THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY

By Khushwant Singh

Submitted By:
Pranshu Panav
Class XI - L
 Roll No. 29

Certi cate

This is to certify that Pranshu Panav, a student of

Class XI L, has successfully completed the
project on the topic The Portrait of a Lady as
part of the internal assessment for the academic
session 2024-25. The project has been
completed under the guidance of Aanchal Mam,
and it re ects the original work of the student.

Signature of the Student: _________

Signature of the Teacher: _________
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Date: _________
Acknowledgement

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my

English teacher, Aanchal Mam, for guiding me
throughout the preparation of this project. Her
invaluable suggestions and continuous support have
made it possible for me to complete this project
successfully.

I would also like to extend my heartfelt thanks to my

family and friends, whose encouragement helped me
stay focused and motivated during the process of
research and compilation.

Finally, I acknowledge the textbook Hornbill, and other

references which provided essential material for this
project.

Pranshu Panav
XI L
Index

1. Introduction to the Chapter — Page 5

2. Summary of The Portrait of a Lady — Page
7
3. Character Analysis — Page 10
• Grandmother
• The Narrator
4. Themes in the Story — Page 12
5. Literary Devices — Page 14
6. Important Quotes and their Analysis —
Page 16
7. Conclusion — Page 18
8. Bibliography — Page 19
Introduction to the Chapter

The Portrait of a Lady is one of the most evocative

and heartwarming stories written by Khushwant
Singh. It is a personal account of the author’s
relationship with his grandmother, offering a detailed
portrayal of her in uence on him, her lifestyle, and her
eventual death. The story, though rooted in the
author’s personal experiences, touches upon
universal themes such as familial bonds, aging,
spirituality, and the inevitability of death.

Khushwant Singh, renowned for his storytelling, brings

out the emotions of a typical Indian household with an
elderly grandparent at its center. His descriptions of
the grandmother, her habits, and their changing
relationship over time provide readers with a relatable
experience.

In this chapter, Singh re ects not just on the physical

aspects of his grandmother’s life but also on her
deeper connection with spirituality, tradition, and how
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their once inseparable bond changed over time due to
modernization.

The story has a strong nostalgic undertone and

captures the essence of the author’s childhood
memories with poetic simplicity.
Summary of The Portrait of a Lady

The story begins with the author narrating his early

years when he lived with his grandmother in the
village. His parents had moved to the city, and he was
raised by his grandmother. The grandmother,
described as short, fat, and slightly bent, had a serene
and spiritual aura about her. She spent most of her
time in prayer and took an active role in the author’s
early education. She was deeply rooted in religious
beliefs, and her life was simple and monotonous.

The author recalls how they were always together in

the village. She would wake him up, help him get
ready, and accompany him to school. The school was
attached to a temple, where she would sit and read
scriptures while he attended his classes. Their routine
was peaceful and predictable.

However, things began to change when they moved to

the city. The author was admitted to an English-
medium school, and the subjects he studied were
alien to his grandmother. She could no longer
accompany him to school, and her role in his life
began to diminish.

The grandmother disapproved of the subjects he

studied, especially when he learned about science,
the laws of gravity, and other topics that challenged
her traditional beliefs. The bond between them
weakened as their lives took different paths.

The biggest change came when the author went to

university. He got his own room, and their interactions
reduced even further. The grandmother’s role in his
life had diminished to the point where they barely
spent time together. She withdrew into her spiritual
world, constantly praying and feeding sparrows. She
seemed to be preparing herself for the end.

The story culminates in the grandmother’s death. Just

a day before her death, she spent hours singing
prayers, surrounded by a growing number of
sparrows, who seemed to sense her imminent
departure. After her death, these sparrows paid her a
silent tribute by refusing to eat the food offered to
them. They ew away, leaving the house in a somber
and respectful mood.

The story re ects the inevitability of life and death and

how relationships evolve with time and circumstances.
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 Character Analysis

1. The Grandmother
The grandmother is central to the story. She is
depicted as a symbol of traditional values and spiritual
strength. Physically, she is described as an elderly
woman who has aged with dignity. Her wrinkled face,
bent frame, and silver hair evoke an image of wisdom
and age.

Despite her physical appearance, the grandmother

exudes inner strength. She is deeply religious,
spending most of her time in prayer. Her daily routine
involves feeding the street dogs and later, the
sparrows, which re ects her compassion and simple
way of life. She has an unwavering faith in God and
religious rituals, which is in stark contrast to the
modern, scienti c education that her grandson
receives in the city.

As the narrator grows older, the grandmother’s

in uence over his life diminishes. However, she
remains a constant, unchanging gure, holding on to
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 her traditions and beliefs. Even as the bond between
them weakens, her love and concern for him remain,
albeit expressed in more subtle ways. Her death is
depicted as peaceful, as if she had been preparing for
it all along.

2. The Narrator (Khushwant Singh)

The narrator, Khushwant Singh himself, re ects on his
relationship with his grandmother from his childhood
to adulthood. Initially, he is completely dependent on
her, and their bond is incredibly strong. However, as
he grows older and moves away from his traditional
upbringing, he drifts apart from her.

Through his narration, we see his gradual realization

of how important his grandmother was in his life, even
when they no longer shared the same closeness. His
re ections are lled with a sense of guilt and nostalgia
for the time he could no longer give her.
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 Themes in the Story

1. The Changing Nature of Relationships

One of the central themes of The Portrait of a Lady is
how relationships evolve over time. The grandmother
and the narrator are inseparable during his childhood,
but as he grows older and his education takes him
away from the village, their relationship becomes
more distant. This re ects the inevitable changes in
family dynamics as children grow up and move on.
2. The Clash Between Tradition and Modernity
The story also highlights the con ict between tradition
and modernity. The grandmother represents the
traditional, religious, and rural life, while the narrator’s
English education represents the modern, scienti c,
and urban world. This clash creates a distance
between them, as the grandmother cannot relate to or
understand his new life in the city.
3. Spirituality and Old Age
The grandmother’s life is deeply spiritual. Her days
are lled with prayer, and even in her old age, she
continues to hold on to her faith. As she grows older
and more isolated, her spirituality becomes her source
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of strength and peace, helping her accept the
inevitable reality of death.
4. Life and Death
The story subtly explores the theme of life and death.
The grandmother’s death is presented as peaceful
and inevitable.
She seems to have been preparing for it through her
prayers and simple life. The sparrows’ silent tribute to
her after her death symbolizes the peaceful
acceptance of her passing.
Literary Devices

1. Imagery
Khushwant Singh uses vivid imagery to describe the
grandmother. The descriptions of her “puckered face,”
her “trembling ngers,” and her “white, spotless
clothes” create a vivid image of an elderly woman.
Similarly, the imagery of the sparrows sitting silently
after her death adds an emotional depth to the scene.
2. Symbolism
The grandmother herself is a symbol of tradition,
spirituality, and the past. The sparrows, which gather
around her in her nal days, symbolize her connection
to nature and her peaceful acceptance of death.
3. Simile
The author uses similes to enhance the descriptions,
such as when he describes his grandmother’s face as
“a crisscross of wrinkles running from everywhere to
everywhere, as though it was a spread of crumpled
paper.”
4. Personi cation
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The sparrows are personi ed in the way they pay
tribute to the grandmother after her death. They seem
to understand the signi cance of her passing and
silently mourn her death, refusing to eat the crumbs
offered to them.
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Important Quotes and Their Analysis

1. “She was like the winter landscape in the

mountains, an expanse of pure white serenity,
breathing peace and contentment.”
This quote beautifully captures the grandmother’s
peaceful and spiritual nature. The comparison to a
winter landscape emphasizes her calmness, her age,
and the purity of her spirit. The imagery of “pure white
serenity” also connects to her physical appearance
with her silver hair and her spiritual calmness as she
accepts the passage of time.

2. “It was the rst time since I had known her that
she did not pray.”
This quote occurs right before the grandmother’s
death, marking a signi cant change in her behavior.
Throughout her life, the grandmother’s devotion to
prayer was unwavering, symbolizing her connection
to spirituality and God. The moment she stops
praying signi es her readiness to leave the world,
having made peace with her impending death.
3. “The sparrows scattered on the oor, perched
on the parapets, sat silently around her.”
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The silence of the sparrows at the grandmother’s
death is a poignant and symbolic moment. The
sparrows, which were accustomed to her presence
and kindness, seem to mourn her in their own way.
Their refusal to eat the crumbs offered by the
narrator’s family is a subtle tribute to her passing,
emphasizing the deep bond she shared with
nature.
4. “She was so old that she could not have grown
older, and had, to the best of my knowledge,
always been old.”
This quote captures the narrator’s perception of his
grandmother as timeless. To him, she was a
constant, never changing, always there. It
highlights the generational gap between them but
also re ects the timelessness of her wisdom and
presence.
5. “I would come back to her only when she had
fed the sparrows.”
This shows how the grandmother’s life had come to
revolve around her simple, spiritual routines. Even
after the narrator moved away emotionally, she
remained connected to the simple joys of life, like
feeding the sparrows, which represented her
compassion and bond with nature.
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Conclusion

The Portrait of a Lady by Khushwant Singh is a deeply

emotional and nostalgic piece that captures the
essence of familial relationships, especially between
grandparents and grandchildren.

The grandmother symbolizes a bygone era of

traditional values, spiritual depth, and an unchanging
routine, while the narrator’s journey represents the
inevitable transition from the simplicity of childhood to
the complexities of modern life. Their relationship
serves as a metaphor for the changing dynamics
within families as the younger generation moves away
from the customs and beliefs of the older one.

The story also beautifully touches upon themes of life,

death, and the spiritual calmness that accompanies
old age. The portrayal of the grandmother’s peaceful
death, surrounded by the silent tribute of the
sparrows, leaves readers with a sense of quiet
reverence for the natural cycle of life.

Through this project, we gain a deeper understanding

of how literature re ects the intricacies of human
relationships, particularly the bond between
grandparents and grandchildren, which often goes
through signi cant changes as time progresses.
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Bibliography

1. Singh, Khushwant. The Portrait of a Lady. Hornbill,

NCERT, 2020.
2. “The Portrait of a Lady Summary & Analysis.” Literary
Devices, Shaala.com.
3. Various class notes and supplementary study materials.