HS 1st Year English Chapter 1 Question Answer | The Portrait Of A Lady Class 11
HS 1st Year English Chapter 1 Question Answer Class 11
HS 1st year English chapter 1 question answer (The portrait of a Lady)
Understanding the text :
Mention :
1. Mention the three phases of the author's relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad.
Ans : The three phases of the authors relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad are mentioned as follows :
a) When he went to the village school his grandmother helped him to get ready for school. She also accompanied with him to the temple adjacent to the school. His grandmother looked after him properly.
b) When he went to the city school in a bus his grandmother did not accompany him. He stayed with his grandmother, but she did not help him in his studies. Even she did not like the English medium school.
c) When he went to the university and was given a separate room the friendship between them was shaped.
2. Mention three reasons why the author's grandmother was disturbed when started going to the city school. (HS 2016)
Ans : The three reasons why the author's grandmother was disturbed when started going to the city school are :
a) She was not in favour of western science, music and learning.
b) She was hurt that there was no teaching about God and scriptures.
c) She thought it was not meant for decent and gentlefolk, but the monopoly of prostitutes and beggars.
3. Three ways in which the author's grandmother spent her days after he grew up. (HS 2011,2017)
Ans : The three ways in which the author's grandmother spent her days after he grew up are :
a) She accepted her loneliness and lived alone in her room.
b) She sat at her spinning wheel and recited her prayers daily.
c) she fed the sparrow's for half an hour in the afternoon.
4. The odd way in which the author's grandmother behaved just before she died.
Ans : The grandmother refused to talk to anyone before her death. The previous day she forgot to pray while she was singing the homecoming of the warriors and beating the drum continuously. She ignored their request to stop. Next day she lay peacefully in her bed praying and telling her beads.
5. The ways in which the sparrows expressed their sorrow when the author's grandmother died. (HS 2015)
Ans : a) Thousands of sparrows gathered all over the verandah and in her room right up to where she lay dead.
b) They sat scattered but there was no chirruping.
c) They took no notice of the bread crumbs thrown to them by the author's mother.
d) They quietly flew away where the corpse was lifted off.
Talking about the text :
1. The author's grandmother was a religious person. What are the different ways in which we come to know this ? (HS 2012, 2017, 2022)
Ans : Since the author's childhood his grandmother used to get him ready for school and she was singing her morning prayers with the hope that he would listed and get to know it by heart. She accompanied him to school because it was attached to the temple, so that while he learnt the lessons, she could read the scriptures inside. Later, when the author was sent to an English school, it distressed her that there were no lessons on God and the scriptures. When she finally fell ill, she was sure that it was because she had not prayed the previous evening in the excitement of her grandson's return. Despite everyone's protest, she lay in her bed and peacefully prayed to her death. All these facts makes it very clear that the grandmother was a religious person.
2. Describe the changing relationship between the author and his grandmother. Did their feelings for each other change ? (HS 2017, 2022)
Ans : The author was totally depended on his grandmother during his school time in their village. But the turning point in their friendship when he went to the city. She could no longer accompany him to school as he went to the school by bus. They shared the same room but could not help him in studies. She did not like the English teachings and the music. When he went to the university their friendship was shattered.
Though they lived separately yet their feelings for each other did not changed. They still loved each other deeply. She went to see off the author to the railway station when he was going abroad for higher education. She prayed and kissed him at the time of departure. After five years when he returned she also went to meet him at the station. Thus we can say that their feelings for each other did not change.
3. Would you agree that the author's grandmother was a person strong in character ? If yes, give instances that show this. (HS 2018)
Ans : Yes, I strongly agree that the author's grandmother was a person of strong character. She was not formally educated but was serious about the education of her grandson. She did not like at all the western pattern of education like science and English and music.
She was also the lover of cultural, natural creatures. She gave bread to the dogs in village and to sparrows in town. She did not waste her time only by talking. Thus, we can say that she was a woman of good and strong personality.
The portrait of a lady short questions and answers
1. How was the author's grandmother ?
Ans : The author's grandmother was an old woman, like everybody's grandmother. She was old and wrinkled.
2. How long did the author know his grandmother ?
Ans : The author knew his grandmother for the twenty years.
3. What did people say about her ?
Ans : People said about her that she had once been young and pretty and had ever had a husband, but that was hard to believe for him.
4. What was hung on the wall of the drawing room ?
Ans : The author's grandfather's portrait was hung on the wall of the drawing room.
5. How was the grandmother to look at ?
Ans : The grandmother looked at least a hundred years old.
6. What did grandmother always do ?
Ans : The author's grandmother always went to school with his grandson.
7. How did the grandmother spend her time when the narrator went to the university ?
Ans : The narrator's grandmother spent her time with her spinning wheel and feeding the sparrows.
8. Where did the author's parents used to live ?
Ans : The author's parents used to live in the city.
The Portrait of a Lady Extra Question Answers
1. Did narrator's grandmother look like the winter landscape in the mountains ?
Ans : The narrator's grandmother always dressed in spotless white and had silvery hair. Her white looks and silver hair spread untidily over her pale and wrinkled face. She was as white as snow. All these made her look like the winter landscape in the mountain.
2. What was the last sign of physical contact between the author and his grandmother ?
Ans : When the author went to abroad for higher education his grandmother accompanied him to the railway station. In the station his grandmother kissed him in his forehead. It was the last physical contact between the author and his grandmother.
3. How did the sparrows mourn at the death of grandmother ? (HS 2015)
Ans : The sparrows sat scattered around her, but no one made any noise nor did they pay any attention to the crumbs of bread thrown to them. They quietly flew away when the dead body was carried off for cremation.
4. Give a picture of narrator's grandfather as appears on the portrait.
Ans : The portrait showed that the author's grandfather looked at least a hundred years old. He had a long white beard and wore big turban and loose fitting clothes. He did not appear as one who had a wife or children, but as one who had lots of grandchildren.
5. What does the author describe in the 'Portrait of a lady'?
Ans : Khushwant Singh the author draw a pen portrait of his grandmother. He elaborates how he spent his childhood with her in the village and how changes developed in their relationship when they went to the city. Finally he describes the touching scene of her death.
6. What was the turning point in their friendship ?
Ans : The turning point was their shift to the city. A gap developed as she found herself distanced from her grandson's life. She could neither accompany him to school nor could she help him with his studies. They saw very less of each other.
7. How did the grandmother celebrate the homecoming of her grandson ? (HS 2022)
Ans : The author's grandmother went to receive him at the station. Her excitement was seen in the way she collected the women of the neighbourhood, took an old drum and sang song on the homecoming of warriors.
8. Describe how did the grandmother make her grandson ready for school ?
Ans : The grandmother used to wake him up in the morning and get him ready for school. She said her morning prayer in a monotonous sing - song while she bathed and dressed him in the hope that he would listen and get to know it by heart. He listened her prayer because he loved her voice but never bothered to learn it.
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