NCERT solutions Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 1 The Portrait of a Lady

Class 11. English: 'Hornbill' Chapter: 1

 The Portrait of A Lady

TEXTUAL QUESTION AND ANSWER

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT

Mention

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

Ans. (a) The author and his grandmother had a good relationship. She used to wake him up and get him ready for school. She used to pack the things required by him for the day and walked him to school every day. She used to visit the temple that was attached to the school.

(b) In the second phase the parents of the author went to the city to settle in and called them. In the city, his relationship with his grandmother took a turn. He started going to an English medium school, she no longer accompanied him to his school.

(C) In the third phase he went to the university. He had his own room and this made their relationship sour. She stopped talking to everyone and spent her whole day sitting at her spinning wheel, reciting prayers and moving beads of the rosary with one hand, and feed sparrows

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

Ans. (a) This made her unhappy. She could not help me with my lessons.

(b) She did not believe in the things they taught at the English school and was distressed that there was no teaching about God and the scriptures.

(C) She was unhappy with the idea of music lessons being given at school.

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

Ans. (a) She stopped talking to everyone and spent her whole day sitting at her spinning wheel.

(b) She recites prayers and moving beads of the rosary with one hand.

(C) she loved feeding sparrows in the verandah at dawn.That is her happy hour she spent with the sparrows.

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

Ans. (a) She didn’t recite her prayers but instead collected the women of the neighbourhood, got a drum and started singing.

(b) For the first time, she missed her prayers.

(C) She didn’t want to waste her time talking to anyone in the family anymore but spent her last hours reciting her prayers laying on the bed.

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

Ans. (a) All over the verandah and in her room right up to where she lay dead and stiff wrapped in the red shroud, thousands of sparrows sat scattered on the floor.

(b) They sat scattered but there was no chirruping.

(C) Author’s mother fetched bread into small crumbs the way author’s grandmother used to, and threw it to them. The sparrows took no notice of the bread.

(d) When carrying the author’s grandmother’s corpse off, the sparrows flew away quietly.

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 ?

Ans. Grandmother always held a rosary. She was always telling the beads. Her lips constantly moved in prayer. She put on white clothes. She used to wake the author up in the morning. She got him ready for school. She said her morning prayer in a sing-song manner. She hoped that he would learn it by heart. He liked her voice but never bothered to learn it. His grandmother always went to school with him. The school was attached to the temple. The priest taught children the alphabet and the morning prayer. The grandmother sat inside the temple. She read holy books. When the narrator went to university. She was always busy with her spinning wheel and reciting prayers. She rarely talked to anyone. She feeds the sparrows. She sat on the verandah and broke the bread into little bits. Then she threw them to sparrows. Hundreds of sparrows came there. The narrator decided to go abroad for higher studies. She came to the railway station to see him off. Her lips moved in prayer. Her mind was lost in prayer. Her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary. She kissed his forehead silently. The narrator returned home after five years. She held him in her arms. She went on reciting her prayers. In the evening a change came over her. She didn’t pray. She collected the women of the neighborhood. She got an old drum. She continued thumping the old drum for several hours. She started singing. She sang of the home-coming of warriors. It was for the first time that she had forgotten to pray. The next morning she fell ill. She told them that her end was near. She realised that she had forgotten to pray. She didn’t want to talk. It would be a waste of time. She ignored their requests. She lay peacefully in bed. She was praying and telling beads. Then her lips stopped moving. The rosary fell down from her lifeless fingers.

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

Ans:- In the village, Grandmother woke him up from the bed in the early morning, plastered his wooden slate, organised his breakfast, and sent him to the school. A turning point in their beautiful relationship arrived when they went to live in a city. Where they shared a room, but their relationship started to grow apart. Now, the writer used to go to the city school on a school bus and studied subjects like English, Physics, mathematics and many more subjects that his grandmother could not understand at all. His grandmother could no longer go to school with him to send him. She felt upset that there was no teaching about God and scriptures at the city school. When the writer went to a university, he got a separate room in his house. The common link of the relationship between the grandson and the grandmother was broken now.When the writer was leaving on a trip abroad for his further studies, his grandmother did not get disturbed at all. Rather she went to the train station to say goodbye, but she didn’t say anything and merely kissed his forehead. No, their feelings for each other did not change though distances grew between them.

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

Ans. Yes, I agree that the author’s grandmother was a person strong in character. She was a strong woman with strong beliefs. Although she was not formally educated, she was serious about the author’s education. She could not adjust herself to the western way of life, Science and English education. She hated music and disapproved of its teaching in school.

But, she found other ways to keep herself occupied in moments of loneliness. She never displayed her emotions or broke down into tears. At the railway station to see off her grandson, she just kept on praying and kissed him on his forehead. She had extreme faith in God and her prayers. That was perhaps the source of her indomitable strength. She wanted to make up for the time last evening when she had not prayed to God. She lay peacefully in bed saying prayers and telling the beads of her rosary till she breathed her last.

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 ?

Ans. Yes, I feel the same sense of loss with regard to someone whom you have loved and lost. My grandfather died when I was in 4th standard. The death of my grandfather has been a great loss to me. I played with him every afternoon. He told me a story every evening. I still Remember the things he had told me.

THINKING ABOUT LANGUAGE

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

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

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

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

(Please note: Students will attempt to answer these questions with the help of their class teacher and refer to their respective mother tongue ]

WORKING WITH WORDS

I. Notice the following uses of the word ‘tell’ ín the text.

1. Her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary.

2. Would tell her English words and little things cf Western science and learning.

3. At her age one could never tell.

4. 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.

1.make something known to someone in spoken or written words

2. count while reciting

3. be sure

4.give information to somebody

Ans.

1. Her fingers were busy telling the head of her rosary- Count while reciting.

2. I would tell her English words and little things western science and learning-make something known to someone in spoken or written words.

3. At her age one could never tell-be sure.

4. She told us that her end was near- give information to somebody.

II. Notice the different senses of the word ‘take’.

1. To take to something: to begin to do something as a habit

2. To take ilI : to suddenly become ill.

Locate these phrases in the text and notice the way they are used.

Ans. ‘There were no dogs in the streets and she took to feeding sparrows in the courtyard of our city house.

Here, the author’s grandmother developed the habit of feeding sparrows in their city house as she could no longer feed the street dogs.

‘The next morning she was taken ill’.

The author’s grandmother suddenly fell ill in the morning due to excessive strain the previous evening.

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.

Haggle shuffle✓ stride✓ ride waddle✓ wriggle paddle✓ Swagger✓ trudge✓ slog✓

 Shuffle – walk without lifting one’s feet clear of the ground.

 Stride – walk with long steps.

 Waddle – walk with short steps and a swaying movement.

 Paddle – walk with bare feet in shallow water.

 Swagger – walk with excessive pride.

 Trudge – walk laboriously.

 Slog – walk hard and steadily.

NOTICING FORM

Notice the form of the verbs italicised in these sentences.

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.

These are examples of the past perfect forms of verbs. When we recount things in the distant past we use this form.

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.

Ans. My relationship with my grandfather was like a best friend. He always plays with me after my class. He told me stories evernight. I used to sleep with him when I was in middle school. Time passed when I moved to high school. My communication with my grandfather had reduced due to my busy study schedule. We used to share the same room but now we sometimes played or shared time like in the past. I miss the beautiful moments when I used to be a kid and spend all my time with grandfather. Those highly fanciful stories were full of deeds of bravery or adventure and end on a note of success. They inspired me to do noble deeds in fife. He was equally careful about my health and studies. He was good at drawing and helped me in writing alphabets. He also gave ready-made solutions to all my problems. Now he is not with us but I believe he would bless me whenever I got success in any field-studies, sports, song, poetic recitation, poster making etc. Sometimes I miss him a lot.

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS & ANSWERS BY VIDYA UNNATI ACADEMY

1. Why was it hard to believe that the grandmother was once young and pretty?

Ans:- The grandmother was an old woman with a wrinkled face. The author had always seen her like this, for the past twenty years. She appeared to be so old that he could not imagine her being ‘young and pretty.

2. Discuss the bond of the author with his grandmother?

Ans:- In the initial years of his life, the author lived with his grandmother in the village, sharing a good friendship. In the village, Grandmother woke him up from the bed in the early morning, plastered his wooden slate, organised his breakfast, and sent him to the school.

3. The grandmother was a kind – hearted woman, right ? Give two examples?

Ans:- Yes, grandmother was a kind – hearted woman.

(i) She feeds the stray dogs roaming around. She carries the stale chapatis to feed them.

(ii) She loved feeding sparrows in the verandah at dawn. Breaking bread into pieces and feeding it to the birds was her daily routine.

4. Explain two changes when the author and his grandmother went to the city?

Ans:- (i) In the city, He started going to an English medium school, she no longer accompanied him to his school.

(ii) When he grew older and soon went to university. He had his own room and this made their relationship sour. Thenthey were further distanced from each other when the author went abroad for five years.

5. Is the author’s grandmother happy with the English school?

Ans:- No, This made her unhappy. She could not help me with my lessons. She did not believe in the things they taught at the English school and was distressed that there was no teaching about God and the scriptures.

6. What is grandmother’s happiest moment of the day, in the city?

Ans:- She loved feeding sparrows in the verandah at dawn. Breaking bread into pieces and feeding it to the birds was her daily routine.The birds would perch on her legs, head, and even her shoulders. This was her happiest moment of the day.

7. How does the author’s grandmother celebrate the author’s returning home after five years? What happened next?

Ans:- Grandmother was there to welcome him back and he saw her celebrate his return. She didn’t recite her prayers but instead collected the women of the neighbourhood, got a drum and started singing.

The next morning, she was ill with a mild fever. The doctor said that there was nothing to worry about but she was sure that her end was near.

8. Describe grandmother’s relationship with the sparrows?

Ans:- When the author went to the university. He had his own room and this made their relationship sour. She stopped talking to everyone and spent her whole day sitting at her spinning wheel, reciting prayers and moving beads of the rosary with one hand. However, she loved feeding sparrows in the verandah at dawn. Breaking bread into pieces and feeding it to the birds was her daily routine. The birds would sit on her legs, her head, some even on the shoulders. All over the verandah and in her room right up to where she lay dead and stiff wrapped in the red shroud, thousands of sparrows sat scattered on the floor. They sat scattered but there was no chirruping. Author’s mother fetched bread into small crumbs the way the author’s grandmother used to, and threw it to them. The sparrows took no notice of the bread. When carrying the author’s grandmother’s corpse off, the sparrows flew away quietly.