The Portrait of a Lady

by Khushwant Singh

‘A Khushwant Singh short story is not flamboyant but modest, restrained, well-crafted…Perhaps his greatest gift as a writer is a wonderful particularity of description’—London Magazine

Khushwant Singh first established his reputation as a writer through the short story. His stories—wry, poignant, erotic and, above all, human—bear testimony to Khushwant Singh’s remarkable range and his ability to create an unforgettable world. Spanning over half a century, this volume contains all the short stories Khushwant Singh has ever written, including the delightfully tongue-in-cheek ‘The Maharani of Chootiapuram’, written in 2008. ‘

Khushwant’s stories enthrall…[He has]an ability akin to that of Somerset Maugham…the ability to entertain intelligently’—India Today

‘His stories are better than [those of] any Indian writing in English—Times of India

‘The Collected Short Stories leaves the reader in a delightful, inebriated trance’—Sunday Chronicle

‘He is not an ordinary short story writer…[Collected Stories] is delightful reading’—Hindustan Times

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, India, Indian Literature

470 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Khushwant Singh, (Punjabi: ਖ਼ੁਸ਼ਵੰਤ ਸਿੰਘ, Hindi: खुशवंत सिंह) born on 2 February 1915 in Hadali, Undivided India, (now a part of Pakistan), was a prominent Indian novelist and journalist. Singh's weekly column, "With Malice towards One and All", carried by several Indian newspapers, was among the most widely-read columns in the country.

An important post-colonial novelist writing in English, Singh is best known for his trenchant secularism, his humor, and an abiding love of poetry. His comparisons of social and behavioral characteristics of Westerners and Indians are laced with acid wit.

Reviews

[Prabhjot Kaur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Khushwant Singh is hailed as the best literary writer of India and it is rightly so. His writing is brilliant and I may not always like his books but his writing is always engrossing.

This is a set of multiple short-stories and we had to read this as part of our English class and this was my first Khushwant Singh read and since then I have read most of his work. Although I read this a long time ago, this story by Khushwant Singh has remained with me through the years. The way he captured every little detail, things that don't even seem noteworthy is really inspiring and emotional.

4.5 stars

[Sundram · Rating 4 out of 5]

"She
could never have been pretty; but she was always beautiful."
This story has my heart 🥺💚 First I've read it during my school in class 11th and I was in love with this story , today I found my school's English lit book called Hornbill which had this story and many more and I felt something missing in my life while reading it . You can read this story and can relate the circumstances with even how your relationship with your parents are changing throughout . That's the ugliness of generation gal , with us getting self dependent we make it harder for our parents to understand us and we don't even try our best in making them understand as they did when we were Young .

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This eclectic collection contains some of the finest examples of Indian English literature. They are charming, poignant, ruthless, dark, humorous and yet gritty in a unique fashion.
Reading these stories almost felt like looking at ourselves through a multicoloured glass. The views changed hues dramatically. But the writing remained sublime.
If only I could write like this!
Recommended, obviously.

[Stephy Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Left me in tears.

[Prabhat sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Portrait of a Lady (Paperback) by Khushwant Singh- This book is a part of the autobiography of Khushwant Singh. First part- The narrative from his days at Hadali, Khushab District, Punjab (which now lies in Pakistan) The book records his days with his grandmother. She was very old with wrinkle filled face. She was fat, short and bent. She moved about the house with her rosary in her hand. She was always dressed in white. Her hair was white. Her lips always moved in prayer. She would wake up the author and prepare him for school. She went with him to school. The school was attached to the temple. While children learnt alphabet, she sat inside and read religious books. After school they came back together. She gave bread to village dogs. After some time, they went to the city. Second part- The author’s family has shifted from Hadali to New Delhi. He has been admitted to Modern School New Delhi which is an English medium school. Every day she sat in verandah with her rosary. She used to place pieces of bread for the birds. Birds would arrive and eat pieces of bread. The grandmother could not help him with his lessons. She was not contented with what he learnt there. The writer told her that he was taught music. The grandmother did not like it. For her, music was meant for prostitutes. She was unhappy because there was no religious teaching at that school. There were no stray dogs. She took to feeding sparrows. Third part- The author then left for England for further studies. His grandmother did not feel upset. She went to the station to see him off. At the time of parting, she kissed the Khushwant Singh. When he returned after five years, she came to the railway station to receive him. She did not look even a day older. Even now she was saying her prayer. In the evening she did not pray. She brought a drum. She called women from her neighbourhood. She sang songs to celebrate the return of her grandson. The next, morning she fell ill. She lay peacefully in her bed praying. She died peacefully. In remembrance of his grandmother, Author’s parents placed pieces of bread for the birds. The sparrows arrived and sat on the wall. They did not chirp. They were so much affected by her death that they did not touch the crumbs placed for them on the ground.

[Dr Kashmira Gohil · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a collection of total 38 short stories by the author in his typical lyrical style. When you read a story by Khushvant Singh, it's the reading journey that matters most often & not the ending which may come abruptly or the story consequence left to the readers imagination. I liked one story the most among all others in this volume, is by the title of this book, the portrait of a lady. 3 stars for this one.

[Book'd Hitu · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful mix of entertaining and thought provoking stories. Some of them were not so appealing but overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book.
Khushwant singh was having a very unique style of writing which I loved the most. This was my third book by him and I have been a fan of his words since the first one.
Overall a great entertaining read.
Must read for all who want to have a good dose of laughter.
Looking forward to read the second volume soon.

[Jatin Kanwar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an absolute treat for all Indian short fiction admirers . Unlike the writers of the league of Chetan Bhagat , Khushwant Singh is a class apart and caters especially to literary senses of the readers . This book is a collection to 40 of his short stories .

[Anaïs · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Only read the portrait of a lady though. Will need to come back to the rest.

[Srikumar Krishna Iyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guess, with this collection, I have read all of Khushwant Singh's short stories.
I just wished he had written more novels. Some of the short stories had ideas which could have been developed into Novels or Novellas.
The satire in some of the short stories are simply amazing, typical of Singh's style.
This 470 pages long collection actually contains the stories published as The mark of Vishnu and other stories and Paradise and other stories and also few other misc. collections.
Since I have already read the above mentioned collections, I have skipped them and was able to complete reading this complete collection in quick time.
This complete collection includes the following stories (38):
(1-22) was also published as The Mark of Vishnu and other stories
1) Posthumous
2) Karma
3) Mark Of Vishnu
4) The Butterfly
5) The Interview
6) The Portrait of a Lady
7) The Voice of God
8) A Punjab Pastorale
9) Kusum
10) The Riot
11) The Rape
12) The Memsahib of Mandla
13) The Great Difference
14) When Sikh Meets Sikh
15) Death Comes to Daulat Ram
16) The Insurance Agent
17) The Fawn
18) Man, How the Government of India Run!
19) The Man with a Clear Conscience
20) Black Jasmine
21) The Bottom-pincher
22) A Bride for the Sahib
23) Maiden Voyage of the Jal Hindia
24) India Is a Strange Country
25) Mr Kanioos and the Great Miracle
26) Mr Singh and the Colour Bar
27) The Morning After the Night Before
28) A love Athir in london
29) Rats and Cats in the House of Culture
30) The Tie
31) My Own My Native Land
32) The Convert
(33-37) was also published as Paradise and other stories
33) Paradise
34) Life's Horoscope
35) Zora Singh
36) Wanted: A Son
37) The Mulberry Tree
The following was published in a magazine in 2008:
38) The Maharani of Chootiapuram

[Arushi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading Khushwant has always been pleasurable for me. I've been hee-heeing and haw-hawing over his ridiculously satirical stories for over a month now. The way these stories have been written, it's as if Khushwant has come alive to tell them to me in my drawing room. Though some stories were not my cup of tea, most were quite engrossing! He's always been my go-to writer whenever I'm in the mood for something light and fun! 

[Unni Babu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a trove of great short stories! Each story has a unique feeling attached to it and leaves a lasting impression. My favourite among the list of short stories in this book is "The Portrait of a Lady" and it has made me emotional, inspired me to write short stories for my blog. Khushwant Singh means talent and quality, and his distinct skill of storytelling is awe-inspiring.

[Arvind Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good and hearth warming collection of stories. Every story is really brought out well with simple and elegant writing. Wonderful use of satire and sarcasm wherever possible to keep the story moving forward. Great book overall which brings out the truest form Indian stories.

[Mario A · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was reminded of this book as I had a chapter from it during my 10th Standard Literature classes, That was the only decent chapter in this book, everything else in this book is unsuitable for school kids. Enough said? :)

[kapil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Literally, most stories in this book shouldn't have made it to the book and stayed in the author's notebook. What an insincere piece of work!

[Chaya Dronamraju · Rating 5 out of 5]

What's there not to like about his stories? Absolutely unputdownable

[The Balaji · Rating 5 out of 5]

An anthology par Magnum opus!

[disposable · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story Mr.Bottom-Pincher while immensely amusing at the same time secretly resonates with the lifestyle of religious leaders of Christian Churches in North-East India.

[Amandeep Ahuja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literally my favourite Indo-Anglian author. His writing weaves stories meticulously. And his stories are filled with wit.

[Saurabh Tiwari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice book

[Tzec · Rating 4 out of 5]

i miss my great-grandma so much

8/10

[✨Vi✨ (HIATUS) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ⭐
(rtc)

[Charne Jeerlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The longer stories are better than the short ones.

[Rajeev · Rating 3 out of 5]

This a collection of short stories penned by the Sardar of prose...very interesting, and imbibes the earthy humor of life in middle class India in full measure. The title story is an account of a the life of the author's grandmother. It is very touching and thought provoking. The collection is interspersed with certain gems that I would rate very highly amongst the best in the genre of short stories that I have read...Please do read it, leaves you feeling light and happy, like you have had a nice meal....I always enjoy Khushwant Singh....he never fails to entertain me...May his soul rest in peace...

[Glenna Barlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

if i was at all unsure about picking up another set of short stories, singh's own words put me at ease. "i believe that short stories should conform to tradition: in being short, having a good beginning, middle and end - preferably a surprise ending with some message to convey." his stories do not disappoint, each one ending with a wry smile. together they paint a picture of india, from government bureaucracy to marriages arranged (primarily) and love, in-laws, and varying views of the west. the range of characters whose perspective he writes from (and convincingly) is truly impressive.

[Ankur Chawla · Rating 2 out of 5]

not a very exiting collection... may be when he got famous with short stories people didn't had much to read or may be that these stories are from his beginning of his life so not is best work... i am a big fan of his but this is not him... may be he is him in making but definitely not the best work.

[Soumendu]

Well ... After a long long time I read Khuswant Singh ... I like his simple language, the funny bones and ofcourse and amazing Indian narrative .. each of the stories can make you laugh, think and enjoy ... an amazing read

[Rahul Khanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cannot comprehend why people felt restraint while rating this hilarious collection of short stories. When I started reading this book I felt 2 stars are enough but as I reached to last six - comparatively long - short stories my rating augmented to 5 stars with a broad smile on my face.

[Ayushi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note to Self, numero dos:Uggggghhhhhhh, can't review this one too!
I dunno what's happening. Been moving around too much all my life! Have to find the review to this one too. Next up, mission retrieving all my PC data this summer!

[Sandeep S · Rating 5 out of 5]

The quick wit and the observational marvel that is Khushwant Singh can be read page to page in each story that can capture the reader's imagination and also provoke him or her to question the deeper things in the Indian society