The Portrait of a Lady Class 11 Questions with Answers- In the chapter, The Portrait of a Lady Class 11 students will discover how the author skillfully portrays his grandmother through the art of penmanship. The author endeavours to depict the profound bond he shares with his grandmother by recounting her physical appearance and daily routines.
Through the author’s eloquent use of metaphors such as “young” and “pretty,” readers gain a deeper understanding of the grandmother’s remarkable beauty. The author sheds light on their early years spent together in the village, highlighting how their lives took different paths when he moved to the city, thereby becoming a pivotal moment in their relationship. A total of 18 questions are provided for students to explore further
Table of Contents
The Portrait of a Lady Class 11 Questions with Answers
Understanding the Text
Directions:- Write The Portrait of a Lady Class 11 Questions with Answers in about 30-40 words each.
Q.1. The three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before lie left the country to study abroad. (The Portrait of a Lady Class 11 Questions with Answers)
Ans: The three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad are as follows:
- In Village House– when they lived in the village house, his grandmother helped him to get ready and come to school with him.
- In the City – when they shifted to the city, the author started going to school on a bus. Although He shared a room with his grandmother, she could not help him in his studies. The grandmother started praying and feeding sparrows in her free time.
- University life – when the author started going to the university he was given a separate room. The common link of friendship was snapped. The grandmother spent most of the time in spinning, praying, and feeding the sparrows
Q.2 Three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the city school. (The Portrait of a Lady Class 11 Questions with Answers)
Ans: The three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the city school are as follows:
- No religious teaching- There was no teaching about god and the scriptures in that school of the city.
- She was unable to help in the author’s studies- when they levied in the village grandmother helped him in his studies, but here in the city school she was unable to help him.
- Teachings of Music- When grandmother came to know that music was taught in the school she got disturbed. She believed that music is made for beggars and harlots.
Q.3 Three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up. (Important) (The Portrait of a Lady Class 11 Questions with Answers)
Ans:- The three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up are:
- Spinning– When the author was given his separate room she started spinning. She had been doing her spinning work all day.
- Praying– Her lips always moved in the inaudible prayer of god and her hands were busy in telling beads of rosary.
- Feeding the Sparrow- In the village, she used to feed stale chapati to the street dogs, but in the city house she started feeding sparrows in the afternoon, she fed them with frivolous rebukes.
Q.4. The odd ways in which the author’s grandmother behaved just before she died. (The Portrait of a Lady Class 11 Questions with Answers)
Ans: Just before her death, the author’s grandmother behaved in odd ways, In the evening she did not pray, gathered the women of the neighbourhood, and started beating a broken drum and singing about the return of the warrior to home, the next day she fell ill, she said that her end is near now, she refused to talk to us and she ignored our protests. She was peacefully lying on the bed praying and chanting the rosary.
Q.5- The way in which the sparrows expressed their Sorrow when the author’s grandmother died. (The Portrait of a Lady Class 11 Questions with Answers)
Ans:- The dead body of the grandmother was lying wrapped in a red shroud and the sparrows gathered around the grandmother’s corpse. They stopped Chirping as if they were paying a silent tribute to her.
The sparrows took no notice of the breadcrumbs which were offered to them by the Author’s mother. When grandmother’s dead body had been taken off they flew away quietly.
The Portrait of a Lady Class 11 Questions with Answers- Long Type
(The Portrait of a Lady Class 11 Questions with Answers)
Talking about the Text
Directions:- Write The Portrait of a Lady Class 11 Questions with Answers in about 60-70 words each.
Q.1. The author’s grandmother was a religious Person. What are the different ways in which We come to know this? (The Portrait of a Lady Class 11 Questions with Answers)
Ans:- While reading the chapter, we can undoubtedly say that the author’s grandmother was a religious person. Her Fingers were always busy telling the beads of the rosary, and her lips continuously moved in inaudible Prayer. When she lived in Village, she went to the temple daily and carried stale Chapatis for street dogs. She also read the Scriptures. And when they shifted to the city house, His grandmother started feeding sparrows. At the end of her life, she did not waste her last moments talking to anyone. She died praying and telling her beads.
Q.2 Describe the changing relationship between the author and his grandmother. Did their feelings for each other change?
Ans:-The author’s Parents left him with his grandmother in the village house. They lived together all the time and became the best friends. She used to wake him up in the morning and get him ready for school.
After some time when the author’s parents were comfortably settled in the city, they sent for them. That was the turning point in their relationship.
Now She did not go to school with her grandson She also did not like the study that was taught in the city school.
When the author Started going to university for higher study, he was given a separate room.
In Conclusion. The change in the relationship came only because of the Changing circumstances, But their feelings for each other never changed.
Q.3. Would you agree that the author’s grandmother was a person strong in Character? If yes, give instances that show this.
Ans:- Yes, the author’s grandmother was a person of strong character, She strongly believed in God and used to read scriptures. But when She come to know that things were not going her way. She accepted the situation without any questions.
She came to know like an actual religious soul that her end was near and she accepted her death as quietly as she had been accepting other changes taking place about her.
Q-4 Have you known Someone like the author’s grandmother? Do you feel the same sense of loss with regard to someone whom you loved and lost?
Ans:- Yes, While reading this story I remind of my own grandmother. She was also very old and wrinkled as the author’s grandmother. I spent a lot of happy time with my grandmother. She was very possessive and protective of me. She used to tell me a bedtime story. She did all my work like serving food for me and getting me ready for school. She believed in hard work and taught us the lesson of hard work too. When I was 30 years old, she, after a brief illness, joined the majority. we still miss her a lot, our childhoods would have been colourless and tasteless if she had not been there.
Thinking About Language
Directions:- Write The Portrait of a Lady Class 11 Questions with Answers in about 15-20 words each.
Q.1 Which language do you think the author and his grandmother used while talking to each other?
Ans– The author, Khushwant Singh, belongs to The Punjab. So It is sure that the author and his grandmother used to talk in their mother tongue—in this case, Panjabi.
Q.2. Which language do you use to talk to elderly relatives in your family? (The Portrait of a Lady Class 11 Questions with Answers)
Ans:-I also belong to a Punjabi Family, so I use Punjabi to talk to elderly relatives in my family.
Q.3. What is the expression used in your language for a ‘dilapidated drum’? (The Portrait of a Lady Class 11 Questions with Answers)
Ans:- I would say in my language ‘Phata-Purana dholak.’
Q.4. Can you think of a song or poem in your language that talks of homecoming?
Ans:- “O ghar aaja pardeshi, O teri meri ik jindri”
Working with Words
I. Notice the following uses of the word ‘tell’ in the essay:
- Her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary.
- I would tell her English words and little things about Western Science and learning.
- At her age, one could never tell.
- She told us that her end was near.
Given below are four different senses of the word ‘tell’. Match the meaning to the uses listed above. (The Portrait of a Lady Class 11)
(a) make something known to someone in spoken or written words
(b) count while reciting
(c) be sure
(d) give information to somebody.
Ans:
1. Her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary = Count while reciting.
2. I would tell her English words and little things about Western science and learning. = Give information to somebody.
3. At her age one could never tell = be sure.
4. She told us that her end was near = make something known to someone in spoken or written words
II. Notice the different senses of the word ‘take’:
- to take to something = to begin to do something as a habit
- to take ill = suddenly become ill
Locate these phrases in the text and notice the way they are used.
Ans. 1. to take to something = She took to feeding sparrows in the courtyard of our city house.
Ans. 2. to take ill = The next morning she was taken ill.
III. The word ‘hobble’ means to walk with difficulty because the legs and feet are in bad condition. Tick the words in the box below that also refer to a manner of walking.
| haggle | shuffle | stride | ride | waddle |
| wriggle | paddle | swagger | trudge | slog |
Ans. The words referring to a manner of walking are:- shuffle, stride, waddle, paddle, swagger, trudge, slog.
IV. Notice these expressions in the text. Infer their meaning from the context
| 1. the thought was almost revolting |
| 2. an expanse of pure white serenity |
| 3. a turning point |
| 4. accepted her seclusion with resignation |
| 5. a veritable bedlam of chirrupings |
| 6. frivolous rebukes |
| 7. the sagging skins of the dilapidated drum |
Ans:
- the thought was almost revolting: It was disgusting to think so.
- an expanse of pure white serenity: widespread clear and calm whiteness.
- a turning point: the time when an important change takes place.
- accepted her seclusion with resignation: calmly submitted to her loneliness.
- a veritable bedlam of chirrupings: real confusing noise caused by chirping.
- frivolous rebukes: light rebukes
- the sagging skins of the dilapidated drum: the loose skin of an old drum.
Read- The Portrait Of A Lady Class 11 Summary
Read- Text Of The Chapter