Hornbill | NCERT The Portrait of A Lady Class 11 Questions With Answers Solved | Ultimate Guide 2025 With the new syllabus, it is essential for young learners to build a strong foundation in the subject, and CBSE Class 11 English Solutions, Understanding the Chapter thoroughly, helps students grasp key concepts, improve comprehension, and perform well in exams. Also, we provide The Portrait of a Lady Question Answers and Class 11 English Sample Papers.
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The Portrait of A Lady Class 11 Questions With Answers Solved
The Portrait of A Lady Summary in English: (The Portrait of A Lady Class 11 Questions With Answers)
The narrator remembers his grandmother as always old, gentle and deeply religious. When he was a child she dressed him, woke him for school, and accompanied him to the little temple-school while she read scriptures and fed village dogs. After the family moved to the city their routines changed: he went to an English school and later to university, and gradually they drifted apart. The grandmother lived a quiet life of prayer and spinning, and her happiest moments were feeding scores of sparrows in the courtyard.
When the narrator left for studies abroad, she kissed him silently. Five years later, she met him at the station just the same as before. That evening she broke her usual rhythm-she sang and beat a drum to celebrate his return. The next day she fell ill and died while praying. At her death thousands of sparrows filled her room; they paid no heed to the bread offered and flew away quietly when her body was taken away. The story gently highlights love between generations, simple rituals, and the small, poignant ironies of life.
The Portrait of A Lady Summary in Hindi: (The Portrait of A Lady Class 11 Questions With Answers)
कथावाचक अपनी दादी को हमेशा बूढ़ी, सौम्य और अत्यंत धार्मिक के रूप में याद करते हैं। जब वह बच्चे थे, तो दादी उन्हें कपड़े पहनाती थीं, स्कूल के लिए जगाती थीं और उनके साथ छोटे से मंदिर-विद्यालय जाती थीं, जहाँ वे स्वयं धर्मग्रंथ पढ़ती थीं और गाँव के कुत्तों को खाना खिलाती थीं। परिवार के शहर जाने के बाद उनकी दिनचर्या बदल गई: दादी एक अंग्रेजी स्कूल में गईं और बाद में विश्वविद्यालय गईं, और धीरे-धीरे वे अलग हो गए। दादी प्रार्थना और कताई का एक शांत जीवन जीती थीं, और उनके सबसे सुखद पल आँगन में सैकड़ों गौरैयों को दाना खिलाना होता था।
जब कथावाचक विदेश में पढ़ाई के लिए गए, तो उन्होंने उन्हें चुपचाप चूमा; पाँच साल बाद, स्टेशन पर उनकी मुलाक़ात पहले की तरह ही हुई। उस शाम उन्होंने अपनी सामान्य लय तोड़ दी – उन्होंने उनके लौटने का जश्न मनाने के लिए गीत गाए और ढोल बजाया। अगले दिन वे बीमार पड़ गईं और प्रार्थना करते हुए ही उनकी मृत्यु हो गई। उनकी मृत्यु पर हज़ारों गौरैयों ने उनके कमरे को भर दिया; उन्होंने दी जाने वाली रोटी पर ध्यान नहीं दिया और जब उनका शरीर ले जाया गया, तो वे चुपचाप उड़ गईं। कहानी पीढ़ियों के बीच प्रेम, सरल अनुष्ठानों और जीवन की छोटी-छोटी, मार्मिक विडंबनाओं को सहजता से उजागर करती है।
The Portrait of A Lady Summary in Bengali: (The Portrait of A Lady Class 11 Questions With Answers)
বর্ণনাকারী তার দাদীকে সবসময় বৃদ্ধ, ভদ্র এবং গভীর ধার্মিক হিসেবে স্মরণ করেন। যখন তিনি ছোট ছিলেন, তখন তিনি তাকে পোশাক পরিয়ে দিতেন, স্কুলে জাগিয়ে তুলতেন এবং তার সাথে ছোট্ট মন্দির-স্কুলে যেতেন, যেখানে তিনি ধর্মগ্রন্থ পড়তেন এবং গ্রামের কুকুরদের খাওয়াতেন। পরিবারটি শহরে চলে আসার পর তাদের রুটিন বদলে যেত: তিনি একটি ইংরেজি স্কুলে এবং পরে বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ে পড়তেন, এবং ধীরে ধীরে তারা আলাদা হয়ে যেতেন। দাদী প্রার্থনা এবং ঘুরতে ঘুরতে শান্ত জীবনযাপন করতেন এবং তার সবচেয়ে সুখের মুহূর্ত ছিল উঠোনে অসংখ্য চড়ুই পাখিকে খাওয়ানো।
বর্ণনাকারী যখন বিদেশে পড়াশোনার জন্য রওনা হন, তখন তিনি তাকে নীরবে চুম্বন করতেন; পাঁচ বছর পরে তিনি স্টেশনে তার সাথে আগের মতোই দেখা করেন। সেই সন্ধ্যায় তিনি তার স্বাভাবিক ছন্দ ভেঙে ফেলেন – তিনি গান গেয়েছিলেন এবং ঢোল বাজিয়ে তার প্রত্যাবর্তন উদযাপন করেছিলেন। পরের দিন তিনি অসুস্থ হয়ে পড়েন এবং প্রার্থনা করার সময় মারা যান। তার মৃত্যুতে হাজার হাজার চড়ুই তার ঘর ভরে যায়; তারা দেওয়া রুটির প্রতি কোন মনোযোগ দেয়নি এবং যখন তার মৃতদেহ নিয়ে যাওয়া হয় তখন তারা চুপচাপ উড়ে যায়। গল্পটি প্রজন্মের মধ্যে প্রেম, সহজ আচার-অনুষ্ঠান এবং জীবনের ছোট, মর্মস্পর্শী বিড়ম্বনাগুলিকে আলতো করে তুলে ধরে।
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Understanding the text (The Portrait of A Lady Class 11 Questions With Answers)
1. The three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad.
Answer: The three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad are:
- Childhood in the village: They were good friends. She woke him, got him ready for school, went with him to the temple-school, and fed the dogs.
- Boyhood in the city: Their closeness snapped. He went to an English school by bus, she stayed at home feeding sparrows and disapproved of English education and music lessons.
- Early youth (university days): The last link broke. He had a separate room, and she accepted seclusion, spinning and praying and feeding sparrows.
2. Three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the city school.
Answer: The three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the city school are:
- She could not help him with his lessons in English and Science.
- There was no teaching about God and the scriptures.
- He was given music lessons, which she thought were lewd and meant only for harlots and beggars.
3. Three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up.
Answer: After the author grew up, his grandmother spent her days in three ways:
- Sitting by her spinning-wheel, spinning and reciting prayers.
- Feeding the sparrows in the courtyard.
- Living quietly in seclusion, rarely talking to anyone.
4. The odd way in which the author’s grandmother behaved just before she died.
Answer:
Just before she died, the author’s grandmother behaved oddly by stopping her prayers. Instead, she collected the women of the neighborhood, got an old drum, and sang songs of the homecoming of warriors for several hours. This was the first time she did not pray.
5. The way in which the sparrows expressed their sorrow when the author’s grandmother died.
Answer:
When the author’s grandmother died, thousands of sparrows sat quietly in and around the house. They did not chirrup, nor did they make any noise. Even when food was offered, they took no notice and flew away silently the next morning.
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Talking about the text (The Portrait of A Lady Class 11 Questions With Answers)
Talk to your partner about the following.
1. The author’s grandmother was a religious person. What are the different ways in which we come to know this?
Answer: The author’s grandmother was a deeply religious lady. We come to know this through the different ways of her behavior.
- She always told the beads of her rosary and her lips constantly moved in prayer.
- She recited prayers while waking and dressing the author for school.
- In the village, she read scriptures while he studied at the temple-school.
- She disliked that the city school taught no religious subjects or scriptures.
- She spent most of her later life spinning and praying.
- Just before her death, she chose to pray continuously instead of talking to her family.
2. Describe the changing relationship between the author and his grandmother. Did their feelings for each other change?
Answer:
The relationship between the author and his grandmother changed gradually with time. In the village, they were very close companions; she looked after him, took him to the temple-school, and spent all her time with him. When they moved to the city, their closeness lessened as he went to an English school by bus, while she stayed at home feeding sparrows.
She could not help him with his studies and was unhappy about the absence of religious teaching and the introduction of music lessons. Later, when he went to university and was given a separate room, the last link of companionship broke, and she spent her days spinning, praying, and feeding sparrows. However, in spite of these changes, their love and feelings for each other remained the same.
3. Would you agree that the author’s grandmother was a person strong in character? If yes, give instances that show this.
Answer:
Yes, the author’s grandmother was a person strong in character. She lived a disciplined and religious life, always praying and telling her beads. When the author went to an English school, she silently disapproved of Western education and music but never complained or forced her views on him. She accepted her seclusion with dignity when he went to university and engaged herself in spinning and feeding sparrows. Even at the time of parting, when he went abroad, she showed no emotion and kept praying. Before her death too, she faced it calmly, choosing to spend her last hours in prayer rather than talking to the family. These instances show her strength, self-control, and firm character.
4. Have you known someone like the author’s grandmother? Do you feel the same sense of loss with regard to someone whom you have loved and lost?
Answer:
Yes, I have known someone like the author’s grandmother. (Here you can mention your own person, e.g., a grandparent or elder.) Like her, that person was simple, loving, disciplined, and always praying or helping others. When they passed away, I felt the same deep sense of loss as the author did for his grandmother – a quiet emptiness and sadness because someone who had been a constant source of love and care was no longer there.
Thinking about language (The Portrait of A Lady Class 11 Questions With Answers)
1. Which language do you think the author and his grandmother used while talking to each other?
Answer:
The author’s grandmother was not much educated. So, I think the author and his grandmother used to talk in their mother tongue-in this case Panjabi.
2. Which language do you use to talk to elderly relatives in your family?
Answer:
My elderly relatives are well versed in English and Hindi. I feel at home greeting them in English but like to converse with them freely in Hindi.
3. How would you say ‘a dilapidated drum’ in your language?
Answer: A dilapidated drum’ can be said in different languages as:
- Hindi: एक जर्जर ढोल (Ek Jarjar Dhol)
- Bengali: একটি ভাঙা ঢোল (Ekti Bhanga Dhol)
4. Can you think of a song or a poem in your language that talks of homecoming?
Answer:
Yes, in Hindi, the song “आओ हम सब मिलकर घर लौटें” (Aao Hum Sab Milkar Ghar Lauten) talks about the joy of returning home.
Working with words (The Portrait of A Lady Class 11 Questions With Answers)
I. Notice the following uses of the word ‘tell’ in the text.
- Her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary.
- I would tell her English words and little things of 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 meanings to the uses listed above.
- make something known to someone in spoken or written words
- count while reciting
- be sure
- give information to somebody
Answer:
- Her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary. -> count while reciting
- I would tell her English words and little things of Western science and learning. -> make something known to someone in spoken or written words
- At her age one could never tell. -> be sure
- She told us that her end was near. -> give information to somebody
| Phrases | Meanig |
|---|---|
| 1. telling the beads | (2) Count while reciting |
| 2. tell her | (4) give einformation to somebody |
| 3. one could never tell | (3) be sure |
| 4. told us | (1) 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: to suddenly become ill
Locate these phrases in the text and notice the way they are used.
Answer: In the text, these phases are used to under:
- to take to: She took to feeding sparrows in the courtyard of our city house.
- 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.
Answer: The words referring to manner of working are:
Suffle, stride, waddle, swagger, trudge, slog.
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The Portrait of A Lady Class 11 Questions With Answers
Working with words (The Portrait of A Lady Class 11 Questions With Answers)
Notice the form of the verbs italicised in these sentences.
- My 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.
- When we both had finished we would walk back together.
- When I came back she would ask me what the teacher had taught me.
- It was the first time since I had known her that she did not pray.
- The sun was setting and had lit her room and verandah with a golden
light.
These are examples of the past perfect forms of verbs. When we recount things in the distant past we use this form.
Answer: Here I have prepeared some examples for practices:
- We understood the poem only when the teacher had explained it twice.
- When the rain came, they had already reached their hotel.
- We had worked together on that project for six months before she left me.
- It was the first time since I had lived there that it began to snow.
- The full moon was in the sky and had scattered its soft fight all around.
Things to do (The Portrait of A Lady Class 11 Questions With Answers)
Talk with your family members about elderly people who you have been intimately connected with and who are not there with you now. Write a short description of someone you liked a lot.
My Grandfather
I remember my grandmother very closely. She was a simple woman who spent most of her time praying and looking after the family. Every morning she would wake me up and sit beside me while I got ready for school. In the evenings, she told me stories from old times, which I always enjoyed listening to. She never spoke loudly, but her words carried love and care. After her death, the house felt empty. Even today, whenever I see sparrows in the courtyard, I am reminded of her and the quiet strength she had.
The Portrait of a Lady Short Answer Type Questions
The Portrait of A Lady Extra Questions And Answers
Question 1:
Who is the author of the story “The Portrait of a Lady”?
Answer: Khushwant Singh.
Question 2:
How does the author describe his grandmother in the beginning?
Answer: As an old, wrinkled, short, fat, and slightly bent woman.
Question 3:
What did people say about the grandmother in her younger days?
Answer: That she was once young and pretty and had even had a husband.
Question 4:
How did the author’s grandmother look?
Answer: She had silver hair, a wrinkled face, and moved about in spotless white clothes.
Question 5:
What was the narrator’s relationship with his grandmother during childhood?
Answer: They were good friends and constant companions.
Question 6:
What did the grandmother do while the narrator got ready for school?
Answer: She sang her morning prayers in a monotonous sing-song voice.
Question 7:
What did the grandmother carry to school?
Answer: Several stale chapattis for the village dogs.
Question 8:
Where was the narrator’s village school situated?
Answer: It was attached to a temple.
Question 9:
What did the grandmother do while the narrator studied at the temple-school?
Answer: She sat inside and read the scriptures.
Question 10:
What made the grandmother unhappy about the city school?
Answer: There was no teaching about God and scriptures.
Question 11:
Why was the grandmother disturbed when the narrator was given music lessons?
Answer: She thought music was for harlots and beggars, not for gentlefolk.
Question 12:
What was the turning point in the friendship between the author and his grandmother?
Answer: Moving from the village to the city.
Question 13:
How did the grandmother spend her time after the narrator went to university?
Answer: She spun the wheel, prayed, and fed sparrows.
Question 14:
What was the happiest half-hour of the grandmother’s day?
Answer: Feeding the sparrows in the courtyard.
Question 15:
How did the grandmother react when the narrator left for abroad?
Answer: She was silent, prayed continuously, and kissed his forehead.
Question 16:
How did the grandmother celebrate the author’s return from abroad?
Answer: She sang songs with women of the neighborhood and beat an old drum.
Question 17:
What unusual thing did the grandmother do on the evening before her death?
Answer: She stopped praying and sang songs of home-coming of warriors.
Question 18:
How did the grandmother spend her last few hours?
Answer: She lay in bed praying and telling her beads until she passed away.
Question 19:
How did the sparrows mourn the grandmother’s death?
Answer: They sat quietly in and around the house without chirruping and flew away silently the next morning.
Question 20:
What is the central theme of the story?
Answer: The deep bond between a grandson and grandmother, along with the values of love, faith, and acceptance of life and death.
The Portrait of A Lady Class 11 Questions With Answers
The Portrait of A Lady Extra Questions And Answers (2 marks)
Question 1:
How does the author describe his grandmother in the beginning of the story?
Answer: He describes her as an old, wrinkled, short, fat, and slightly bent woman, dressed in spotless white, with silver hair and a rosary in her hands.
Question 2:
What was the grandmother’s routine in the village?
Answer: She woke the author, got him ready, took him to the temple-school, read scriptures, and fed the village dogs with stale chapattis.
Question 3:
Why was the grandmother unhappy with the city school?
Answer: Because it did not teach about God and scriptures, and instead focused on English and science.
Question 4:
Why did the grandmother disapprove of music lessons?
Answer: She believed music was associated with harlots and beggars, not with gentlefolk.
Question 5:
What was the turning point in the author’s friendship with his grandmother?
Answer: The shift from the village to the city, where their closeness began to fade.
Question 6:
How did the grandmother spend her time when the author went to university?
Answer: She lived in seclusion, spinning, praying, and feeding sparrows.
Question 7:
What was the happiest half-hour of the grandmother’s day?
Answer: Feeding hundreds of sparrows in the courtyard.
Question 8:
How did the grandmother behave when the author left for abroad?
Answer: She showed no emotion, kept praying silently, and kissed his forehead.
Question 9:
What unusual thing did the grandmother do the evening before her death?
Answer: She stopped praying and sang songs with an old drum to celebrate the author’s homecoming.
Question 10:
How did the sparrows express grief at the grandmother’s death?
Answer: They sat quietly in and around the house, made no noise, refused food, and flew away silently the next morning.
The Portrait of A Lady Class 11 Questions With Answers
The Portrait of A Lady Long Answer Type Questions (5 marks)
Question 1:
Describe the three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he left for abroad.
Answer:
In the village, they were constant companions – she woke him up, got him ready, went with him to the temple-school, and fed dogs on the way. In the city, the bond weakened; he went to an English school, she could not help in his studies, and she disapproved of English education and music lessons. At university, the last link snapped; he got a separate room and she accepted seclusion, spending her time spinning, praying, and feeding sparrows.
Question 2:
How does the author describe his grandmother’s physical appearance and daily routine?
Answer:
The grandmother was old, wrinkled, short, fat, and slightly bent. She wore spotless white clothes, had untidy silver locks, and always carried a rosary in her hands. Her lips constantly moved in inaudible prayer. She spent her day praying, spinning at the wheel, and feeding sparrows. Her life was disciplined, simple, and peaceful.
Question 3:
How does the author describe his grandmother’s physical appearance and daily routine?
Answer:
The grandmother disliked English education because it did not teach about God and scriptures. She was unhappy that the narrator studied science, the law of gravity, and Archimedes’ Principle, which she could neither understand nor approve of. She strongly disapproved of music lessons, as she associated music with harlots and beggars, not with respectable people.
Question 4:
Describe the role of sparrows in the story. How did they react to the grandmother’s death?
Answer:
Sparrows symbolized the grandmother’s peaceful nature. She fed them daily in the courtyard, and hundreds of sparrows surrounded her, sitting on her shoulders and head without fear. At her death, thousands of sparrows sat quietly in and around the house. They did not chirrup or eat food and mourned silently. The next morning, they flew away, expressing their grief in their own way.
Question 5:
The story “The Portrait of a Lady” is a tribute to the author’s grandmother. Discuss.
Answer:
The story reflects the author’s deep love and respect for his grandmother. He remembers her as a religious, caring, and disciplined woman who shaped his childhood. Her selfless service, quiet dignity, disapproval of meaningless modernity, and peaceful acceptance of death show her strength of character. The sparrows mourning her death highlights the purity and depth of her soul. The narrative is a heartfelt tribute to a grandmother who lived with simplicity and left behind eternal memories.
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