9. THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY - KHUSHWANT SINGH DEGREE FIRST YEAR OF OSMANIA UNIVERSITY

DEGREE FIRST YEAR OF OSMANIA UNIVERSITY

9. THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY

- KHUSHWANT SINGH

INTRODUCTION:-

“The Portrait Of A Lady” written by Khushwant Singh (1915-) is Indian’s best known writer and columnist. He has been founder editor of Yojana and editor of the National Herald and the Hindustan Times. He is the author of classics such as Train to Pakistan, I shall not hear the Nightingale, Delhi, the company of women and Burial at Sea. A number of translations and works on sikh religion and culture, Delhi, nature, current affairs and urdu poetry.

EXPLANATION:

In this lesson author describes the relationship with his grand mother. Firstly, he describes the personality of his grand mother. He says that she was old, short and fat and slightly bent. She could never have been pretty but she was always beautiful. He delineates his grand father, who died very early and looks very old.

When the author parents went to the city. He stayed with his grand mother both had strong attachment. She had taken care of him. They lived together in the village but his parents called them to the city after they settled. It was a turning point in their friendship their life quietly changed. They hardly spend time with each other. His grand mother made a routine of spinning the wheel  by reciting prayers and relax in evening by feeding the bread to the sparrows. His grand mother was annoyed with his schools teaching as they didn’t teach about the scriptures and with his music lessons.

When the author went to university for further studies, the common links of their friendship was snapped. She was very bold to accept everything. She was very kind and spend her remaining time in prayers. When author decided to go abroad he thought that his grand mother would be upset. She was not sentimental and went to the railway station to sent him off. After five years when he came back. She met him at the railwaystation she called all the women of the neighborhood and started sing with them and enjoy every with them to celebrate her grand son’s arrival in the evening.

In the evening she did not pray for the first tiem. Next morning she felt ill. Doctor said it was a mild fever and it would go. His grand mother said that, she want to pray in the eleventh of her life before she close the chapter her life instead of wasting time in talking. Author and his family protests but she condemned. Her lips stopped moving and her rosary fell down. She was dead. They made arrangements for her funeral. Author mother fetched some bread for sparrows but they took no notice for the bread. They were sad as their loving women died.

CONCLUSION:-

The story depicts the attachment of detachment between grand mother and the grandson irrespective of their age. Though she had orthodox thinking towards modernization but she adapted herself in every situation. She had love towards animals and belief towards god.