Read the given extract and answer the questions that follow:

My grandmother, like everybody’s grandmother, was an old woman. She had been old and
wrinkled for the twenty years that I had known her. People said that she had once been young
and pretty and had even had a husband, but that was hard to believe. My grandfather’s portrait
hung above the mantelpiece in the drawing room. He wore a big turban and loose-fitting clothes.
His long, white beard covered the best part of his chest and he looked at least a hundred years
old.

1. Name the chapter.

A The Portrait of a Lady
B Landscape of the Soul
C Discovering Tut
D We are not Afraid to Die if we can all be Together
Ans A The Portrait of a Lady
What literary device is employed in “Like everyone’s grandmother”?
A Metaphor
B Simile
C Transferred Epithet
D Enjambment
Ans B Simile
4. Find out the synonym of ‘Pretty’ from the following?
A Beautiful
B Ugly
C Unattractive
D None of these
Ans A Beautiful
C Read the given extract and answer the questions that follow:
She hobbled about the house in spotless white with one hand resting on her waist to balance
her stoop and the other telling the beads of her rosary. Her silver locks were scattered untidily
over her pale, puckered face, and her lips constantly moved in inaudible prayer. Yes, she was
beautiful. She was like the winter landscape in the mountains, an expanse of pure white serenity
breathing peace and contentment.

What does the narrator mean by ‘Silver locks’?

A Lock and Key
B Grey Hair
C Attire of Silver colour
D None of these
Ans B Grey Hair
2. Which poetic device is employed in “Pale puckered face”?
A Simile
B Metaphor
C Alliteration
D Zeugma
Ans C Alliteration
Find out the antonym of ‘Audible’ from the following.
A Unhearable
B Unsounded
C Imperceptible
D All of these
Ans D All of these
4. What does the word ‘Hobble’ mean?
A Walk quickly
B Limp
C Rush
D Hasten
Ans B Limp

Why was it hard for the author to believe that the grandmother was once young and pretty?
Ans The author found it difficult—almost repugnant—to imagine that his grandma had previously
been young and attractive. During the last 20 years that he had seen her, he believed she could
not get much older. Her playing games as a child seemed rather ridiculous and disrespectful just
to think about.

The grandmother had a divine beauty. How does the author bring it out?
Ans The grandmother possessed a wonderful beauty despite not being attractive. She wore
pristine white clothing. Her pale, puckered face was covered in unruly silver hair, and her lips
were moving inaudibly in a prayer. Her personification of “serenity, breathing peace and
satisfaction,” according to the author, is “like the winter landscape in the Alps.”
Q4 What proof do you find of friendship between the grandmother and grandson in the story?
Ans The grandma and grandson had a close relationship. They shared a bedroom while she
dressed him and walked him to and from his city school. When the author travelled overseas,
his grandma silently bid him farewell and welcomed him back five years later by kissing him on
the forehead.
Q5 The grandmother was a kind-hearted woman. Give examples in support of your answer.
Ans The grandmother was a compassionate person. She would give stale chapatis to the village
dogs on her walk home from school. When they moved to the city, she started feeding the
sparrows that came and perched on her head, shoulders, and legs.

Discuss the relevance of the title The Portrait of a Lady.

Ans Khushwant Singh creates a touching pen painting of his beloved and revered grandma.
She wasn’t gorgeous, but in the author’s opinion, she was beautiful. She was calm and
satisfied, like the peaceful winter scene in the Alps, as she prayed silently while twirling the
rosary beads. She had a unique connection to the author.
When his grandma was studying the scriptures inside the temple, she got him ready and walked
him to and from school while he sat on the porch. The author relates how, after he returned from
his trip abroad, his grandmother gathered women from the neighbourhood, banged the drum,
and sung for hours about the return of the warriors.
She forgot to say her prayers for the first time. She was a devout woman who loved her family
and even dogs and sparrows; everyone, including the sparrows, lamented her passing. The
author humanises and immortalises the elderly woman through his description.

From a foster mother in the village to a lonely old lady in the city describe the grandmother’s
journey through the later part of her life.
Ans Khushwant Singh’s parents left his grandmother to take care of him when he was a little
child after they moved to the city. They had a close friendship. His grandmother took care of
him, helped him get ready, and led him there. Khushwant Singh observed his grandma reading
scriptures inside the nearby temple while the other kids played in the school’s verandah.
Their bond changed after they moved to the city. All else had changed except for their shared
bedroom. She was unable to walk with him to school as he travelled by the school bus. Their
contact subsequently worsened since his grandmother could not comprehend or approve of his
education in the city. Later, when he entered the university, he was given a separate room,
which severely weakened their relationship. She then worked at her spinning wheel all day long,
from dawn until dusk. She spun while saying her prayers as she sat there. She didn’t unwind
until the late afternoon when she fed the sparrows.
Gradually the author and the grandmother saw less of each other and their friendship was
broken. Was the distancing deliberate or due to the demands of the situation?
Ans The author’s parents moved to the city when he was a young lad, leaving him with his
grandma. They had a close friendship. She spent the entire day with him and went with him to
and from school.
But they sent for them once his parents had made a home in the city. This ultimately turned their
friendship around. All else had changed except for their shared bedroom. She was unable to
walk with him to school as he travelled by the school bus. He was currently enrolled in a
science-focused English school.
The grandmother did not believe in science and could not grasp English. She was dissatisfied
with his schooling because they were not taught about God. She felt worse after his school
started giving music classes. But their relationship was further broken when he enrolled in
college and was given a separate room. Although the distancing was not on purpose, the
circumstances had a negative impact on their relationship.