The Portrait Of A Lady By Khushwant Singh

Khushwant Singh
Khushwant Singh, who was born on 2 February, 1915, in Hadali, Punjab (which now lies in Pakistan, in a Sikh
!a"ily# His !ather, Sir Sobha Singh, was a $ro"inent builder in %utyens& 'elhi# He was educated at (o)ern"ent
*ollege, %ahore and St# Ste$hen&s *ollege in 'elhi+ in 19,-, he went to %ondon to study at King&s *ollege,
be!ore being called to the .ar at the /nner 0e"$le in 19,1# He "arried Ka)al 2alik, daughter o! Sir 0eja Singh
and %ady 3aj 2alik in 19,9# 0he cou$le had a son, 3ahul, and a daughter, 2ala#
He was a$$ointed the /n!or"ation 4!!icer o! the (o)ern"ent o! /ndia at 0oronto, *anada and $ress attach5 and
$ublic relations o!!icer !or the High *o""ission o! /ndia in the 6nited Kingdo" and the e"bassy in /reland in
19-7859# /n 1959, The Mark of Vishnu was $ublished# He attended the 6:;S*4<s Si=th (eneral *on!erence
in Paris in 1951 as "e"ber o! the /ndian delegation# 'uring 195285, he edited $eriodicals o! the (o)ern"ent
o! /ndia#
/n >ugust 19-1, days be!ore the $artition o! /ndia and Pakistan, Singh, then a lawyer $racticing in the High
*ourt in %ahore, dro)e to his !a"ily&s su""er cottage at Kasauli in the !oothills o! the Hi"alayas# *ontinuing
on to 'elhi along ,29 k" o! )acant road, he ca"e u$on a ?ee$ o! ar"ed Sikhs who boasted that they had just
"assacred a )illage o! 2usli"s# Such e=$eriences were to be $ower!ully distilled in Singh&s 195@ no)el Mano
Majra or Train to Pakistan, which won hi" the (ro)e /ndia Fiction PriAe# (0he 299@ edition o! 0rain to
Pakistan, $ublished by 3oli .ooks in :ew 'elhi, also contains @@ $hotogra$hs by 2argaret .ourke8Bhite that
ca$ture the Partition&s )iolent a!ter"ath#
The Voice of God and Other Stories was $ublished in 1951 and then !ollowed his second no)el / shall Not Hear
the Nightingale in 1959# A History of the Sikhs in two )olu"es was $ublished between 19@,and 19@@# He got a
teaching and research assign"ent at Princeton in 19@@# 0he third collection o! his stories, A Bride for the Sahib
and Other Stories was $ublished in 19@1# Singh has edited ojana, an /ndian go)ern"ent journal+ The
!llustrated "eekly of !ndia, a newsweekly+ and two "ajor /ndian news$a$ers, The National Herald and the
Hindustan Ti#es# 'uring his tenure, The !llustrated "eekly beca"e /ndia&s $re8e"inent newsweekly# >!ter
Singh&s de$arture, it su!!ered a huge dro$ in readershi$ and ceased $ublication in 199,# >n i"$ortant /ndo8
>nglian no)elist, Singh is best known !or his trenchant secularis", his hu"our, and an abiding lo)e o! $oetry#
His co"$arisons o! social and beha)ioural characteristics o! Besterners and /ndians are laced with acid wit#
Fro" 1979 through 197@, Singh was a "e"ber o! 3ajya Sabha# He was awarded the Pad"a .hushan in 191-
!or ser)ice to his country# /n 197-, he returned the award in $rotest against 4$eration .luestar, the siege o! the
(olden 0e"$le by the /ndian >r"y# /n 2991, the /ndian go)ern"ent awarded Singh the Pad"a Cibhushan#
Singh is said to wake u$ at - a" each day and write his colu"ns by hand# His works range !ro" $olitical
co""entary and conte"$orary satire to outstanding translations o! Sikh religious te=ts and 6rdu $oetry#
'es$ite the na"e, his colu"n D"ith Malice To$ards One and AllD regularly contains secular e=hortations and
"essages o! $eace# /n addition, he is one o! the last re"aining writers to ha)e $ersonally known "ost o! the
stalwart writers and $oets o! 6rdu and Punjabi languages, and $ro!iles his recently deceased conte"$oraries in
his colu"n# 4ne o! the "ost striking as$ects o! his weekly writings is his outright honesty+ he will o$enly ad"it
to his weaknesses and "istakes, along with an acce$tance o! his declining health and $hysical abilities in "ore
recent ti"es#
>s a $ublic !igure, Singh has been accused o! !a)ouring the ruling *ongress $arty, es$ecially during the tenure
o! /ndira (andhi# He is better )iewed as an establish"ent liberal# Singh&s !aith in the /ndian $olitical syste" has
been shaken by e)ents such as the anti8Sikh riots that !ollowed /ndira (andhi&s assassination, in which "ajor
*ongress $oliticians were alleged to be in)ol)ed# .ut he has re"ained resolutely $ositi)e on the $ro"ise o!
/ndian de"ocracy and has worked )ia the *itiAen&s ?ustice *o""ittee !loated by H# S# Phoolka who is a senior
ad)ocate o! 'elhi High *ourt#
Setting & Time
Cillage (Hadali in Best Punjab, now in Pakistan
*ity (%ahoreE
>broad F ;ngland
0he narrati)e begins around 1917829, but the narrator is about twenty
Plot Summary
0he $rose $iece is a classic e=a"$le o! a narrati)e8descri$ti)e essay#
/t begins with a descri$tion o! the $hysical a$$earance o! grand!ather F the narrator<s )iew is ty$ically
that o! a child
0he narrator<s )iew<s o! his grand"other<s stories o! her youth F his inability to belie)e that his
grand"other was e)er a girl is again the )iew$oint o! a child
'escri$tion o! the $hysical a$$earance o! grand"other F the child<s dee$ lo)e !or his grand"other is
i"$licit in the delicately drawn yet crystal clear descri$tion+ it also re)eals a child<s blunt outlook
'escri$tion o! the childhood relationshi$ and acti)ities o! the grand"other and grandson in the )illage F
they were good !riends+ going to the )illage school, her religiosity, her $artiality !or the )illage dogs
Move to the city (Lahore! " this is the first significant turning #oint in the relationshi# $etween
the grandmother and the grandson
0here is a change in their relationshi$ F the grandson goes to school by bus, so his grand"other does not
need to take hi" there+ the subjects that he now studies are beyond the sco$e o! the grand"other<s
knowledge+ she disa$$ro)es o! the ty$e o! education that the child is i"bibing
0he narrator lea)es school to go to uni)ersity F he gets his own roo", so the interaction between the
grand"other and grandson is !urther reduced# This is the ne%t milestone in their relationshi#
0he grand"other<s acti)ities in the city 8 they are di!!erent !ro" what they were in the )illageG
:arrator<s decision to go abroad F grand"other<s lack o! reaction and the narrator<s res$onse to this
:arrator<s return !ro" abroad F grand"other<s rece$tion
*hange in $attern o! the grand"other<s beha)iour
(rand"other<s illness F her understanding o! it
(rand"other<s de"ise F the reaction o! the s$arrowsG signi!icance o! this
Theme
> descri$tion o! the author<s grand"other
0he unbreakable bond between the grand"other and the grandson
&haracter Study
'randmother
Physical a$$earance F grandson<s )iew o! it
Her religiosity F religion is )ery i"$ortant to her, but she was not !anatical about it
0ook care o! her grandson )ery "eticulously F lo)ed hi" dee$ly
%iked ani"als H birds F her !eeding o! dogs in the )illage and s$arrows in the city
Had a !atalistic attitude towards li!e
'randson
%o)ed and res$ected his grand"other )ery "uch F clear in his descri$tion o! her
0hey had a relationshi$ that transcended ti"e and s$ace