INDIAN SCHOOL AL WADI AL KABIR



INDIAN SCHOOL AL WADI AL KABIR Class 11 NCERT (CBSE) English Core CourseHORNBILL The Portrait Of A Lady by Khushwant SinghQuestion Bank –IAPRIL, 2014Short Answer Questions:QUESTION.1: What does Khushwant Singh describe in ‘The Portrait of a Lady’?Answer: In ‘The Portrait of a Lady’, Khushwant Singh draws a pen picture of his beloved grandmother. He describes the relationship he enjoyed with her and the changes that occurred in their bond with time, as the years passed.QUESTION.2: How could the grandmother be ‘beautiful’ without being pretty?Answer: Grandmother was never a physically attractive women but she reflected a divine beauty from within. She was a symbol of peace, serenity and contentment. Her novel virtues gave her a spiritual beauty.QUESTION.3: What was the turning point of their friendship?Answer: The narrator’s parents sent for them and they shifted to the city. It was the turning point in their friendship. Grandmother could not accompany him to the English or help him in his studies. She saw less of him and the distance grew.QUESTION.4: What opinion did the grandmother form of the English school in the city?Answer: The grandmother did not like the English school in the city. She was sad that they did not teach anything about God and the scriptures. Nor was she interested in science. She hated music lessons given in the school.QUESTION.5: How were the grandmother and the narrator good and intimate friends in the village ?Answer: Grandmother woke her grandson up every morning and got him ready for school. She gave him breakfast, got him his slate, ink-pot and accompanied him to school. He was entirely dependent on her.QUESTION.6: Why did the grandmother hate music?Answer: Grandmother considered that music was indecent and was meant for harlots and beggars. It was not meant for gentle folk or school children from respectable families.QUESTION.7: How did the sparrows mourn the death of grandmother?Answer: The sparrows gathered in thousands around grandmother’s dead body. They did not chirrup or touch the crumbs of bread thrown to them. They seemed to mourn her death in silence and flew away when her body was taken away for cremation.QUESTION.8: How did the grandmother celebrate the homecoming of her grandson?Answer: Grandmother was overjoyed at the homecoming of her grandson. She collected the women of neighbourhood and was in the mood of celebration. She beat the drum and sang for hours about the homecoming of warriors. She even forgot to pray.QUESTION.9: Why did the grandmother stop talking before her death?Answer: The old lady was taken ill. She had a mild fever. The doctor told her that she would be alright soon. But the grandmother declared that her end was near. She forgot to pray the last evening. She was not going to waste anymore time talking to them.Long Answer Questions?Q1:Describe in brief the pen picture of the narrator’s grandmother highlighting her noble qualities. Khushwant Singh presents his grandmother as a symbol of love, care and affection. She was a highly religious and conservative lady but, a woman of generosity and nobility. she was like everybody’s grandmother, loving her grandson immensely and caring for him with deep love and concern. She was not physically attractive. She was old, fat and short with a stoop and hobbled about the house with her hand supporting waist, reciting her prayers and telling her beads. In the village, she was actively involved in her grandson’s life but when they shifted to the city, the bond of friendship was broken. Yet, she presented she presented a picture of peace and contentment always.Her love for animals was reflected in the way she fed the dogs and sparrows. She did not like the English school but, never interfered. She accepted every decision of her grandson regarding his life with a calm and composed manner. Even in death, she achieved peace and contentment.Q2: Describe the intimate relationship of grandmother with the sparrows. How did the sparrows mourn her death? The author’s grandmother had love and compassion for animals. In the village, she fed the street dogs with bits of chapattis. In the city, she took to feeding the sparrows. She would sit in the verandah in the afternoons and break the bread into small crumbs. She would throw these crumbs to the hundreds of sparrows that gathered around her. They would perch themselves on her legs, shoulders and even on her head and feel the air with their noisy chirruping. It was the happiest half-hour of the day for her.On the death of grandmother, the sparrows paid a silent tribute to her. Thousands gathered around her dead body. They did not chirrup or accept the bread crumbs given by mother. They mourned her death in silence and flew away after her body was taken away for cremation.PRACTICE QUESTIONS:Q.1: Describe the friendship between Khushwant Singh and his grandmother. Q2.Which is the most poignant part of the story? Give examples to substantiate your answer.Q3.How did the grandma shape the grandson’s personality? What role did she play?Q4.?Feeding the sparrows was the happiest hour of the day for her. Highlight at least two traits that this statement brings out about the personality of the grandmother.Q5.Justify the title of the chapter. Had you been given the choice to alter this title, what title would you give to the story?Q6.The grandmother is a silent voice in the story. However, her actions reveal her personality. Draw a character sketch for the grandmother using examples from the text.Value- Based Questions The Portrait Of a lady is a reminder about a growing distance between the young and the older generation. Comment.The love of the elders towards their children is priceless. Write an account of any experience where you felt this statement was aptly applicable in your life at that moment. Being alone can be loneliness or solitude. Which one was it for the grandmother after she moved to the city? What incidents/words from the chapter helped you form your opinion? ................
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