The Portrait of a Lady

 Lesson 1 : The Portrait of a Lady 

Points for Summary:

1. The grandmother 

2. The portrait of the grandfather 

3. At village 

4. In the city 

5. The university 

6. Abroad 

7. Homecoming and death 

1. The writer's grandfather looked too old , at least a hundred years old. He was wearing a turban and loose-fitting clothes. He had a long  white beard.He looked a serious and ascetic type of person who could have no wife and children.

2. It used to be the happiest half hour of the day for the grandmother when she used to feed the crumbs of bread to the hundreds of birds in her courtyard in the afternoon. The birds used to surround her from all sides and some of them sat on her legs and shoulders. She enjoyed it a lot.

3. The narrator and the grandmother became good friends living together after his parents moved to the city. She used to look after him and tried to teach him the religious prayers while getting him ready for school. He loved her very much.

4. The grandmother could not walk straight because she had to balance her stoop which was caused by her old age.

5. When the author went to university ,his grandmother busied herself in wheel -spinning and recitation of prayers. She also used to feed sparrows in the afternoon. She didn't look interested in talking to anyone.

Long answer Type question.

Question- Describe the author's friendship with his grandmother.

Answer- 

Introduction- The author's friendship with his grandmother was very intimate in his early age but it became weak thereafter. It saw four phases of development.

1 Very Strong Bond of Friendship in His Childhood. Their friendship was very close and intimate when they stayed together in their village home after his parents had moved to the city for his job. There was a close bond of love between them then. She took care of his life and education. She used to wake, bathe and dress and take him to school. She loved to teach her morning prayers by constantly reciting them while bathing and dressing him.

2  The Bond was  Strong Even In The City Home- When they are called to the city home by his parents, they still share the same room.She is still interested in his education and enquires about what he has learnt in his school. He tells her about the things of science, geography and so on in English which she doesn't understand and gradually loses interest. She is dissatisfied with the lack of religious education in his school. She is shocked to hear that he is being given lessons in music which ,she thinks, has a lewd association. In this way she starts getting disillusioned

 

3 Friendship was Snapped - The cord of their friendship was snapped when the writer moved to university and started living separately. The grandmother was left alone and busied herself in wheel-spinning , prayers and feeding sparrows. She talked little then.

4 Friendship Gives Way to Detachment - By the time the writer decided to go abroad for further study, the grandmother had become detached from him and the whole family. She kissed him on his forehead at the time of his departure which he cherished a lot but her detachment was apparent. On his return after five years , he saw her look the same.He could hear her reciting prayers in low sounds while he was in  her embrace. She became more involved with the voiceless small birds whom she continued feeding and with her religious activities. 

In the evening of the day of his arrival, a change was seen. She didn't pray. Instead, she sang with great enthusiasm the homecoming of warriors along with the other women of her neighborhood. The next day she had a mild fever. She told others that her end had arrived and she didn't want to waste her time. She started praying lying in her bed and a few moments later she passed off in peace.

Conclusion -  Thus her friendship with the author was very close and intimate. Their love was so strong that she sustained her fragile health and dies only after he had returned from abroad after five years.