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NCERT Solutions
The Portrait of a Lady & A Photograph
CBSE · Class 11 · English
NCERT Solutions for The Portrait of a Lady & A Photograph — CBSE Class 11 English.
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Understanding the text
1The three phases of the author's relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad.Show solution
The three phases were:
1. As a child in the village — they were very close friends; she woke him, bathed and dressed him, and took him to the village school attached to the temple.
2. After moving to the city — their friendship changed because he went to an English school by bus and she no longer accompanied him; they still lived together, but were less close.
3. At university and before going abroad — the common link was broken further; he had a room of his own, she accepted her seclusion, and their relationship became more distant, though affectionate.
1. As a child in the village — they were very close friends; she woke him, bathed and dressed him, and took him to the village school attached to the temple.
2. After moving to the city — their friendship changed because he went to an English school by bus and she no longer accompanied him; they still lived together, but were less close.
3. At university and before going abroad — the common link was broken further; he had a room of his own, she accepted her seclusion, and their relationship became more distant, though affectionate.
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2Three reasons why the author's grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the city school.Show solution
She was disturbed because:
1. He started learning English instead of the religious teaching she valued.
2. He was taught western science and learning such as the law of gravity and Archimedes' principle, which she did not believe in.
3. He began taking music lessons, and she thought music had lewd associations and was not meant for gentlefolk.
1. He started learning English instead of the religious teaching she valued.
2. He was taught western science and learning such as the law of gravity and Archimedes' principle, which she did not believe in.
3. He began taking music lessons, and she thought music had lewd associations and was not meant for gentlefolk.
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3Three ways in which the author's grandmother spent her days after he grew up.Show solution
After he grew up, she spent her days:
1. Spinning at the wheel from sunrise to sunset.
2. Reciting prayers and telling the beads of her rosary.
3. Feeding the sparrows in the afternoon, which was her happiest half-hour.
1. Spinning at the wheel from sunrise to sunset.
2. Reciting prayers and telling the beads of her rosary.
3. Feeding the sparrows in the afternoon, which was her happiest half-hour.
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4The odd way in which the author's grandmother behaved just before she died.Show solution
Just before she died, she behaved oddly in this way:
- She stopped praying for the first time.
- She collected the women of the neighbourhood.
- She beat an old drum and sang songs of warriors returning home.
- She kept doing this for hours until they had to stop her so she would not strain herself.
- She stopped praying for the first time.
- She collected the women of the neighbourhood.
- She beat an old drum and sang songs of warriors returning home.
- She kept doing this for hours until they had to stop her so she would not strain herself.
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5The way in which the sparrows expressed their sorrow when the author's grandmother died.Show solution
The sparrows showed grief by sitting silently all over the verandah and in her room near her body. They did not chirrup, did not eat the bread offered to them, and flew away quietly when her corpse was carried off.
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Talking about the text
1The author's grandmother was a religious person. What are the different ways in which we come to know this?Show solution
We know she was religious because she:
- said her morning prayers daily.
- told the beads of her rosary regularly.
- read scriptures in the temple while the children studied.
- accepted seclusion and spent much time in prayer.
- recited prayers even at the railway station when she came to see him off and again when he returned.
- died while praying and telling her beads.
- said her morning prayers daily.
- told the beads of her rosary regularly.
- read scriptures in the temple while the children studied.
- accepted seclusion and spent much time in prayer.
- recited prayers even at the railway station when she came to see him off and again when he returned.
- died while praying and telling her beads.
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2Describe the changing relationship between the author and his grandmother. Did their feelings for each other change?Show solution
The relationship changed from intimate companionship to distance. As a child, the author and his grandmother were always together, but later he went to an English school, then to university, and finally abroad. They saw less of each other and lived more separate lives.
Their feelings did not change. They remained affectionate and caring for each other, but the form of their closeness changed with time and circumstances.
Their feelings did not change. They remained affectionate and caring for each other, but the form of their closeness changed with time and circumstances.
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3Would you agree that the author's grandmother was a person strong in character? If yes, give instances that show this.Show solution
Yes, the grandmother was strong in character. For example:
- She accepted change without complaint when the author moved to the city.
- She did not show emotion when he left for abroad.
- She accepted her seclusion with resignation.
- She followed her own routine of prayer and spinning with discipline.
- Even at the end, she faced death peacefully and without fear.
These instances show her strength, self-control, and dignity.
- She accepted change without complaint when the author moved to the city.
- She did not show emotion when he left for abroad.
- She accepted her seclusion with resignation.
- She followed her own routine of prayer and spinning with discipline.
- Even at the end, she faced death peacefully and without fear.
These instances show her strength, self-control, and dignity.
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4Have you known someone like the author's grandmother? Do you feel the same sense of loss with regard to someone whom you have loved and lost?Show solution
This is a personal-response question. A suitable answer could be:
Yes, I have known someone like the author's grandmother. Such a person was loving, religious, and selfless, and their absence created a deep feeling of emptiness. I do feel a strong sense of loss for someone I loved and lost, because their memory remains very precious and irreplaceable.
Yes, I have known someone like the author's grandmother. Such a person was loving, religious, and selfless, and their absence created a deep feeling of emptiness. I do feel a strong sense of loss for someone I loved and lost, because their memory remains very precious and irreplaceable.
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Thinking about language
1Which language do you think the author and his grandmother used while talking to each other?Show solution
They probably used their home language, most likely Punjabi, because they lived in a village and the grandmother was not part of English education.
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2Which language do you use to talk to elderly relatives in your family?Show solution
This depends on the student's family. A suitable answer could be:
I use my mother tongue / home language to talk to elderly relatives in my family.
I use my mother tongue / home language to talk to elderly relatives in my family.
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3How would you say 'a dilapidated drum' in your language?Show solution
This depends on the language. A suitable answer could be:
An old, broken drum.
An old, broken drum.
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4Can you think of a song or a poem in your language that talks of homecoming?Show solution
This depends on the student's language. A suitable answer could be:
Yes, for example a folk song about a son or daughter returning home after a long time.
Yes, for example a folk song about a son or daughter returning home after a long time.
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Working with words
I.1Her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary.Show solution
Here telling the beads means moving the beads one by one while reciting prayers, so the correct meaning is count while reciting.
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I.2I would tell her English words and little things of Western science and learning.Show solution
In the sentence, tell her English words means to speak or repeat words to her, so the correct meaning is give information to somebody.
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I.3At her age one could never tell.Show solution
Here one could never tell means one could never be sure. So the correct meaning is be sure.
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I.4She told us that her end was near.Show solution
Here she told us means she made it known to us that her end was near. So the correct meaning is make something known to someone in spoken or written words.
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5Given below are four different senses of the word 'tell'. Match the meanings to the uses listed above.Show solution
The matching is:
1. Her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary. → count while reciting
2. I would tell her English words and little things of Western science and learning. → give information to somebody
3. At her age one could never tell. → be sure
4. She told us that her end was near. → make something known to someone in spoken or written words
1. Her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary. → count while reciting
2. I would tell her English words and little things of Western science and learning. → give information to somebody
3. At her age one could never tell. → be sure
4. She told us that her end was near. → make something known to someone in spoken or written words
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II.1to take to something: to begin to do something as a habit
II.2to take ill: to suddenly become ill
8Locate these phrases in the text and notice the way they are used.
IIIThe word 'hobble' means to walk with difficulty because the legs and feet are in bad condition.
10Tick the words in the box below that also refer to a manner of walking.
Noticing form
1My grandmother was an old woman. She had been old and wrinkled for the twenty years that I had known her. People said that she had once been young and pretty and had even had a husband, but that was hard to believe.
2When we both had finished we would walk back together.
3When I came back she would ask me what the teacher had taught me.
4It was the first time since I had known her that she did not pray.
5The sun was setting and had lit her room and verandah with a golden light.
Things to do
1Talk with your family members about elderly people who you have been intimately connected with and who are not there with you now. Write a short description of someone you liked a lot.
Think it out
1What does the word 'cardboard' denote in the poem? Why has this word been used?
2What has the camera captured?
3What has not changed over the years? Does this suggest something to you?
4The poet's mother laughed at the snapshot. What did this laugh indicate?
5What is the meaning of the line "Both wry with the laboured ease of loss."
6What does "this circumstance" refer to?
7The three stanzas depict three different phases. What are they?
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Ask a Doubt FreeFrequently Asked Questions
What are the important topics in The Portrait of a Lady & A Photograph for CBSE Class 11 English?
The Portrait of a Lady & A Photograph covers several key topics that are frequently asked in CBSE Class 11 board exams. Focus on the core concepts listed on this page and practise related questions to build confidence.
How to score full marks in The Portrait of a Lady & A Photograph — CBSE Class 11 English?
Understand the core concepts first, then work through the 91 practice questions available for this chapter. Revise formulas and definitions regularly, and use flashcards for quick recall before the exam.
Where can I get free NCERT Solutions for The Portrait of a Lady & A Photograph Class 11 English?
This page has free step-by-step NCERT Solutions for every exercise question in The Portrait of a Lady & A Photograph (CBSE Class 11 English) — written the way examiners award marks: given, formula, working, answer.
Sources & Official References
- NCERT Official — ncert.nic.in
- CBSE Academic — cbseacademic.nic.in
- CBSE Official — cbse.gov.in
- National Education Policy 2020 — education.gov.in
Content is aligned to the official syllabus. Refer to the board website for the latest curriculum.
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