"The Portrait of a Lady" is the first story in the NCERT Hornbill textbook, written by Khushwant Singh, one of India's most celebrated writers and journalists. It is an autobiographical account that traces the narrator's relationship with his grandmother, from the time he was a small boy in a village to his adulthood in the city. The title is deeply symbolic, for the grandmother is described as a portrait that never changes, a woman whose quiet, fixed and serene presence remains constant across decades of change around her.
The story opens with the narrator describing his grandmother as "old and wrinkled for the twenty years that I have known her," which suggests that she had been old for as long as he could remember. People often said that her husband had been a photographer's model, and the narrator believes this is why his grandmother always resembled a portrait. Even the narrator's father, who is the grandmother's own son, is largely absent from the narrative, a detail that reinforces the special bond between the grandson and the grandmother.
The story is a gentle, moving tribute to the narrator's grandmother. It captures her appearance, her daily routine, her unshakeable faith, and her gradual separation from the narrator as he grows older and moves to the city. The final scene, in which the narrator returns from abroad to find his grandmother ill and quietly passing away, is one of the most poignant moments in Indian literature in English. The story celebrates the quiet strength, dignity and selflessness of an ordinary woman whose entire life was devoted to prayer and to her grandson.
Khushwant Singh (1915-2014) was a prolific Indian author, journalist and editor. He studied at Government College, Lahore, and later at King's College London and the Inner Temple, London. He served as editor of prominent magazines and newspapers, including the Illustrated Weekly of India and the Hindustan Times. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1974. His major works include the novel "Train to Pakistan," which deals with the partition of India, "A History of the Sikhs," and the short story "The Portrait of a Lady." He is known for his sharp wit, secular outlook and love for his country. The present story is a memoir in which he recollects his relationship with his grandmother.
The narrator describes his grandmother as a woman who was perpetually old, with a face that appeared "like a portrait" — wrinkled, with silver hair and a stooping posture. She had been married for a long time, and the narrator's parents had moved to the city, leaving him in her care. The narrator's early days in the village were spent with his grandmother, who would wake him in the morning, get him ready for school, and give him breakfast.
The grandmother would accompany the narrator to school, since his school was attached to the temple. While he studied in class, she would sit in the temple and read the scriptures. Both would walk back home together, feeding stray dogs with the leftover chapatis. The grandmother's life was simple and orderly, dedicated to her spinning wheel, her rosary, and her prayers. She never left the house except to visit the temple.
Then came a turning point: the narrator was sent to a city school where he studied English, history, geography and science, subjects that the grandmother could not understand. A new foreign tutor came to teach the narrator, and the grandmother never approved of him. The narrator began going to a university, and a room was set apart for him. The grandmother, who had once been the narrator's constant companion, now found herself isolated. She did not know English, so the narrator's books were a mystery to her. She could no longer accompany him to school, and she took to sitting alone by the spinning wheel, praying.
The narrator then went abroad for five years. The grandmother came to the railway station to see him off, without uttering a word, but "her lips moved in a prayer." When the narrator returned after five years, the grandmother greeted him at the station with her quiet, composed presence, ready to pray. That evening she celebrated her grandson's homecoming by beating her drum and singing songs of the homecoming of warriors, to the surprise of everyone.
The very next morning, the grandmother fell ill. The doctor said she had a mild fever, but that it would pass. She refused to take medicine, saying her end was near. She spent her last hours praying and telling her beads, and then lay down and died, a serene smile on her face. The narrator found that his grandmother's body was "cold and pale." She had "omitted to pray" only once, during her death, for she was a woman of faith who did not need a last prayer to depart. She had spent her life in quiet devotion, and she died with a peaceful smile, the way a good person should.
The central figure of the story. She is a deeply religious, kind-hearted and disciplined woman who is "old and wrinkled for the twenty years" the narrator knew her. She is physically weak and stooping, but emotionally strong. She is the epitome of selfless love, devotion and sacrifice. She shares a special bond with her grandson, though the gap between them widens with time and education.
The writer himself, who narrates the story in the first person. He is initially a small boy completely dependent on his grandmother, then grows into an educated young man who drifts away from her. He is affectionate, observant and nostalgic, and realizes the value of his grandmother only after her death.
Mentioned briefly. He was the grandmother's son who lived in the city. His presence in the story is minimal, which highlights how the grandmother's attention was entirely on her grandson.
A foreign-educated young man who teaches the narrator English and science in the city. The grandmother never approves of him because he teaches things she cannot understand and he is an embodiment of the new, Westernized education that separates her from her grandson.
The story explores several profound themes. The central theme is the bond of love and affection between a grandmother and her grandson, which transcends all barriers of age, time and distance. A second theme is the conflict between tradition and modernity: the grandmother represents traditional values, faith and the old way of life, while the city school and the English tutor represent the modern world of science and progress that gradually pushes her out of her grandson's life. A third theme is the inevitability of change and the passage of time, which quietly erodes even the closest of relationships.
The story also examines the loneliness of old age. As the narrator grows up, the grandmother is left alone, isolated by her ignorance of the new education and by the busy world around her. Yet she never complains. Finally, the story touches upon death and spirituality — the grandmother's calm acceptance of death, her faith that the end of life is a natural and peaceful transition, and her serene smile at the moment of death make her departure not a tragedy but a quiet triumph of the spirit.
| Aspect | Village Life | City Life |
|---|---|---|
| Grandmother's Role | Constant companion, caregiver, goes to school with narrator | Isolated; sits alone at the spinning wheel and prays |
| Education | Narrator learns about God, scriptures, basic reading | English, history, geography, science — unknown to grandmother |
| Bond | Extremely close, shared meals and walks | Gap widens; grandmother loses her place in narrator's life |
| Grandmother's Activity | Reading scriptures in the temple, feeding dogs | Prayer, telling beads, spinning wheel, isolation |
| Event | Detail |
|---|---|
| Early childhood | Grandmother wakes narrator, takes him to temple-school, feeds stray dogs |
| Turning point | City school with English and science; foreign tutor arrives |
| University | Separate room; grandmother excluded from narrator's world |
| Going abroad | Grandmother silent at the station; lips moving in prayer |
| Return | Grandmother sings songs of warriors' homecoming |
| Death | Falls ill, refuses medicine, prays and dies peacefully with a smile |
"The Portrait of a Lady" is a timeless tribute to an ordinary woman whose life was extraordinary in its quiet devotion. Through simple, evocative prose, Khushwant Singh portrays the deep, unspoken bond between a grandmother and her grandson, and the silent pain of growing apart. The story reminds us that love does not need words, and that faith can bring peace even at the moment of death. It is a gentle lesson in gratitude, reminding us to value our elders while they are with us.
The grandmother's portrait-like stillness and her serene death leave a lasting impression on the reader. The story is not merely about loss but about the enduring presence of a loved one in memory. Her calm acceptance of change, her dignity in isolation, and her peaceful end teach us that true strength lies in quiet acceptance. The story remains relevant because every generation faces the same tension between the old and the new, and every heart knows the pain of parting from those it loves.