Class 11 English - TAMILNADU
The Portrait of a Lady
The Portrait of a Lady by Khushwant Singh is a touching biographical sketch of the author's grandmother. It captures her physical appearance, her daily routine of praying and feeding sparrows, and the emotional distance that grew between them as the author grew up and moved abroad for education. The chapter highlights the deep bond of love, mutual respect, and eventual separation between a grandson and his grandmother, emphasizing traditional values, simplicity, and the inevitable cycle of life and death. In Tamil Nadu Samacheer Kalvi Class 11 exams, questions from this prose focus on reading comprehension, character sketches, and paragraph questions.
Start Learning FreeKey Concepts
Physical Description of the Grandmother
The grandmother is portrayed as an old woman with a wrinkled face, slightly bent, walking with a hand on her waist for balance, dressed in spotless white, and constantly reciting silent prayers telling beads of her rosary.
The Village Life Phase
During the author's childhood in the village, the grandmother took care of him, woke him up, dressed him, accompanied him to school, and fed stale chapattis to village dogs.
The Turning Point
The shifting of the author and his grandmother to the city marked a major turning point in their relationship, leading to a physical separation as the author went to a university and later abroad.
Friendship with Sparrows
In the city, feeding sparrows in the courtyard became the happiest part of the grandmother's day, with hundreds of birds gathering around her without sitting on her head.
Peaceful Passing
Before her death, the grandmother refused to talk to anyone, spending her final hours in uninterrupted prayer and counting beads, symbolizing her spiritual detachment and calm acceptance of the end.
Important Formulas
Board Exam Info
In the Tamil Nadu Samacheer Kalvi Class 11 English paper, this prose chapter typically carries around 5 to 10 marks. Questions usually include 1-mark synonyms/antonyms from the text, short answer questions, and a 5-mark paragraph question based on the character of the grandmother or the bond between the author and his grandmother.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the central theme of 'The Portrait of a Lady'?
The central theme is the deep, affectionate relationship between a grandson and his grandmother, highlighting the transition of traditional values and the inevitability of change and death.
Why did the grandmother feed the sparrows in the city?
In the city, the grandmother felt lonely as she could no longer feed village dogs. Feeding the sparrows became her favorite pastime and a source of joy and companionship.
How did the sparrows mourn the grandmother's death?
Thousands of sparrows sat quietly in the courtyard and on her dead body without chirping, and they flew away silently only after her corpse was carried off for cremation.
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