The Portrait of A Lady

The Portrait of a Lady

                       by  Khushwant Singh

Analysis: 

·       The story ‘The Portrait of A Lady’ is written by Khushwant Singh, a noted Indo Anglian writer and journalist who is known for his writings with humour and sarcasm such as his newspaper column 'With Malice Towards One and All' and his novel 'Train to Pakistan'.

·       The narrator’s grandmother was an old and beautiful lady who was kind and religious. She used to count the beads of rosary, say prayers and feed  animals and birds around her.

· The story portrays the grandmother of Khushwant Singh as a strong lady who had strong faith in her religious beliefs and didn’t compromise with her beliefs and her way of living even after coming to city and living in a completely different environment.

·      The story does a comparative study of religious and traditional education system in village and modern education system in city’s English school as the two different worlds.

·      The story explores the theme of generation gap, distance in relations, religious foundation of Indian education system, decline in value system and need to develop kindness and empathy towards animals and other beings.

·       The story is autobiographical in nature and narrative in style as it depicts an important phase of the writer’s education and development.

·      The story conveys the message that we need to empathetic and kind towards others and we should be strong in our beliefs without forcing others to follow our beliefs. The story stresses that we should stick to our value system and nourish a strong bond among our relations.

·      In this story a beautiful bond is portrayed between the narrator and his grandmother but the distance widened as the narrator grew up, moved to the city and started studying in an English medium school.

·      The story highlights his grandmother’s affinity with nature, animals and birds who all reciprocated their love and admiration to her at time of her departure to heavenly abode.

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Summary  /  Synopsis :

§  The narrator, Khushbant Singh’s grandmother was an old woman. It appeared to him as if she had been old and wrinkled for all the time. She had always been short, fat and slightly bent. He could not even think that his grandmother was once young and pretty. In the portrait of his grandfather he looked at least a hundred years old. The narrator’s grandmother told about the games she used to play which was difficult for him to believe. She was always beautiful and hobbled about the house in spotless white sari telling the beads of her rosary and used to say the prayers in a sing song manner.

§  The grandmother and narrator were good friends. His parents left her when they went to live in the city. She used to wake him up in the morning and make him ready for school as well as accompanied him to the school and later go the temple attached to the school. She used to give him a stale chapati with sugar to the narrator in breakfast and carry some chapatis for dogs.

§  There was a turning-point in this friendship when narrator’s parents called both of them to the city. They shared the same room but she couldn’t go to school with him as he used to go to an English school in the school bus. Owing to her kindness she started feeding sparrows in the courtyard of the house. She was unhappy with the fact that scriptures were not taught in school and also when she could not help him with the lessons on Science and English and thus the distance widened. She was not happy with his music classes as to her, music had lewd associations.

§  When he went to the college, he lived in a room of his own and the common link of friendship was snapped. She made herself busy with her wheel spinning thread, rosary reciting prayers and feeding the sparrows with bread crumbs.

§  When the narrator was going abroad for five years for further studies, he knew his grandmother would be upset. But she restricted herself to talk nor she showed any emotion and her mind was lost in prayer.

§  After five years he came back home and was received by her at the station. She still didn’t say any words. In the evening, however, she collected the women of the neighbourhood, started beating an old drum (dholak) and singing to celebrate his arrival. That was the first time that she did not pray.

§  The next morning she became ill. The doctor told that it was a mild fever. But his grandmother thought that her end was near. She started praying without wasting any moment. After some time her lips stopped moving and the rosary fell from her life less fingers and she was dead.

§  In the evening when she was being taken away on a stretcher to be cremated, the sun was setting and had lit her room and verandah with a blaze of golden light as if to give her the final tribute. Not only this, a thousands of sparrows came and sat in verandah but made no chirruping. When the bread was thrown to them, they didn’t eat, nor did they notice, and flew off when they carried away the grandmother’s corpse as if they came to pay last respects to her.

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Important Question answers

Q1. The three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother are described before he left the country to study abroad. Discuss.

Ans. I Phase - The grandmother and narrator were good friends in his childhood when they lived in a village and his parents were in the city. She used to wake him up in the morning and make him ready for school as well as accompanied him to the school. She used to give him a stale chapati with sugar to the narrator in breakfast and come back home together.

II Phase - There was a turning-point in this friendship when narrator’s parents called both of them to the city. They shared the same room but she couldn’t go to school with him as he used to go to an English school in the school bus. She became unhappy when she could not help him with the lessons on Science and English and thus the distance widened.

III Phase - When the narrator went to the college, he lived in a room of his own and the common link of friendship was broken. She became sad but accepted the reality quietly without any objection or grudge. She made herself busy with her spinning wheel, telling rosary beads and feeding the sparrows.

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Q2. What were the three things about education in the city that made the grandmother unhappy?

Ans. The author's grandmother was unhappy with education provided to him in the English school in city. She wasn't happy with the fact that religion and scriptures were not taught in school. Also when she could not help the author with the lessons on Science and English, she felt disappointed and unhappy, thus the distance widened. She seemed to object against the music classes given to the narrator as to her, music had lewd associations, and not meant for gentlefolk.

Q3. What were the odd ways in which the author's grandmother behaved just before she died? 

     Ans. The narrator's grandmother behaved strangely in her death bed. Just before she fell ill, she paused her prayers for the narrator's homecoming celebration. That's why she said that she did not want to waste any more time talking to her own family members. She wanted to pray to God and compensate for her mistake. She did not meet her family during her last day and started praying and telling beads of rosary. Suddenly her lips stopped and rosary fell from her hands announcing the end of her life.

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    Q4. What are the three ways in which the author's grandmother spent her days after he grew up? 

     Ans. When the narrator grew up, his grandmother used to spend a lot of her time silently chanting prayers simultaneously telling beads of rosary. She also took up the habit of feeding sparrow the bits of bread, that came in the balcony every day. Grandmother rarely left her spinning while after the narrator grew up. Therefore, she spent most of her time with the spinning wheel, rosary and sparrows.

    Q5. The author's grandmother was a religious lady who was strong in character and had strong belief in traditions. Discuss with examples.

    Ans. The author's grandmother was a religious lady and her beliefs and action strongly prove this. She spent most of her time in praying and telling the beads of rosary when she woke him up or made him ready for the school. She took care that the narrator also learnt the prayers while listening them. She was unhappy with the fact that religion, God and scriptures were not taught in the English school. She spent all the time reading scriptures and praying in the temple while the narrator was in school. 

The grandmother was a strong lady who had firm faith in her traditions, religion and beliefs. Even if she couldn't accept new education system and modernisation, she preferred to stick to her beliefs and kept praying her own way. She was a lady of strong character and didn't listen to her family members who asked her to rest in the last chapter of her life. She declined even talking to her family in her death bed so that she could pray more while leaving this world. She neither forced others to do what she considered right nor she compromised with her beliefs. 

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A Slumber did my Spirit Seal

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal

                                  By William Wordsworth

Analysis of the poem: 

§  The poem ‘A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal’ is composed by William Wordsworth, a renowned English poet and better known as nature poet of Romantic Era.

§  The poem is subjective as it describes the poet’s emotions and experience associated with earth’s daughter, Lucy whose reference can be found in some of his poems. Lucy is a personification of an idea or abstract identity of nature that is adored by the poet.

§  The poem reflects the themes that nature has an identity, and there is a connection between the human spirit and the natural world. It is a recurring theme in Romantic poetry, reflecting the idea that humans are intimately linked to the natural world.

§  The poem is divided in two stanzas, consisting a quatrain each (stanza of 4 lines). It has proper rhyme scheme with each alternate line rhyming as 'abab'.

Wordsworth's language and imagery evoke a sense of both tranquility and melancholy, inviting readers to ponder over the mysteries of life and death.

§  The tone of the poem is elegaic and melancholic as the poet feels sad remembering Lucy, the nature’s daughter who died young. The tone of the poem is also philosophical as the poet conveys that we get mixed with, and become a part of nature after our death.

§  One is clearly able to make out the message of the poem that we are a part of nature which embodies life and death, and life goes on despite the death of our loved ones.

 How I Taught My Grandmother to Read

Line by Line Explanation

 

A slumber did my spirit seal—

I had no human fears.

She seemed a thing that could not feel

The touch of earthly years.

The poet begins by stating that his spirit was sealed or closed off as if in a state of slumber and this slumber symbolises eternal sleep, here it is the death of his loved one. He wants to convey that his spirit experiences a state of profound sleep or death like state which has caused a numbness. This happened due to the death of Lucy, the daughter of earth. The poet was so emotionally connected with Lucy that after her death which is eternal sleep, his soul also experiences the same state of slumber which has forbidden him to feel anything.

Due to this sad state, the speaker is unable to experience human fears which refers to the human sensations. Probably, the poet has stopped experiencing any sensations as he is in utter grief and shock after Lucy’s death. This implies that poet undergoes a sense of calmness or departure from the anxieties or fears of life as he has accepted the death as a truth of life after initial emotional turmoil. He feels that she, in spite of being alive, was away from fears, weaknesses or any impact of earthly life such as aging, diseases, pain, stress, etc. Here, the poet presents the girl as an embodiment of nature which is eternal and ceaseless, untouched by the passage of time, free from the effects of years or aging that is faced by mortals or human beings.

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No motion has she now, no force—

She neither hears nor sees,

Rolled round in earth’s diurnal course

With rocks and stones and trees.

The earth’s daughter is described to be having no movement nor energy. After death she can’t move and unable to do anything. She can’t see nor can she hear. The poet wants to convey that death has snatched all her senses which enable all the mortals to see, hear, walk and feel in their life. She can’t do anything that humans do as she has become a part of earth after her death and that is the destiny of all the mortals. Now, she moves along with earth’s rotation and revolution. She rolls and rolls just like all the physical features of earth such as rocks, trees, stones and all the spheres. She is now a part of the cyclical nature of the earth's daily course or rotation. Lucy, being the daughter of nature, was a part of earth and shall remain a part of its existence even after her death. Here, the poet conveys the philosophy of human life that we humans are constituted of soil, and shall become the part of this earth only, after death.

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Summary / Synopsis

·       "A slumber did my spirit seal" is a reflective and contemplative poem that explores themes of nature, time, and the enduring connection between the human spirit and the natural world.  

The poet is in a state of profound stillness or death like numbness, where his spirit is sealed in slumber, because Lucy, the daughter of earth, is dead. She becomes unresponsive to the passage of time such as motion, energy and senses of life. She eventually mixes with the natural elements of the earth. Wordsworth often explored themes of nature, mortality, and life in his poetry, and so he did in this poem. Lucy is associated with inanimate elements of earth such as rocks, stones, and trees, after death. It implies all living beings’ return to, or integration with, the earth and its components.

Theme

The poem deals with multiple themes ranging from a personal loss due to death of a beloved one, to the continuity of life. The poem reflects the theme that nature has an identity and there is an unbreakable connection between the human spirit and the natural world. The poem also discusses on mortality of human life and the enduring power and ceaselessness of nature.

 

Message

The poem brings out the message through the poem that we are a part of nature which embodies life and death, and we have to go back to the elements of nature after our death. He emphasises that nature has an identity and we are no different from nature hence we shouldn't be indifferent towards any loss or damage to nature nor we should cause any harm to nature. The poet conveys that the life goes on despite the most unbearable loss i.e. death of our loved ones. 

 Poetic Devices

A slumber did my spirit seal — Alliteration, pathos, symbolism

I had no human fears –  Alliteration, paradox, symbolism

She seemed a thing that could not feel – Consonance, paradox  

The touch of earthly years – Symbolism

No motion has she now, no force — Alliteration, Repetition, Assonance

She neither hears nor sees –  Alliteration, Assonance, Consonance

Rolled round in earth’s diurnal course – Alliteration, Consonance, Imagery

With rocks and stones and trees – Imagery, Repetition, Consonance, Polysyndeton

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Questions – Answers

Q1. How does the poet imagine her to be, after death?

Ans. The poet feels that after death Lucy has become a part of earth. Now, she moves along with earth’s rotation. She rolls and rolls just like all the spheres of earth such as rocks, trees, stones and all the features of the earth. She is now a part of the cyclical nature of the earth's daily rotation or daily course. Lucy, being the daughter of nature, was a part of earth and shall remain a part of its existence even after her death.

Q2. Why could she not feel the touch of earthly years?

Ans. The poet says that after death Lucy is free from the weaknesses and impact of earthly life. Now, she has ceased to grow and she won’t face aging and other blemishes. Now, she will remain away from the phases of human life on this earth as she has become a part earth itself.

Q3. What does the poet mean by ‘A slumber did my spirit seal’? 

Ans. Through this line the poet means to say that a slumber which refers to the sudden death of Lucy came as a shock to the poet. The grief of losing his beloved made him numb and unable to feel anything. It seems to him as if a deep sleep had closed off his spirit and, shut his mind and heart and that’s why he was unable to perceive any emotion or human fears.

RTC 

No motion has she now, no force—

She neither hears nor sees,

Rolled round in earth’s diurnal course

With rocks and stones and trees.

Q1. What does ‘diurnal course’ mean?

Q2. Who is the poet talking about? 

Q3. Why doesn't she have any motion or force? 

Q4. Where is she now?

Q5. What does the poet want to convey in these lines? 

Q6. Which poetic device is used in last two lines? 

Answers:

A1. The phrase ‘diurnal course’ means daily course. Here, it refers to earth's rotation or movement of earth on its axis within 24 hours.

A2. The poet is talking about Lucy, earth's daughter who is dead now. 

A3. She doesn't have any motion or force because she is dead, hence free from any blemishes or blessings of earthly life. 

A4. She has now become a part of earth or nature as it happens with living soul after his/her death. After our death we get mixed into soil as we are a trifle part of eternal nature.

A5. The poet wants to convey in these lines that our life on this earth is transient or temporary and the nature is eternal. We are a part of nature and have to return to nature after our transient life. 

A6. The poetic device is used in last two lines is Imagery as an image of the earth and its physical features is created. 

Book That Saved the Earth

The Book That Saved the Earth

                                By Claire Boiko

 

Analysis : 

·       ‘The Book That Saved the Earth’ is a humorous play written by CLAIRE BOIKO. It is a science fiction involving the characters most of whom are aliens from Mars.

·       This play describes how ‘Mother Goose’ a well-known book of nursery rhymes in English, was successful in saving the planet Earth from a Martian invasion.

·       The play is about how Martian invasion is foiled by a book which is an important medium of education, and how language is a powerful tool to establish earth’s supremacy over other planets which don’t have books.

·       The dialogues are interesting and clever and are able to expose the main plot of the play and speak all about the characters.

·       Interesting characters like Think Tank and his apprentice, Noodle are most important elements of the play, who reveal the story and add humour and interest to the development of the story.

·       The play expounds the age old truth that education is the most powerful tool of civilisation, advancement and progress, but half knowledge and incomplete information is highly dangerous.

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Summary /  Synopsis:

§  The curtain rises in the Museum of Ancient History: Department of the Twentieth Century on the Planet Earth. The Historian talked about a Martian invasion in the year 2040. She showed the video where, in the opening scene two Martians, Think Tank and Noodle were talking about their invasion fleet which they had sent on the Earth to invade it. Think Tank considered that he was the most intelligent creature and worthy ruler of Mars though he was not. Noodle used to speak to him using salutations and give him due respect considering him his boss. Noodle established contact with the crew who had landed in Centreville Library on Earth.

§  Think Tank started speaking to his crew – Iota, Omega and Oop and asked them to describe the place and the weird things they were holding in their hands. The crew didn’t know that they had arrived at an Earth library and were perplexed about what books were for, as they hadn’t ever seen a book. They were misled by Think Tank who mistook those weird looking things for sandwiches and asked the crew to eat the sandwiches to prove him right.

§  Later, Noodle found out that those things are not be eaten but, were intended for communication. Then, Think Tank ordered them to listen to the books which he considered to be ‘communication sandwiches’ After Noodle's advice and reminder the crew took vitamins and were able to read the book after that. The crew chose the book ‘Mother Goose’ a collection of nursery rhymes to read.  But, they could only read the words. They were not able to understand proper explanation of the rhymes because it was tough for them to read figurative meaning from the books.

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§  Think-Tank interrupted and started explaining the rhymes. He also felt terrified and disturbed to know that earthlings had advanced to mix agriculture with mining and discovered to grow cockle shells and rare metals in their fields. He was extremely horrified after hearing the lines like ‘cow jumped over the moon’, ‘a little dog laughed’, and ‘dish ran away with a spoon’. Think-Tank believed that Earthlings have advanced to the point where even pets can be raised to have emotions and domestic animals had been trained to go in space. He concluded that Earthlings had taught millions of cows to launch interplanetary invasion.

§  Furthermore, seeing the image of 'Humpty Dumpty' which resembled Think-Tank's large balloon shaped head, he was terrified of the lines 'Humpty Dumpty had a great fall,' fearing that Earthlings would seize Mars and overthrow Think-Tank.

§  As Think Tank was afraid excessively, he ordered his crew to return to Mars and forget the idea of invading Earth. He also fled to Alpha Centauri, a star, hundred million miles away from Mars. The play concluded with the Historian informing that Noodle became the Chief of Mars and he established cordial relations with the earth. The people on earth helped Noodle build a library in Marsopolis. The curtain falls.

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Message

The play expounds the age old truth that education is the most powerful tool of civilisation, advancement and progress, but half knowledge and incomplete information is highly dangerous. We must take a comprehensive view of things before reaching the conclusion that's what Think Tank couldn't do. We should look into the details, and not come out with superficial conclusions or wild guesses as it may be hazardous.

 The play teaches us to be smart, informed and knowledge seeking person like Noodle, and not a proud, vain, ill-mannered and authoritative boss like Think Tank.

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Important Question Answers

Q1. How could a book save the earth from Martian invasion?

Ans. ‘Mother Goose’, the book of nursery rhymes frightened the Martian invaders as Think Tank wrongly decoded the meaning of its rhymes concluding that earthlings have already planned to invade Mars and are far ahead in terms of scientific and technological advancements. They transcribed from the rhymes that the people on earth had developed the technology to grow shells and rare metals like silver and they had taught their cows to go on moon and, thus cows could be sent on interplanetary invasion. This wrong interpretation by Think Tank scared him so much that he called his invasion fleet back and ran away from Mars to Alpha Cetauri. Eventually, the earth evaded the invasion due to a book, ‘Mother Goose’.

Q2. How does Noodle very smartly put up his ideas before his boss without offending him or hurting his sentiments?

Ans. Noodle is very smart, clever and manipulative. He knows how to put in his ideas or opinions without offending his boss, Think Tank or without letting him know that his ideas are not so good. Noodle uses the words like insignificant idea, trifling mind or cloudy piece of data for his suggestions even when his ideas are brilliant as he doesn’t want to be condescending towards his boss as well as retain his job with dignity.

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Snake and the Mirror

The snake and the Mirror

                                By Vaikom Muhammad Basheer

Analysis: 

·       The story ‘The Snake and the Mirror’ is written by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer in Malyalam. It is translated in English by V. Abdulla.  

·       ‘The Snake and the Mirror’ is an interesting and humorous story about a homeopathic doctor who had an interesting but terrifying encounter with a cobra.

·       The doctor was very fond of his own good looks and hopeful of his future prospects. This influenced his way of telling the episode and making fun of his own situation. He narrated entire episode in such graphic and lively manner that his listeners listened to him in complete attention and bewilderment.

·       The story involves lot of humour, interest, twist, wit and suspense which are integral elements of a good story.

 

Summary  /  Synopsis

·       "The Snake and the Mirror" by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer is a humorous and interesting short story that narrates an unusual and terrifying encounter between a homeopathic doctor and a snake in his small rented room. The story unfolds as the doctor, who is a bachelor and has recently set up his medical practice. His earning is not good enough for a comfortable life.

·       He was getting ready for bed but it was a hot day and the house was not electrified. He decided to read and took out a book ‘Materia Medica’.

·       The doctor heard familiar sound of rats three times. Meanwhile the mirror on his table attracted his attention and he made two decisions, one of them was to have a clean shave and grow a thin moustache to look more handsome after all he was a bachelor, and a doctor. He took another earth shaking decision to keep an attractive smile on his face to look more handsome. He also disclosed his desire to marry a successful doctor who was fat so that she wouldn’t catch him if he committed a mistake.

·       After some time he stopped hearing that noise of rats, and then, the doctor noticed a snake coiled on his shoulder. The doctor remained remarkably composed, realising the intensity of the danger he was facing. He suddenly thought of medicine which he should apply if he got bitten by snake. He wasn’t having any medicine and so he smiled at himself and his foolishness.

·       The snake, however, got distracted by its own reflection in the mirror, leading to a comical moment where the doctor contemplated whether the snake was admiring its own beauty or making decisions about its appearance.

·       Despite the danger, the doctor managed to quietly leave the room and run to safety. The story concludes with a humorous twist, revealing that the doctor's possessions were stolen by a thief, leaving behind only the doctor's dirty vest as a final insult.

·       At the end, he revealed that his wife was slim and good at running, which was a humorous irony.

·       The narrative is laced with irony, as the doctor, who initially contemplated marriage to a wealthy and fat woman, finds himself in a life-threatening situation with a snake. The story explores themes of fear, quick thinking, and the unpredictability of life, all presented in a humorous and engaging manner.

Message

·       The chapter clearly highlights that the stories told in a dramatic and lively manner cast immense impact on the listeners leaving them in rapt attention and amazement.

·       The story teaches us not to be hopeless or panic in problematic situations. We should not be depressed or scared in adverse situations as fear forces us to act suddenly and foolishly, and take wrong decisions, which may make the things worse. The doctor, though he was scared, kept patience and waited for the right moment which arrived at last. One should be patient and steady enough to think and take logical decisions and wise steps in all circumstances.