the portrait of a lady gives a detaiy description of the author's grandmother sa he had know her . describe the grandmother in your own words.
Answers
Answer:
According to me ,
The grandmother is a traditional women
Explanation:
Question 1.
the thought was almost revolting
Answer:
The thought that the author’s grandmother was once young and pretty raises a doubt in the mind of the author. He finds it too hard to believe, as he had always seen her in the same old and wrinkled physical condition for the last twenty years.
Question 2.
an expanse of pure white serenity
Answer:
It refers to the calm, peaceful and serene character and conduct of the author’s grandmother. She is compared to the peaceful winter landscape in the mountains. She was always attired in spotless white clothes and had silver hair. She, thus, presented a picture of pure white serenity.
Question 3.
a turning-point
Answer:
It refers to the point where the author’s relationship with his grandmother changes drastically after they move to the city-house. The grandmother is unable to accompany the author to school as he travels by motor bus. Neither is she able to help him in his lessons. Although they share the same room, a sort of distancing occurred in the relationship.
Question 4.
accepted her seclusion with resignation
Answer:
This shows the author’s grandmother’s passive submission to her secluded life after she gradually loses touch with her grandson. When the author was given a room of his own, the common link of friendship between the two was snapped. However, the grandmother accepted her fate without complaint. She rarely talked to anyone in the house and was busy spinning the wheel and reciting her prayers. Even when she relaxed, it was to feed the sparrows.
Question 5.
a veritable bedlam of chirpings
Answer:
It refers to the noise, confusion and chaos caused by the chirping of the sparrows that scattered and perched around the author’s grandmother. The grandmother sat in the verandah and broke the bread into little bits and threw it to the sparrows. Hundreds of sparrows collected around her and created a noise by their continuous chirping.
Question 6.
frivolous rebukes
Answer:
It refers to the casual and light-hearted rebukes of the grandmother to the sparrows. That day she realised that she would die and so was having some fun with the sparrows by scolding them for small mistakes. The grandmother had developed a special bond with the sparrows. The sparrows came in huge numbers and the grandmother fed them with little bits of bread. Sometimes she also used to scold them. The sparrows perched on her legs, shoulders and even sat on her head but she smiled and never shooed them away.
Question 7.
the sagging skins of the dilapidated drum
Answer:
It points to the shabby and deteriorated condition of the drum. The grandmother celebrated the homecoming of the author by collecting the women of the neighbourhood and getting an old drum. For several hours she beat the worn out drum and sang the songs related to the homecoming of warriors.
The Portrait of a Lady Understanding The Text
Question 1.
Mention the three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad.
Answer:
The first phase of the author’s relationship with his grandmother was when the author’s parents went to live in the city and left him with his grandmother. She took utmost care of him right from waking him up in the morning to getting him ready for school. They were always together and enjoyed an easy companionship.
The second phase was when the author’s parents asked them to come to the city. This was the time when Khushwant Singh’s relationship with his grandmother changed. The author went to an English school. She could no longer accompany him nor could she help him in his studies. She continued getting him ready for school and asking him about his studies, as they shared the same room. However, she rarely talked to him after learning that he was learning music at school. Slowly the friendship between them weakened.
The third phase came when the common link of friendship, the room they shared, snapped when the author moved to the University and was given a room of his own. His grandmother accepted her seclusion with resignation.
Question 2.
Mention three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the city school.
Answer:
The author’s grandmother -was disturbed -when he started going to the city school because
(i) She could not go with him to leave him to school, as he went in the school bus. This broke her connection with the author and disturbed her.
(ii) In the English school, she could not help him with his lessons in English and Science because she neither knew English nor Science. Thus she had no faith in what was being taught there, and thus she was disturbed.
(iii) She was unhappy that there was no teaching about God and the scriptures in the school. Instead, music was being taught which, to her, had indecent associations. This disturbed her the most.
Question 3.
Mention three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up.
Answer:
The three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up were