The writer speaks of his own grandmother. By the time, he wrote the story, she was quite old and all her hairs had been white. Her wrinkled face and body gave him a kind of surprise. Since twenty years, the writer is with his grandmother. People said that once the old lady was as beautiful as a fairy. Her husband -- writer's grandfather was also very handsome. His photo was being hung in the drawing room of the writer.
Grandmother had always been short and fat, and her back was slightly bent. Wrinkles were across on her face. When the writer came to know her, she had been such condition. She was wearing a spotless white saree. Her silver locks were scattered untidily over her pale puckered face, and her lips constantly moved in inaudible prayer. She was like the winter landscape in the mountains.
Both the writer and his grandmother were good friends. His parents had left him with his grandmother at village. His parents were in city. Every day, she used to wake up the writer to be ready to go to school. She was uttering the monotonous song while she was bathing. The writer liked her very much. His grandmother was going to school with him because there was the temple nearer the school. She would sit among the children and listen to the priest's prayer.
When writer's parents were settled in the city, they sent for them. That was a turning point in their friendship. Both the writer and his grandmother started spending days separately and the writer became separated from the close relation with his grandmother. When he reported her about the music lesson he was being taught his grandma felt sorrow, because she knew that music had been associated with hariots. She said nothing but her silence meant disapproval.
When the writer went to University, he was allotted a room for his staying. His grandmother spent time with her spinning wheel. From sunrise to sunset she sat by her wheel spinning and reciting prayers. In the afternoon, she relaxed for a while to feed the sparrows. She was always getting surrounded by sparrows that were perching on her legs and shoulders. Some even sat on her head.
When the writer decided to go abroad for further studies and his grandmother would be upset. But she came to leave him at the railway station but did not talk or show any emotion. She was totally absorbed in prayer and her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary.
After five years, he came back home and was received at the station by his grandmother. She did not look a day older. The author could feel her pulse as usual and her sparrows were with her. That evening she was seen very happy spending time with the older women folk.
The next day morning she was found being ill. Doctor was called for and he told that the fever was mild and she would be well within a short time. But she told others that her time had come. She lay peacefully in bed praying and telling her beads. Next time she breathed her last.
Then the funeral arrangements and proceedings went on. The dead body of the grandmother was covered with a red shroud. A crude stretcher was brought to take her to be cremated. By that time, thousands of sparrows sat scattered on the floor. There was no chirruping. When her corpse was taken, the sparrows flew away quietly. Here ends the portrait of a pious lady.
Henry James
The Portrait of a Lady was written by Khushwant Singh. The short story has great reviews and a 3 1/2 star rating.
The story is written in first person and is in biographical mode. It is a perception of Khushwant Singh of his grandmother through his own eyes.
Those words are found in the short story "Portrait of a Lady" by Khushwant Singh.
the portrait of a lady is the appropriate title as the grandmother of the author dies at last and will be seen in a portrait after that.
The Ballad of Pertab Singh is a fictional short story by Khushwant Singh, included in his collection "The Mark of Vishnu and Other Stories." The story is not based on a real person but serves as a literary exploration of themes such as identity, culture, and human nature.
"Karma" is a story by Khushwant Singh of India. It is about a man who is trying to be like the upper class Englishmen and how people react to this. It was critically acclaimed and accepted with mostly positive reviews.
"The Mark of Vishnu" is a short story by Khushwant Singh that follows the life of a boy named Anand and his encounter with a cobra. After the cobra spares his life, Anand must come to terms with his fear and respect for the mysterious symbol it leaves on his chest. The story explores themes of fear, superstition, and the interconnectedness of man and nature.
It is because of the prevalance of men dominance in society.Illiteracy still exists among women.
But just the day before her death for the first time she broke this routine and gave up her prayers. That day she sang the songs of the home coming of the warriors on a withered drum along with the ladies of neighborhood in order to celebrate her grandson's return from abroad.
Though she wasn't pretty physically ,but she was beautiful by heart. She possessed deep spiritual beauty.
Mohan Lal in the story "Karma" by Khushwant Singh is portrayed as a proud and traditional man who values honor and reputation above all else. He is depicted as a man of principles who believes in upholding his family's dignity, even at great personal cost. His rigid views on morality and social status shape his decisions throughout the story.
a story summary is a short description about what it is aboutA summary is the whole story explained in a few simple sentances.