summary for the portrait of the lady
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The Portrait of a Lady – Summary
The Portrait of a Lady is an autobiography by Khushwant Singh. It is a perception of Khushwant Singh’s grandmother. Khushwant Singh recalls his grandmother as an eternally old lady. She was an extremely religious person. It was difficult for him to believe that once she too was young and pretty like other women. The stories about her childhood games were like fairy tales to him.
Short Summary
The Portrait of a Lady deals with an account of the author’s old grandmother. She was very old and wrinkled. She was fat, short and bent.She moved about the house with her rosary in her hand. She was always dressed in white. Her hair was white. Her lips always moved in prayer. She would wake up the author and prepare him for school. She went with him to school. The school was attached to the temple. While children learnt alphabet, she sat inside and read religious books. After school they came back together. She gave bread to village dogs. After sometime they went to the city. The author was now in an English school. The grandmother could not help him with his lessons. She was not contented with what he learnt there. The writer told her that he was taught music. The grandmother did not like it. For her, music was meant for prostitutes. She was unhappy becaus ethere was no religious teaching at that school. There were no stray dogs. She took to feeding sparrows.
The author then left for England for further studies. She did not feel upset. She went to the station to see him off. At the time of parting, she kissed the author. When he returned after five years, she came to the railway station to receive him. She did not look even a day older. Even now she was saying her prayer. In the evening she did not pray. She brought a drum. She called women from her neighbourhood. She sang songs to celebrate the return of her grandson. The next morning she fell ill. She lay peacefully in her bed praying. She died peacefully. Her death affected even the sparrows. They did not chirp. They ignored the crumbs thrown to them.
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