word meaning of The Portrait of a Lady Hornbill class 11th
Answers
EXPLANATION:
The “Portrait of a Lady” is written by Kushwanth Singh in first person. The author recalls his grandmother as a lovable, beautiful lady with whom he spent his early years in the village. She used to accompany him to school and while he learnt at school she would read the scriptures in the nearby temple and accompany him back home. She used to feed chapatis to the stray dogs. The author had a close relationship with his grandma.
After they shifted to a larger city his interaction with his grandma was reduced. She could ‘no longer accompany’ him to school nor did she understand what was taught in school. Later when the author went to university he had a separate room and so their interaction was even less. Grandma rarely spoke to anyone. She was at her spinning wheel always, saying her prayers and feeding the sparrows.
The author left the country to study abroad, but grandma was not sad. The author thought that he might not see her after he gets back. But, when he got back after five years she was there to receive him and she sang songs and played the drum. The next morning, she took ill. Although the doctor gave her medicines and said she’d get better, grandma knew her end was near and she refused to talk to anyone. She kept praying till her last breath, when the beads fell from her hands. Thousands of sparrows flew in and sat surrounding her body. The author’s mother threw crumbs at them, but they did not touch them. They silently flew away after grandma’s body was taken away after the last rites.
Answer:
Explanation:
"Here are difficult words from The Portrait of the Lady,
duenna: chaperone; an older woman acting as a governess
Belfry: A bell tower
expatiate upon: To speak or write many words about someone or something
soubrette: A female stock character in opera and theater
inscrutable: Difficult to understand
reticence: Not wanting to reveal one's thoughts; silent; withdrawn."