burial.