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Cheat sheet · Class 11 · CBSE · Commerce English

Hornbill (Prose): The Portrait of a Lady cheat sheet

The whole chapter on one page: key formulas, facts and the points to remember, for quick revision before a test.

CBSE Class 11 · English

Cheat sheet

Chapter 1The Portrait of a Lady

Village → city → abroad → return → farewell: the grandmother's life in five stages.

1. About

Author: Khushwant Singh. An affectionate memoir of the narrator's grandmother.

2. Summary

  • In the village, the grandmother gets the narrator ready for school and feeds the street dogs on the way.
  • In the city he goes to an English school by bus; she can't help with his lessons and dislikes music and science being taught.
  • He goes abroad for five years; she accepts it calmly, and spends her time spinning and feeding sparrows.
  • On his return she celebrates by singing on an old drum, breaks her routine of prayer, falls ill and dies peacefully, praying.
  • Thousands of sparrows come silently to mourn her and ignore the bread crumbs.

3. Her Character

  • deeply religious
  • kind to animals
  • calm and dignified
  • traditional
  • loving

4. Themes

  • generation gap
  • changing relationships
  • love and loss
  • tradition vs modern education

5. Key Points

  • Their friendship ‘broke’ in the city.
  • The sparrows' mourning is the final tribute.
  • Tone: gentle, humorous, moving.
  • Prayer beads and rosary show her devotion.

Remember: Village, city, abroad | sparrows | death after the celebration

Hornbill (Prose): The Portrait of a Lady: questions and notes

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