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This is a first-person account by Khushwant Singh about his relationship with his grandmother. The story traces their bond from his childhood in the village, where she was his constant companion and took him to school, t…
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Describe the narrator's relationship with his grandmother from childhood to her death, highlighting the key changes.
It evolved from a close, constant companionship in the village to a gradual distancing with the narrator's English education, and finally to a silent, respectful acceptance of her seclusion and death.
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Analyse the theme of the cultural divide between the narrator and his grandmother as depicted in the story.
The divide is shown through the grandmother's disapproval of English education and music, which she saw as a departure from traditional religious and scriptural learning, leading to their emotional separation.
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Describe the scene at the grandmother's death and the reaction of the sparrows.
Thousands of sparrows sat scattered in the verandah and room, with no chirruping. They took no notice of the bread crumbs and flew away quietly when the corpse was carried off.
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Discuss the significance of the grandmother's relationship with the sparrows in the story.
It symbolizes her unique, silent, and loving connection with nature and her pure, selfless spirit, and their silence at her death marks the profound loss of that bond.
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Explain the grandmother's reaction to the narrator's education in English and western science.
She was unhappy and distressed because she did not believe in these things and felt the teaching lacked God and scriptures, leading to her silence and disapproval.
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Describe the scene of the grandmother feeding the sparrows.
She sat in the verandah breaking bread into bits, with hundreds of birds creating a 'veritable bedlam of chirrupings', some perching on her legs, shoulders, and head, while she smiled and never shooed them away.
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What was the 'turning-point' in the narrator's friendship with his grandmother?
The narrator's move to the city to attend an English school, which meant his grandmother no longer accompanied him to school.
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Describe the grandmother's appearance as depicted in the story.
She was short, fat, slightly bent, with a criss-cross of wrinkles, silver locks, and wore spotless white clothes, always telling the beads of her rosary.
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What was the grandmother's attitude towards music? Why did she feel this way?
She disapproved of it, considering it lewd and the monopoly of harlots and beggars, not meant for gentlefolk.
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What happened on the evening of the narrator's arrival after five years?
A change came over her; she did not pray but collected neighbourhood women, got an old drum, and sang of the home-coming of warriors.
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How did the grandmother react to her final illness?
She thought her end was near, said she had omitted to pray, and refused to waste time talking, lying peacefully in bed praying and telling her beads.
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Why was the grandmother distressed when the narrator started learning music at school?
To her, music had lewd associations and was the monopoly of harlots and beggars.
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What was the grandmother's routine after the narrator went to university?
She accepted her seclusion, spending her time spinning, reciting prayers, and feeding sparrows.
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How did the grandmother react when the narrator left for abroad?
She was not sentimental and showed no emotion, silently kissing his forehead.
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What was the narrator's initial reaction to the thought of his grandmother being young and pretty?
He found the thought almost revolting.
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What did the grandmother carry with her to school for the village dogs?
Several stale chapattis.
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