Sure Shot Questions: The Portrait of a Lady

Very Short Answer Questions 

Q1: "In the evening a change came over her." What change came over the grandmother?
Ans: Grandmother was overjoyed at Khushwant Singh's return. In the evening she abandoned her usual prayers, called the neighbourhood women together and began to sing songs celebrating the homecoming of warriors while beating a battered drum.
Q2: How does the grandfather look in the portrait?
Ans: In the portrait that hung above the mantelpiece, Grandfather wore a large turban and loose-fitting clothes. His long white beard covered most of his chest and made him appear extremely old - almost a hundred years.
Q3: Write the meaning of the given words.
(i) Revolting
Ans: Rebelling
(ii) Serenity
Ans: Calmness
(iii) Seclusion
Ans: Aloofness
(iv) Veritable
Ans: Genuine
Q4: What two activities does the grandmother do every day?
Ans: When Khushwant Singh got a room of his own at the university, Grandmother accepted her solitude with resignation. She spent most of her day at the spinning wheel and reciting prayers. In the afternoons she would rest for a while and feed bread crumbs to the sparrows that came to the veranda.
Q5: The story "The Portrait of a Lady" is about which lady?
Ans: In 'The Portrait of a Lady', Khushwant Singh presents a pen picture of his grandmother, who brought him up during his early childhood.

Short Answer Type Questions

Q6: How did the grandmother utilise her time in the city home?
Ans: After the author obtained a room of his own in the city, Grandmother accepted her separation calmly. She spent her days reciting prayers and working at her spinning wheel. Each afternoon she took a short rest and fed bread crumbs to the birds that visited the veranda.
Q7: How were the author and grandmother connected and how did it break?
Ans: The author was raised by his grandmother and they shared daily companionship: she bathed, dressed and accompanied him to school. When they moved to the city he attended an English-medium school by motor bus and studied subjects his grandmother could not understand. Their close bond weakened further when he was given a room of his own at university; the everyday routines that had kept them close came to an end.
Q8: Give a pen picture of the narrator's grandfather as he appeared in the portrait?
Ans: The grandfather in the portrait appeared as an austere, elderly man. He wore a large turban and loose clothing; his long white beard fell over his chest. The portrait suggested a dignified, old-fashioned figure who belonged to an earlier generation.
Q9: How does grandmother feel about English education and music lessons at school?
Ans: Grandmother disapproved of the English education the author received. She was puzzled by the absence of religious instruction and did not value the subjects taught. She disliked the music lessons because, in her view, music was associated with disreputable performers such as beggars and prostitutes and was not suitable for respectable people.
Q10: Why does the author say that at the age of her grandmother, one could never tell? What was one could never tell?
Ans:The author had to go abroad for higher studies. His grandmother was very old, and at that age it was impossible to predict when she might die. He feared that, during the five years he would be away, he might lose her.
Q11: How did the grandmother utilise her time in the city home?
Ans: After the author got a room of his own in the city home, Grandmother accepted her separation calmly. She spent her days chanting prayers and working at her spinning wheel. Each afternoon she rested briefly and fed bread crumbs to the sparrows on the veranda.
Q12: How were the author and grandmother connected and how did it break?
Ans: The author was brought up by his grandmother and they lived in close companionship: she washed, dressed and accompanied him to school. On moving to the city he began attending an English-medium school by motor bus and learned subjects his grandmother could not follow. Their bond weakened further when he was allotted a room at university and their shared daily life ended.
Q13: Give a pen picture of the narrator's grandfather as he appeared in the portrait?
Ans: In the portrait, Grandfather looked like an old, dignified man. His large turban, loose clothes and long white beard gave him a solemn, venerable appearance, as if he belonged to an older, traditional world.
Q14: How does grandmother feel about English education and music lessons at school?
Ans: Grandmother did not approve of the education the author received. She could not understand the absence of religious instruction and regarded much of the school teaching as meaningless. She especially disliked music lessons because she associated music with begging and immoral behaviour, not with decent society.
Q15: Why does the author say that at the age of her grandmother, one could never tell? What was one could never tell?
Ans: The author was to go abroad for further studies. Grandmother was very old, and at such an age it was uncertain when death might occur. He feared that being away for five years might mean he would lose her in his absence.

Long Answer Type Questions

Q16: How the grandmother was interested in the education of the author.
Ans: Grandmother had no formal education, but she took her grandson's learning seriously. In the village she helped him with lessons, prepared and washed his wooden slate and escorted him to school. After they moved to the city she could not perform these tasks because he attended an English-medium school by motor bus. Even so, she continued to ask about his studies and encouraged him to pursue higher education. Although her idea of proper instruction was religious rather than scientific, she supported him and never criticised his choices.
Q17: "Some twenty-thirty -years later She'd laugh at the snapshot. "See Betty And Dolly," she'd say, - and look how they Dressed us for the beach." The sea holiday
Was her past, mine is her laughter. Both wry with the laboured ease of loss."
Give line by line explanation of the stanza from the poem "A Photograph."
Ans: The photograph shows the poet's mother with her cousins and is already some twenty to thirty years old. On seeing it later, the mother laughs and points out how they were dressed for the beach, recalling Betty and Dolly. The sea holiday belongs to her past, while the poet now keeps the memory alive through her mother's laughter. Both the holiday and the laughter are tinged with a gentle, knowing sadness - a wry, weary acceptance that comes with loss and the passage of time.
Q18: Give a sketch of the author's grandmother according to the chapter "The Portrait of a Lady".
Ans: Khushwant Singh's grandmother was an old, gentle woman with white hair and a serene face. She kept to herself, continually murmuring prayers and counting her rosary. Adaptable by nature, she adjusted to the city life by spending her time spinning, praying and feeding sparrows on the veranda. She took an active interest in the author's early education and, though she disapproved of some aspects of modern schooling, she never criticised him harshly. As he grew up and became more independent, she felt increasingly secluded but accepted this change with quiet resignation.
Q19: What type of bond did the grandmother share with dogs and sparrows?
Ans: Grandmother had a close, compassionate bond with animals. In the village she would carry stale chapatis for the dogs and feed them after returning from the temple. In the city she cared for sparrows, feeding them bread crumbs and allowing them to perch on her shoulder. Her affection was gentle and natural; when she died, the birds seemed to mourn her, gathering near the veranda and remaining unusually quiet around the place where her body lay.
Q20: Write the summary of the poem "A Photograph."
Ans: The poem "A Photograph" contrasts the fleeting life of human beings with the steadiness of nature. It begins with a snapshot of the poet's mother and cousins taken years earlier. The mother laughs at the memory of their beach clothes and that laughter becomes a cherished memory for the poet. The poem also notes how the sea erases human footprints from the sand, suggesting the impermanence of human presence. The poet ends by reflecting on memory and loss: the laughter captured in the photograph now recalls a person who is no longer alive, and that silence of absence deepens the poet's sense of sorrow.