1. The Portrait of a Lady

The Portrait of a Lady
(Khushwant Singh)

About The Lesson
Khushwant Singh family writes about his perceptions and interactions with places and people he has come in contact with.” The Portrait of a Lady” is autobiographical in nature as it describes the author’s association with his grandmother and changes that come about in their relationship. It is a loving tribute from a grandson to his grandmother where he reminisces about emotional bond he shared with her. On reading it, the readers are forced to evaluate their own relationships with their grandparents and to reflect on the reasons for the growing isolation of elders in families.

Summary

In ‘The Portrait of a Lady’, Khushwant Singh sketches a pen-picture of his grandmother. He talks about growing up in the village with her. He also talks about how their relationship changed after moving to the city. Finally, he mentions her burial, which is a moving scene.
Grandmother was a very old woman and she had wrinkled face. She was overweight, short and bent. She walked around the house with her rosary in her hand. She was always dressed in white. Her hair was white. Her lips were always moving in prayer. She would wake the author up and make him ready for school. She went to school with him. The school was attached to the temple. While the children learned the alphabet, she sat inside and read the holy texts.
They came back together after school. She gave the village dogs bread. After a while, they went to the city. The author was now at an English school. The grandmother was unable to assist him with his lessons. She wasn’t satisfied with what he learned there. She was told by the writer that he was taught music. The grandmother didn’t like it at all. She believed that music was meant for prostitutes. She was upset because there was no religious education at the school. There were no stray dogs there. She took the sparrows to feed.
After that, the author went to England to continue his education. She was not upset. She went to the station to bid him farewell. She kissed the author as they parted ways. When he returned after five years, she went to the station to receive him. She didn’t seem to have aged a day. She was already reciting her prayer. She did not pray throughout the evening. She carried a drum with her. She made a phone call to a group of women in her neighbourhood. She sang songs to commemorate her grandson’s return. She became sick the following morning. She prayed quietly in her bed. She passed away peacefully. And the sparrows were affected by her passing. They didn’t even chirp. They ignored the crumbs that were thrown at them.

The portrait of a Lady Explanation

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. He did not look the sort of person who would have a wife or children. He looked as if he could only have lots and lots of grandchildren. As for my grandmother being young and pretty, the thought was almost revolting. She often told us of the games she used to play as a child. That seemed quite absurd and undignified on her part and we treated it like the fables of the Prophets she used to tell us.

Word meaning

Wrinkled - having lines or folds
Portrait - painting or picture
Mantelpiece - a structure of wood, marble, or stone above and around a fireplace.
the thought was almost revolting - it was very hard for the author to believe
Revolting – unpleasant
Absurd – Illogical
Undignified - disrespectful
Fables - fictitious stories with a moral teaching
Prophets - saints

Explanation :  The author talks about his grandmother. He had known her for the past twenty years and she had always been old and wrinkled. He was told that she was once young and pretty and had a husband. His grandfather’s portrait hung on the wall, in which he wore loose fitted clothes, a turban and had a long, white- coloured beard that reached his chest.
He also appeared very old and the author thought that he was someone who could have many grandchildren but not a wife or children. The author could never imagine that once his grandmother was young and pretty. He could not connect to this idea.
She used to tell him and his cousins about her childhood memories like the games she used to play as a child. They found these stories illogical and disrespectful because it was beyond their imagination to think that grandmother was once a child and played such games. 
They thought that her life’s stories were like the other moral stories which she used to tell them.

She had always been short and fat and slightly bent. Her face was a criss-cross of wrinkles running from everywhere to everywhere. No, we were certain she had always been as we had known her. Old, so terribly old that she could not have grown older, and had stayed at the same age for twenty years. She could never have been pretty; but she was always beautiful. 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.

Word meaning

Criss- cross – a pattern of intersecting straight lines
Hobbled – walked in an awkward way.
Spotless white – she wore clean, white coloured dresses

Stoop – bend one’s body forward.
Rosary- a string of beads for keeping count of number of chants made of a religious prayer
Locks - hair
Scattered – disorganized
Untidily – not neat
Puckered – a face contract into wrinkles
Inaudible - unable to be heard
Serenity – the state of being peaceful and calm
an expanse of pure white serenity – refers to the calm, relaxed and peaceful character of the author’s grandmother
Contentment – a state of happiness and satisfaction.

Explanation : His grandmother was short, fat, slightly bent in posture and her face had lots of wrinkles. She seemed so old and she had been the same for the past twenty years. According to the author, she was beautiful but not pretty.
She walked around the house in an awkward way, wearing spotless white clothes with beads of the rosary hanging from one hand and the other hand rested on her back for support. She had silver-coloured hair which was not neatly combed and was disorganized. She was constantly chanting prayers. He compares her to the winter landscape in the mountains which has a peaceful and calm feel. She was a live example of a pure, white, peace – emitting entity.

My grandmother and I were good friends. My parents left me with her when they went to live in the city and we were constantly together. She used to wake me up in the morning and get me ready for school. She said her morning prayer in a monotonous sing-song while she bathed and dressed me in the hope that I would listen and get to know it by heart; I listened because I loved her voice but never bothered to learn it. Then she would fetch my wooden slate which she had already washed and plastered with yellow chalk, a tiny earthen ink-pot and a red pen, tie them all in a bundle and hand it to me.
After a breakfast of a thick, stale chapatti with a little butter and sugar spread on it, we went to school. She carried several stale chapattis with her for the village dogs.

Word meaning

Monotonous – dull and boring
Bothered - to be concerned
Fetch – go for and then bring back something for someone
Slate - a flat plate of slate formerly used for writing on in schools
Plastered - covered with a layer of plaster
Earthen - made of baked or fired clay
Stale -  no longer fresh and pleasant to eat; hard, musty, or dry.

Explanation : The author lived with her in the village. They were good friends. His parents left him with her to settle in the city. The author’s grandmother used to wake him up every morning and get him ready for school. She would recite her morning prayers while she bathed and dressed him up and he loved her voice but would not try to memorize a word of what she spoke. She would make his things ready like a wooden slate, a tiny earthen inkpot, and a red pen. He would eat a thick stale chapatti with butter and sugar spread on it. They both used to walk to school and his grandmother carried stale chapattis with her to feed the village dogs.

My grandmother always went to school with me because the school was attached to the temple. The priest taught us the alphabet and morning prayer. While the children sat in rows on either side of the verandah singing the alphabet or the prayer in a chorus, my grandmother sat inside reading the scriptures. When we had both finished, we would walk back together. This time the village dogs would meet us at the temple door. They followed us to our home growling and fighting with each other for the chapattis we threw to them. When my parents were comfortably settled in the city, they sent for us.
That was a turning-point in our friendship. Although we shared the same room, my grandmother no longer came to school with me. I used to go to an English school in a motor bus. There were no dogs in the streets and she took to feeding sparrows in the courtyard of our city house.

Word meaning

Scriptures – the sacred writings of a religion
Growling – making a low guttural sound in the throat
Courtyard - verandah

Explanation : His grandmother would accompany him to the school as the temple was attached to the school and she used to visit the temple daily. On one side, he would sit on the verandah with other children, would sing the alphabet and prayers in the chorus. On the other hand, she would sit in the temple to read the scriptures. After finishing, they would walk back home together.
The village dogs met them at the village door. They would follow them to their home, growling and fighting with each other for the stale chapatis that she fed them. When his parents got settled in the city, they called them. That was the turning point of his friendship with his grandmother. They shared the same room but she no longer would give him company to his school. He started going to an English medium school and a motor bus would come to pick and drop him. There were no dogs in the streets whom she could feed as she did in the village. So, she started feeding sparrows in the verandah of their house.

As the years rolled by we saw less of each other. For some time she continued to wake me up and get me ready for school. When I came back she would ask me what the teacher had taught me. I would tell her English words and little things of western science and learning, the law of gravity, Archimedes’ Principle, the world being round, etc. This made her unhappy. She could not help me with my lessons. She did not believe in the things they taught at the English school and was distressed that there was no teaching about God and the scriptures. One day I announced that we were being given music lessons. She was very disturbed. To her music had lewd associations. It was the monopoly of harlots and beggars and not meant for gentlefolk. She said nothing but her silence meant disapproval.
She rarely talked to me after that.

Word meaning

Years rolled by - time passed
Distressed – suffer from extremely sorrow, anxiety or pain
Lewd Association – Indecent or Obscene
Harlots – Prostitutes
Gentlefolk – People of noble birth

Explanation : As the years passed in the city, their interaction reduced. For some time, she continued to wake him up and would get him ready for school. She would ask him what he had learned in school that day. The scientific terminology and English words made her unhappy. As she didn’t know the language, she could not help him with the lessons. As his new school never taught him about God and religious scriptures, this made her sad. She did not approve of such an education. When she came to know that he was getting music lessons, it disturbed her. According to her, music was indecent and it was an art for the beggars and prostitutes, and not for those belonging to decent families. She didn’t like that he learned music, so, she stopped talking to him.

When I went up to University, I was given a room of my own. The common link of friendship was snapped. My grandmother accepted her seclusion with resignation. She rarely left her spinning-wheel to talk to anyone. From sunrise to sunset she sat by her wheel spinning and reciting prayers. Only in the afternoon she relaxed for a while to feed the sparrows. While she sat in the verandah breaking the bread into little bits, hundreds of little birds collected round her creating a veritable bedlam of chirruping. Some came and perched on her legs, others on her shoulders. Some even sat on her head. She smiled but never shooed them away. It used to be the happiest half-hour of the day for her.

Word meaning

Snapped -  break suddenly and completely
Seclusion – the state of being private and away from the people
accepted her seclusion with resignation - the grandmother accepted a lonely life as she accepted the separation from her grandson without objection
Spinning-wheel  – a household machine with a wheel attached to it for spinning yarn
A veritable bedlam of chirruping – refers to the noise and confusion caused by the chirruping of the sparrows
Veritable – use to describe something which is very interesting or unusual
Bedlam – confusion
Chirruping – the noise of a small bird
Perched – alight or rest on something
Shooed – make a person or animal go away by shouting or saying ‘shoo’

Explanation : As the author went to university, he had a room of his own. The common link of his friendship with his grandmother that they had when they shared the same room, was changed now and thus, his friendship with her ended. She became more private and spent her whole day spinning wheel. From sunrise to sunset, she would sit and silently recite her prayers. In the afternoon, she used to feed sparrows in the verandah. Breaking the bread into small pieces, she would feed hundreds of birds. The birds would gather around her, some sat near her, some on her legs, some on her shoulders and few on her head. She never shooed them, but always smiled. She was the happiest in that half an hour during the whole day.

When I decided to go abroad for further studies, I was sure my grandmother would be upset. I would be away for five years, and at her age one could never tell. But my grandmother could. She was not even sentimental. She came to leave me at the railway station but did not talk or show any emotion. Her lips moved in prayer, her mind was lost in prayer. Her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary. Silently she kissed my forehead, and when I left I cherished the moist imprint as perhaps the last sign of physical contact between us. But that was not so. After five years I came back home and was met by her at the station. She did not look a day older. She still had no time for words, and while she clasped me in her arms I could hear her reciting her prayers. Even on the first day of my arrival, her happiest moments were with her sparrows whom she fed longer and with frivolous rebukes.

Word meaning 

Sentimental – a feeling of nostalgia, sadness or tenderness; an emotional feeling
Beads – a small piece of glass or stone threaded with others to make a rosary or necklace
Cherished – hold something dear
Moist - wet
Imprint – impression or stamp
Clasped – hold tightly
Frivolous – not having any serious purpose, light-hearted
Rebuke – disapproval of something or someone
frivolous rebukes – light hearted scolding

Explanation : When the author decided to go abroad for further studies, he believed it would be the last time he would see her as he would be gone for five long years. As they all reached the station, she held him tightly and kissed his forehead. He thought it was the last physical contact with her. The wet impression of her hand was dear to him. She was not sentimental at all. When he came back after five years, she came to meet him at the station. She looked just the way she did five years ago, not a day older. She held him again in her arms and was still reciting her prayers.
He noticed on the first day of his arrival that only sparrows would make her happy.

In the evening a change came over her. She did not pray. She collected the women of the neighbourhood, got an old drum and started to sing. For several hours she thumped the sagging skins of the dilapidated drum and sang of the home-coming of warriors. We had to persuade her to stop to avoid overstraining. That was the first time since I had known her that she did not pray. The next morning she was taken ill. It was a mild fever and the doctor told us that it would go. But my grandmother thought differently. She told us that her end was near. She said that, since only a few hours before the close of the last chapter of her life she had omitted to pray, she was not going to waste any more time talking to us.

Word meaning

Thumped - hit
Sagging – sinking downwards
Dilapidated – in a state of despair or ruin
the sagging skins of the dilapidated drum - The loose surface of the worn out drum
Persuade – to talk someone into doing something
Overstraining - overdoing something
Omitted – leave out or exclude something

Explanation : An evening, she didn’t follow her regular routine of praying. She collected a few women from the neighbourhood, got a drum and started singing with them. She thumped the ruined part of the drum and sang along. The whole family persuaded her to stop as she might get ill due to exhaustion. The next morning, she fell ill. It was a mild fever. The doctors told them that it would go away but she took it differently. According to her, she would die soon as her end was near. She started chanting prayers as she didn’t want to waste her last hours in talking to anyone.

We protested. But she ignored our protests. She lay peacefully in bed praying and telling her beads. Even before we could suspect, her lips stopped moving and the rosary fell from her lifeless fingers. A peaceful pallor spread on her face and we knew that she was dead.

Word meaning 

Protested – express an objection against something or someone
Pallor – an unhealthy pale appearance

Explanation : The family protested, tried to stop her but she lay peacefully on her bed, chanting prayers and doing her beads. Suddenly, she stopped and the rosary fell from her lifeless fingers. A calm, pale appearance spread on her face and she was dead.

We lifted her off the bed and, as is customary, laid her on the ground and covered her with a red shroud. After a few hours of mourning we left her alone to make arrangements for her funeral. In the evening we went to her room with a crude stretcher to take her to be cremated. The sun was setting and had lit her room and verandah with a blaze of golden light. We stopped half-way in the courtyard.
All over the verandah and in her room right up to where she lay dead and stiff wrapped in the red shroud, thousands of sparrows sat scattered on the floor. There was no chirruping. We felt sorry for the birds and my mother fetched some bread for them. She broke it into little crumbs, the way my grandmother used to, and threw it to them. The sparrows took no notice of the bread. When we carried my grandmother’s corpse off, they flew away quietly. Next morning the sweeper swept the bread crumbs into the dustbin.

Word meaning 

Customary – traditional
Crude – in a natural state, roughly made
Cremated – dispose of or burn a body after it is dead
Blaze – a very large burning fire
Shroud – a piece of cloth used to wrap a dead person
Corpse - dead body

Explanation : The family lifted her from the bed, laid her on the ground and wrapped her with a red- coloured cloth. Thousands of sparrows sat silently near her. The author’s mother fetched some bread for the birds but they didn’t eat any. They flew away later as the family carried the dead body. The sweeper removed the crumbs the next morning. The birds were so sensitive. They did not want to eat bread but were mourning the death of the one who had fed them for so many days.