NCERT Solutions For Class 11 English Hornbill The Portrait of a Lady
NCERT Solutions For Class 11 English Hornbill The Portrait of a Lady
NCERT Solutions For Class 11 English Hornbill The Portrait of a Lady is designed and prepared by the best teachers across India. All the important topics are covered in the exercises and each answer comes with a detailed explanation to help students understand concepts better. These NCERT solutions play a crucial role in your preparation for all exams conducted by the CBSE, including the JEE.
NCERT TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS SOLVED
1. The author's grandmother was a religious person. What are the different ways in which we come to know this?Ans. The author’s grandmother was a deeply religious lady. We come to know this through the different ways of her behaviour. She visited the temple every morning and read scriptures. At home she always mumbled inaudible prayer and kept telling the beads of rosary. She would repeat prayers in a sing-song manner while getting the writer ready for school. She hoped that he would learn it by heart. She didn’t like English school as there was no teaching of God and scriptures. Even while spinning at her spinning-wheel she would recite prayers. Perhaps it was only once that she forgot to say her prayers. It was on the evening prior to her death when she felt over excited while celebrating the arrival of her grandson with songs and beatings of drum. She continued praying and telling beads of her rosary till her last breath.
2. Describe the changing relationship between the author and his grandmother. Did their feelings for each other change?Ans. During his boyhood, the author was completely dependent on his grandmother. She was a part of his life. The turning point in their friendship came when they went to city. She could no longer accompany him to school as he went there by bus. They shared the same room but she could not help him in his studies. She would ask him what the teachers had taught. She did not believe in the things that were taught at school. She was distressed that there was no teaching about God and the scriptures. She felt offended that music was also being taught. She expressed her disapproval silently. After this she rarely talked to him. When he went to university, he was given a room of his own. The common link of friendship was snapped. However their feelings for each other did not change. They still loved each other deeply. She went to see the author off at the railway station when he was going abroad for higher studies. She showed no emotion but kissed his forehead silently. The author valued this as perhaps the last sign of physical contact between them. When the author returned after five years, she received him at the station. She clasped him in her arms. In the evening she celebrated his homecoming by singing songs and beating an old drum.
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.
She was a deeply religious lady. Her lips were always moving in a silent prayer. She was always telling the beads of her rosary. She went to temple daily and read the scriptures. She was distressed to know that there was no teaching about God and holy books at Khushwant’s new English school.
She was a kind lady She used to feed dogs in the village. In the city she took to feeding sparrows. Although old in years and weak in body she had strength of mind. Just before her death, she refused to talk to the members of the family as she did not want to waste her time. 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.
Ans. Yes, I have known my grandfather, who loved me deeply and looked after me. He had served in the army before he retired as a colonel 20 years ago. When I was a school going kid, he was still active and smart. He was fond of walking, jogging and playing outdoor games. He inspired us to get up early in the morning. He believed that a healthy mind lives in a healthy body. He used to give us good physical exercises followed by milk and nourishing food and then asked us to study for a while before going to school. In the afternoon, he would enquire what we had been taught at the school. He would help us in our home task and supervise our reading, writing and doing sums. He was gentle but firm. He laid stress on good habits and character building. He passed away when I had gone abroad for higher studies. I miss him a lot. A sense of loss fills me whenever I see his portrait on the wall. But his cheerful looks remind me to take heart and fight the struggle of life
5. Which language do you think the author and his grandmother used while talking to each other?Ans. The author’s grandmother was not much educated. So, I think the author and his grandmother used to talk in their mother tongue—in this case Panjabi.
Ans. My elderly relatives are well versed in English and Hindi. I feel at home greeting
them in English but like to converse with them freely in Hindi.
Ans. The expression used in our language for a ‘dilapidated drum’ is ‘phata-purana dhol.
8. Can you think of a song or poem in your language that talks of homecoming?Ans. There are many folk songs and poems singing of the exploits of brave warriors. All these talk of their homecoming after winning a battle.
9. How long had the narrator known his grandmother—old and wrinkled? What did people say? How did the narrator react?Ans. The narrator had known his grandmother—old and wrinkled for the last twenty years. She was terribly old. Perhaps she could not have looked older. People said that she had once been young and pretty. They said that she even had a husband. The narrator found it hard to believe.
10. How did the narrator’s grandfather appear in the portrait?Ans. His grandfather looked very old. He had a long white beard. His clothes were loose fitting. He wore a big turban. He looked too old to have a wife or children. He looked at least a hundred years old. He could have only lots and lots of grandchildren.