The Portrait of a Lady Class 11 English Summary for Commerce Students: Project 45

This Class 11 English Crash Course 2026 covers a complete study plan, a 45 Days revision strategy, syllabus breakdown, and exam-focused preparation designed for CBSE Class 11 English students—especially those in Commerce. It includes detailed chapter explanations, study techniques, and an exam-oriented approach to help students master English efficiently.

“The Portrait of a Lady” by Khushwant Singh beautifully captures the author’s bond with his grandmother—a relationship rooted in affection, simplicity, and silent understanding. The chapter traces their journey from living together in a village to slowly drifting apart as modern education and life changes reshape their shared world.

Life in the Village: A Deep Bond

In the early years, the author and his grandmother lived in a village. She accompanied him everywhere—especially to school. Since the village school was attached to the temple, she felt connected to the teachings there. On their way, the grandmother often fed stray dogs, which became a part of her daily routine.

But when the family moved to the city, everything changed. There were no stray dogs, no temple school, and no space for the old routine that once defined her mornings.

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City Life: Feeding the Sparrows

In the city, the narrator attended a proper English-medium school. A mechanical school bus picked him up every day, and the grandmother no longer accompanied him. With no dogs around to feed, she found comfort in feeding sparrows instead.

She would break bread into tiny pieces and scatter them in the veranda, where hundreds of sparrows gathered daily. Some sat on her legs, shoulders, and even her head, but she never shooed them away. This half-hour of feeding the birds was the happiest time of her day.

Growing Distance Between Them

As the narrator grew older, his school hours increased, leaving the two with less time to spend together. While she still asked him about his lessons, she disliked the subjects taught at his English school—science, English, Western music—because she couldn’t help him with them.

She was especially troubled that there was no teaching about God or scriptures. When she learned he was studying music, she felt disturbed because she believed music was meant for "beggars and prostitutes," not for gentlefolk.

Even though they still shared a room, their worlds began to drift apart.

University Years: Loneliness Creeps In

The narrator eventually went to university and was given a room of his own. This marked a turning point—symbolically breaking the last thread of their physical closeness.

The grandmother quietly accepted her loneliness. She spent her day spinning her wheel, chanting prayers, and feeding her beloved sparrows. She rarely spoke to anyone except for a short noon break when she rested and fed the sparrows in the veranda.

Departure Abroad: A Silent Goodbye

When the narrator decided to go abroad for higher studies for five long years, he feared this might be his last meeting with his grandmother. She was already quite old.

But she showed no emotion. She simply accompanied him to the railway station, her lips constantly moving in silent prayer and her fingers rolling the beads of her rosary. Before he boarded, she gently kissed him on the forehead—an act he believed might be their last physical contact.

He left unsure if he would ever see her alive again.

Return After Five Years: Nothing Had Changed

On returning home years later, he found his grandmother alive and just the same—old, wrinkled, and still devoted to prayers and sparrows. She hugged him silently, returning to her routine as though nothing had changed.

But that evening, something unusual happened.

The Sudden Celebration

For the first time, she stopped praying. She called the women from the neighborhood, picked up a drum, and began singing old songs of warriors returning home. She thumped the drum loudly despite her frail health, singing and celebrating her grandson’s homecoming.

Her family tried to stop her, concerned that it was too strenuous for her age, but she continued with full energy and joy.

The Next Morning: Her Health Declines

The very next morning, her health deteriorated. The doctor diagnosed it as a mild fever and assured the family it wasn’t serious.

But the grandmother insisted that her end was near. She regretted having stopped her prayers the previous evening and refused to engage in conversation. She lay peacefully on her bed, chanting prayers and counting the beads of her rosary.

Gradually, her lips stopped moving. The rosary slipped from her lifeless fingers. Her face turned pale but peaceful, as if she had departed with complete contentment.

A Life of Purity & Devotion

Her life ended the same way it was lived—peacefully, in devotion, simplicity, and love. Her bond with the sparrows, her discipline, and her unwavering faith left a lasting impact on the narrator.