NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English (Hornbill) Chapter 1 – The Portrait of a Lady (Khushwant Singh) (NCERT 2026–27)

Complete solutions for Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 1 – “The Portrait of a Lady” by Khushwant Singh: an original summary, theme and message, word meanings, and every textbook exercise answered in full exam-ready prose. We reproduce the NCERT question headings exactly – Understanding the text, Talking about the text, Thinking about language, Working with words, Noticing form and Things to do – and answer each one. Extra short and long questions, 10 MCQs with key, and 5 Assertion–Reason items round off the chapter for board and competitive practice.

Class: 11 Subject: English Book: Hornbill Type: Prose (Chapter 1) Author: Khushwant Singh Session: 2026–27
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About the author

Khushwant Singh (1915–2014) was one of India’s best-known writers, journalists and columnists, born in Hadali (now in Pakistan). Trained as a lawyer, he turned to writing and became famous for his honest, witty and unsentimental prose. His celebrated works include the novel Train to Pakistan, The History of the Sikhs, and a long-running newspaper column “With Malice towards One and All”. He was known for his sharp humour, plain style and a clear-eyed yet tender way of writing about people. “The Portrait of a Lady” is an autobiographical sketch in which he remembers his grandmother with deep affection, capturing her faith, simplicity and quiet strength.

Summary

“The Portrait of a Lady” is Khushwant Singh’s tender recollection of his grandmother and of the way their close bond changed over time. To the author, his grandmother seemed to have always been old, short, fat and slightly bent, with a wrinkled face and silver hair, forever moving her lips in prayer. Though she could never be called pretty, the writer found her truly beautiful – serene and peaceful like a winter landscape in the mountains.

In the village, the two were inseparable. She woke him, bathed him, prepared his wooden slate, and walked him to the temple school, where he learnt the alphabet and prayers while she read the scriptures. On the way back they fed chapattis to the village dogs. This happy companionship marked the first phase of their friendship.

When the family moved to the city, a turning-point came. The grandmother could no longer go to the English school with him, and she now fed sparrows in the courtyard instead of the dogs. As the boy grew up and learnt Western science and music – subjects she disapproved of – they drifted apart and she withdrew into prayer and her spinning-wheel. When he went to university and later abroad for five years, the link of friendship was almost snapped, yet she remained calm and unsentimental.

On his return she met him at the station, unchanged. That evening, oddly, she did not pray; instead she gathered neighbourhood women and sang of the homecoming of warriors, beating an old drum for hours. The next day she fell mildly ill, declared her end was near, and refused to waste her last hours talking. She died peacefully, telling her beads. As she lay wrapped in a red shroud, thousands of silent sparrows gathered around her and flew away only when her body was carried off – mourning, in their own way, the loss of the gentle lady who had loved them.

Theme & message

The central theme is the warm, evolving relationship between the author and his grandmother, and the gentle erosion of that closeness as modern, urban, Western-style education replaces the simple village world they once shared. The story celebrates love, faith, simplicity and quiet inner strength, while gently noting the cultural distance that modern life creates between generations. The grandmother stands for traditional Indian values – deep religious faith, contentment, self-discipline and compassion (her kindness to dogs and sparrows). The remarkable scene of the mourning sparrows shows that genuine love and goodness leave a mark even on the smallest of creatures, making the message both deeply personal and universal.

Word meanings

Word / PhraseEnglish meaningHindi meaning
revoltingcausing strong dislike; almost disgusting (here, the idea seemed impossible)घिनौना / अरुचिकर
absurdfoolish, ridiculous, unreasonableबेतुका / हास्यास्पद
criss-crossa pattern of crossing linesआड़ी-तिरछी रेखाएँ
hobbledwalked with difficulty, limpingलड़खड़ाते हुए चलना
serenitycalmness, peacefulnessशांति / प्रशांति
rosarystring of beads used for counting prayersमाला / जपमाला
monotonousdull and unchanging in toneएकरस / उबाऊ
turning-pointa moment of important changeनिर्णायक मोड़
distressedvery upset or worriedव्यथित / परेशान
lewdindecent, vulgarअश्लील
harlotswomen regarded as immoral; prostitutesवेश्याएँ
seclusionstate of being alone, away from othersएकांत / एकांतवास
resignationcalm acceptance of something difficultनिष्क्रिय स्वीकृति / संतोष
veritable bedlama real scene of noise and confusionसचमुच का कोलाहल
chirrupingthe short, repeated sounds of birdsचहचहाहट
frivolousnot serious; light and playfulतुच्छ / हल्के-फुल्के
rebukesscoldings, expressions of disapprovalडाँट / झिड़की
dilapidatedold and in bad conditionजर्जर / टूटा-फूटा
shroudcloth used to wrap a dead bodyकफ़न
pallorpaleness, especially of the faceपीलापन / विवर्णता
corpsea dead bodyशव / लाश

Understanding the text

Mention
1. The three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad.

ANSWER Phase 1 – Village (close companionship): In the village they were inseparable. The grandmother woke him, bathed and dressed him, prepared his slate, and walked him to the temple school; while he learnt the alphabet she read the scriptures, and together they fed the village dogs. Phase 2 – City (growing distance): After the family moved to the city, she stopped accompanying him to the new English school. As he learnt Western science, English and music – subjects she disliked and could not help him with – they began to share less and less, and she withdrew into prayer. Phase 3 – University (the snapping of the common link): At university he got a room of his own, and the ‘common link of friendship was snapped’. She accepted her seclusion calmly, spending her days at the spinning-wheel, reciting prayers and feeding sparrows.

2. Three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the city school.

ANSWER (i) At the English school there was no teaching about God and the scriptures, which distressed her deeply as a religious person. (ii) She could not help him with his lessons, as he now studied English words and Western science (the law of gravity, Archimedes’ Principle, the earth being round), things she did not understand or believe in. (iii) She was very disturbed by the music lessons, since to her music had ‘lewd associations’ – she considered it the monopoly of harlots and beggars, not fit for gentlefolk.

3. Three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up.

ANSWER (i) She sat at her spinning-wheel from sunrise to sunset, spinning thread. (ii) She constantly recited prayers and told the beads of her rosary, rarely leaving her wheel to talk to anyone. (iii) In the afternoon she relaxed for half an hour to feed the sparrows in the verandah – the happiest part of her day, when hundreds of birds perched on her.

4. The odd way in which the author’s grandmother behaved just before she died.

ANSWEROn the evening of the author’s return, a strange change came over her. For the first time since he had known her, she did not pray. Instead, she gathered the women of the neighbourhood, got an old drum and began to sing. For several hours she thumped the sagging skins of the dilapidated drum and sang of the homecoming of warriors, until the family had to persuade her to stop to avoid overstraining herself.

5. The way in which the sparrows expressed their sorrow when the author’s grandmother died.

ANSWERWhen the family came to take the body for cremation, thousands of sparrows sat scattered all over the verandah and the room, right up to where she lay. There was no chirruping – an unnatural silence. They took no notice of the bread crumbs the author’s mother threw to them in the way the grandmother used to, and flew away quietly only when her corpse was carried off. Their silence and refusal to eat showed their grief at losing the gentle lady who had fed them daily.

Talking about the text

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?

ANSWERHer deep religious nature is shown throughout the sketch. Her lips were always moving in inaudible prayer, and she constantly told the beads of her rosary. She said her morning prayer in a sing-song while bathing the child, hoping he would learn it by heart. At the temple school she read the scriptures while he studied. She was distressed that the English school taught nothing about God or the scriptures and disapproved of music for its ‘lewd’ associations. She spent her last years reciting prayers from sunrise to sunset, and she died peacefully telling her beads, the rosary falling from her lifeless fingers. Faith governed her entire life.

2. Describe the changing relationship between the author and his grandmother. Did their feelings for each other change?

ANSWERTheir outward closeness changed, but their inner affection did not. In the village they were constant companions and best friends. The move to the city, the English school, Western learning and music gradually created distance, and at university the ‘common link of friendship was snapped’. They met less, and she withdrew into prayer and her spinning-wheel. Yet the bond of love never broke. She continued to wake him, ask about his lessons, and silently kissed his forehead at the station. On his return she clasped him in her arms, and that very evening celebrated his homecoming with song. The mourning sparrows at her death are the final proof of the deep, abiding love that connected them – circumstances changed the relationship, not the feelings.

3. Would you agree that the author’s grandmother was a person strong in character? If yes, give instances that show this.

ANSWERYes, she was a remarkably strong-willed and self-disciplined woman. She held firmly to her religious beliefs and values, openly disapproving of the godless city school and of music, refusing to compromise. She showed great emotional control – though she loved her grandson, she came to see him off for five years abroad without crying or showing any sentimentality, busy instead with her prayers. She lived a disciplined, self-reliant life, spinning and praying from dawn to dusk. Finally, she accepted her own death with extraordinary calm and dignity: she decided her end was near, refused to waste her last hours in talk, and died peacefully telling her beads. Such composure and conviction reveal a person of exceptional inner strength.

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(Sample personal response) Yes – my own grandmother was much like the lady in this sketch: deeply religious, simple, and endlessly loving. She, too, woke us for school, told us stories, and cared for stray animals and birds. After she passed away, the house felt strangely silent, just as the verandah did when the sparrows fell quiet. The sketch made me realise how the people who shape our childhood with their love leave a gap that nothing else can fill. (Write your own answer based on someone you have loved and lost.)

Thinking about language

1. Which language do you think the author and his grandmother used while talking to each other?

ANSWERThey most probably spoke in Punjabi, their mother tongue. Khushwant Singh’s family belonged to Punjab, and his grandmother – a traditional village woman who knew the scriptures but not English – would naturally have used Punjabi, the everyday language of their home and region.

2. Which language do you use to talk to elderly relatives in your family?

ANSWER(Sample) I usually speak to my elders in my mother tongue / regional language (for example Hindi), as it feels warm, respectful and natural. I use polite forms of address and a softer, courteous tone with grandparents and older relatives. (Name the language you actually use at home.)

3. How would you say ‘a dilapidated drum’ in your language?

ANSWERIn Hindi, ‘a dilapidated drum’ can be expressed as ‘एक जर्जर/टूटा-फूटा ढोल’ (ek jarjar / tuta-phuta dhol). (Translate the phrase into your own language – the idea is ‘an old, worn-out drum’.)

4. Can you think of a song or a poem in your language that talks of homecoming?

ANSWER(Sample) Yes – many folk songs and film songs in Hindi and other Indian languages celebrate homecoming, such as festive songs sung when a soldier or a long-absent family member returns home, or wedding and harvest songs welcoming someone back. (Mention a song or poem from your own language and say briefly what it expresses about returning home.)

Working with words

I. Notice the following uses of the word ‘tell’ in the text. Match the meanings to the uses listed above.
1. Her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary. 2. I would tell her English words and little things of Western science and learning. 3. At her age one could never tell. 4. She told us that her end was near.

ANSWER 1. ‘telling the beads’ → count while reciting 2. ‘tell her English words’ → give information to somebody 3. ‘one could never tell’ → be sure 4. ‘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’. Locate these phrases in the text and notice the way they are used.
1. to take to something: to begin to do something as a habit 2. to take ill: to suddenly become ill

ANSWER 1. ‘take to’ – in the text: “she took to feeding sparrows in the courtyard of our city house.” Here it means she made it a regular habit to feed the sparrows. 2. ‘take ill’ – in the text: “The next morning she was taken ill.” Here it means she suddenly fell ill (with a mild fever).

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

ANSWER Words that refer to a manner of walking: shuffle, stride, waddle, swagger, trudge. shuffle – walk dragging the feet; stride – walk with long, decided steps; waddle – walk with short steps, swaying side to side; swagger – walk proudly or boastfully; trudge – walk slowly and heavily, with effort. Not ticked: haggle (to bargain), ride (to travel on a vehicle/animal), wriggle (to twist and turn the body), paddle (to move a boat / to walk in shallow water), slog (to work or hit hard).

Noticing form

Notice the form of the verbs italicised in these sentences. These are examples of the past perfect forms of verbs. When we recount things in the distant past we use this form. 1. 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. 2. When we both had finished we would walk back together. 3. When I came back she would ask me what the teacher had taught me. 4. It was the first time since I had known her that she did not pray. 5. The sun was setting and had lit her room and verandah with a golden light.

ANSWER The past perfect tense is formed with ‘had’ + the past participle of the main verb. It is used for an action completed before another past action or point of time. The past perfect forms in the sentences are: had been, had known, had once been, had had (1); had finished (2); had taught (3); had known (4); had lit (5). Use: In each sentence the ‘had + V3’ action happened earlier in the past than another past event – e.g. in (3), the teaching (‘had taught’) took place before she asked him about it. More examples: “He had eaten his lunch before the guests arrived.” · “She realised she had forgotten her keys.” · “The train had left by the time we reached the station.”

Things to do

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.

ANSWER – sample description My grandfather was the calmest and kindest person I have ever known. Tall and slightly stooped, with grey hair and gentle eyes, he always wore a simple white kurta and carried a faint smell of jasmine oil. Every morning he watered his small garden and fed the pigeons that gathered on the wall, talking to them as though they were friends. In the evenings he would sit with me, telling stories of his childhood and patiently helping me with my sums. He never raised his voice, yet everyone respected him. He taught me to be honest, to share, and to value small joys. Since he passed away, the garden is quieter and the evenings feel empty, but his lessons stay with me every single day. (Write your own description of an elderly person you loved, in about 100–120 words.)

Extra questions

Short answer (30–40 words)

1. Why was it hard for the author to believe that his grandmother had once been young and pretty?

ANSWERFor all the twenty years he had known her she had been old, short, fat, slightly bent and wrinkled. Having seen her only in this form – and finding even his grandfather’s portrait impossibly old – the idea of her being young and pretty seemed almost revolting and absurd to him.

2. How did the grandmother help the author get ready for school in the village?

ANSWERShe woke him in the morning, bathed and dressed him while saying her prayers, fetched his wooden slate (washed and plastered with yellow chalk), the ink-pot and red pen, tied them in a bundle and gave him a breakfast of chapatti with butter and sugar before walking him to school.

3. Why did the grandmother begin feeding sparrows in the city?

ANSWERIn the village she used to feed the village dogs on the way to the temple school. In the city there were no dogs in the streets and she no longer went to school with the author, so she ‘took to’ feeding the sparrows in the courtyard of their city house instead.

4. What was the happiest half-hour of the grandmother’s day, and why?

ANSWERFeeding the sparrows in the afternoon was her happiest half-hour. Hundreds of little birds would gather round her as she broke bread for them, perching on her legs, shoulders and even her head. She smiled and never shooed them away, finding deep joy and contentment in their company.

5. Why did the grandmother sing and beat a drum on the evening of the author’s return?

ANSWERShe was overjoyed to have her grandson home after five years. To celebrate his homecoming she broke her lifelong routine: instead of praying, she gathered the neighbourhood women, took an old drum, and for several hours sang of the homecoming of warriors – an unusual outburst of happy emotion.

Long answer (100–120 words)

6. ‘The grandmother was beautiful, though never pretty.’ Discuss this with reference to her appearance and character.

ANSWERThe author admits his grandmother could never have been called pretty, yet he insists she was always beautiful. Physically she was short, fat and slightly bent, with a face that was a criss-cross of wrinkles and untidy silver locks over a pale, puckered face. Her beauty, however, came from within. Dressed in spotless white, her lips forever moving in prayer, she radiated calm and contentment – the author compares her to a winter landscape in the mountains, ‘an expanse of pure white serenity’. Her faith, simplicity, self-discipline, compassion for animals and quiet inner strength gave her a serene, spiritual beauty far greater than mere physical prettiness. Thus her true beauty lay in her noble character.

7. How does the lesson show the impact of modern, city education on the bond between the author and his grandmother?

ANSWERIn the village, education itself bound them together: the temple school let them walk to and from school side by side, she reading scriptures while he learnt prayers. The move to the city changed everything. The English school, reached by motor bus, had no place for her, and the Western subjects he learnt – the law of gravity, Archimedes’ Principle, English words and, above all, music – were things she could not understand, help with, or approve of. Lacking any common ground, she grew silent and withdrawn, retreating to her spinning-wheel and prayers. At university, a separate room finally ‘snapped’ the common link. Modern education, while broadening the author’s world, quietly widened the cultural and emotional gap between the generations.

8. Describe the death of the grandmother and the strange behaviour of the sparrows. What does this episode reveal?

ANSWERAfter celebrating her grandson’s return with song, the grandmother fell ill the next morning. Though the doctor called it a mild fever, she announced that her end was near and, having missed her prayers the previous evening, refused to waste time talking. She lay peacefully telling her beads until her lips stopped and the rosary slipped from her lifeless fingers. As her body lay wrapped in a red shroud, thousands of sparrows gathered silently around her, ignoring the bread crumbs her daughter-in-law offered, and flew away only when the corpse was carried off. This deeply moving episode reveals the depth of love and goodness in the grandmother – even tiny birds mourned the loss of the gentle soul who had cared for them.

MCQs & Assertion–Reason

1. Who is the author of ‘The Portrait of a Lady’?

(a) R. K. Narayan   (b) Khushwant Singh   (c) Ruskin Bond   (d) Mulk Raj Anand

2. In the village, the grandmother used to feed which animals on the way to school?

(a) Sparrows   (b) Cows   (c) Village dogs   (d) Squirrels

3. The grandmother is compared to a:

(a) summer garden   (b) winter landscape in the mountains   (c) flowing river   (d) blooming rose

4. Why was the grandmother distressed about the city (English) school?

(a) It was too far   (b) It taught nothing about God and the scriptures   (c) The fees were high   (d) It had no playground

5. To the grandmother, music had associations with:

(a) gods and temples   (b) kings and warriors   (c) harlots and beggars   (d) teachers and scholars

6. How long was the author away when he went abroad for further studies?

(a) Two years   (b) Three years   (c) Five years   (d) Ten years

7. What did the grandmother do that she had never done before, on the evening of the author’s return?

(a) She wept loudly   (b) She did not pray and sang with a drum   (c) She refused to eat   (d) She left the house

8. What fell from the grandmother’s fingers at the moment of her death?

(a) Her spectacles   (b) A piece of bread   (c) Her rosary   (d) Her spinning-wheel

9. How did the sparrows behave when the grandmother died?

(a) They chirped loudly   (b) They ate all the bread   (c) They sat silently and ignored the bread   (d) They flew away at once

10. The bond of friendship between the author and his grandmother was finally ‘snapped’ when he:

(a) joined the city school   (b) started music lessons   (c) went to university and got his own room   (d) went abroad

Answer key: 1-(b)   2-(c)   3-(b)   4-(b)   5-(c)   6-(c)   7-(b)   8-(c)   9-(c)   10-(c)

Assertion–Reason – choose: (a) A and R both true, R explains A; (b) A and R both true, R does not explain A; (c) A true, R false; (d) A false, R true.

1. Assertion (A): The author found it hard to believe his grandmother had ever been young and pretty.

Reason (R): For all the twenty years he had known her, she had been old, wrinkled and bent.

2. Assertion (A): The grandmother stopped going to school with the author in the city.

Reason (R): The new English school was attached to the temple where she read the scriptures.

3. Assertion (A): The grandmother grew silent and withdrew into prayer as the author grew up.

Reason (R): She could not share his Western learning and disapproved of subjects like music.

4. Assertion (A): The grandmother showed no emotion when she came to see the author off at the railway station.

Reason (R): She did not love her grandson and was happy to see him leave.

5. Assertion (A): The sparrows did not eat the bread crumbs offered to them after the grandmother’s death.

Reason (R): They were silently mourning the loss of the lady who used to feed them.

Answer key: 1-(a)   2-(d)   3-(a)   4-(c)   5-(a)
Notes: (2) A is true but R is false – the village school was attached to the temple; the city English school was reached by bus, so she stopped accompanying him. (4) A is true, but R is false – she loved him deeply; her calm came from self-control and absorption in prayer, not lack of love.

Exam tips & common mistakes

Exam tips

• Learn the three phases (village – city – university) as a frame; most long answers about the relationship can be built around them.
• Quote short, memorable phrases such as ‘an expanse of pure white serenity’ and ‘the common link of friendship was snapped’ to add literary value.
• For the death scene, always mention the silent sparrows ignoring the bread – it is the most important image and a frequent question.
• Keep summaries and character sketches in your own words; never copy long passages from the text.

Common mistakes

• Do not say the city English school was attached to the temple – it was the village school that was.
• Do not confuse the animals – she fed dogs in the village and sparrows in the city.
• Do not write that she was cold or unloving because she showed no emotion at the station – her calm was self-control and faith, not lack of love.
• Avoid calling her merely ‘not pretty’ – the point is that she was beautiful in character though not pretty.

FAQs

What is the main theme of ‘The Portrait of a Lady’?

It explores the loving, changing relationship between Khushwant Singh and his grandmother, and how modern city education gradually widened the distance between them – while celebrating her faith, simplicity and quiet inner strength.

Why did the grandmother stop going to school with the author?

In the village the school was attached to the temple, so she went along to read the scriptures. In the city he attended an English school reached by motor bus, where she had no role, so she stayed home and fed sparrows instead.

How did the sparrows react to the grandmother’s death?

Thousands of sparrows gathered silently around her body, with no chirruping. They refused the bread crumbs offered to them and flew away quietly only when her corpse was carried off – their way of mourning the lady who had fed them daily.

Questions are reproduced verbatim from the NCERT Hornbill textbook; summaries and answers are written originally by ClearStudy and the full copyrighted lesson text is not reproduced.

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