The Portrait of a Lady by Khushwant Singh-Bond between Grandmother and Grandson-A Story

 

    THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY

    

    

The Narrator of this Story the portrait of a lady is Khushwant Singh. This is a real story of his grandmother and tells us how he spent his childhood with grandmother. He was an eminent Indian Writer, lawyer, diplomat, journalist and politician. He was born on 2^nd Feb. 1915 and breathed his last on 20 March ,2014. He studied in St. Stephen’s College, Kings College, London and Punjab University in India. His experience in 1947, partition of India motivated him to write. He wrote Train to Pakistan in the year 1956 and his this novel became well known novel. He was honored the Padma Bhushan in 1974 by India’s President.

In India, Joint Family consists of three to four living Generations including, Grandfather ,Grandmother, Mother, Father, Uncle, Aunt, and Children. The head is the Senior Male member and after him Senior Lady. In this story’ The Portrait of a Lady‘  the Writer draws a Pen Portrait of his Grandmother and narrates each and every event of his childhood and his experience with his Grandmother and the various Stages from Childhood to his Youth and the Death of his Grandmother.

PEN PORTRAIT OF GRANDMOTHER:

The Narrator of the story The Portrait of a Lady describes his Grandmother as a terribly old lady, was fat, slightly bent with wrinkled face. She couldn’t walk but hobbled. His Grandmother used to wear white clothes only. She used to balance her stoop by keeping her hand on her waist. She had silver locks of hair, always held a rosery and constantly moved her lips to say her prayers. In the words of the Narrator grandmother was a perfect picture of peace and contentment. This is the Pen Portrait of his Grand Mother.

   
  

GRANDMOTHER AS A CLOSE FRIEND TO THE NARRATOR- THE STORY:

Narrator’s father was transferred to city and he was left in the village with his grandmother for some time. She used to wake him up and got him ready for school. In the morning she used to wash his wooden slate to write and would plaster it with white chalk, would take inkpot and a pen. She would give him stale bread with butter and would take few breads for street dogs also. Grandmother used to go to the school with the narrator. The school was attached to a temple and the priest used to teach alphabets and prayers to him. Meanwhile Grandmother also used to sit by the temple veranda and read the holy books. This was a period of a strong bond between grandmother and the narrator as a school going child.

    

TURNING POINT IN THE LIFE OF GRANDMOTHER AND THE NARRATOR:

After sometime narrator’s parents took them to the city. Now it was the time when the narrator started going to an English medium school by bus. He was taught English, Science and Music. Grandmother knew nothing of the English language and science and to her music was good for prostitutes and beggars only. She was upset as there was no teaching of God and scriptures. Now they saw less of each other.

   

 After sometime the narrator started going to the university. The grandmother accepted her loneliness. She busied herself in spinning wheel, talked rarely and enjoyed feeding sparrows. Hundreds of sparrows around her created great noise. They were so familiar with her that they even perched on her shoulders.

NARRATOR WENT ABROAD FOR HIGHER EDUCATION:

The narrator went abroad for higher education and after five years came home. Grandmother celebrated his homecoming by beating drum and singing song. She could have tired and exhausted herself of the same and fell ill. The next day she didn’t pray and declared that her end was near. The following day she said her prayers but after a while her rosery fell down from her lifeless hands and was declared dead. When she was laid down thousands of birds sat near her body silently and when her body was carried outside all the birds flew away without making any sound. This was the final end of the bond between the grandmother and the narrator. 

    

CONCLUSION:

To conclude the story of the portrait of a lady we see a special bond between a grandmother and a grandson, an observation of a child of his grandmother’s appearance, looks and her activities which have a great impact in the foundation of his future life. The impact of grandparents on a child can’t be denied. The story tells us how beautiful are the relations of human beings. The story also tells us that elders also need companionship and friendship for that they become friendly with animals and birds too.   

TAGS

#BOND OF PARENTS #LOVE OFPARENTS #A STORY OF RELATIONS #IMPORTANCE OF GRAND PARENTS#LOVE OF ANIMALS AND BIRD FOR HUMAN BEINGS#LOVE AND ATTACHMENT OF PARENTS #LONELINESS #COMPANY#OLD AGE #YOUNG AND OLD#IMPORTANCE OF RELATIONS#CARE OF GRANDPARENTS