How did the grandmother receive the narrator when he returned from abroad? Do you notice a change in her behaviour?
The narrator went abroad for higher studies. He had to stay abroad for five years. The grandmother went to the railway station to see him off. The narrator thought that perhaps he was seeing her for the last time. She was terribly old and could die at any time. But he was proved wrong. When he returned home after five years, she came to the railway station to receive him. She didn’t look even a day older. She clasped him in her arms. He could hear her reciting her prayers.
In the evening a change came over her. She seemed to be quite excited. She didn’t pray. It was quite unusual. She collected the women of the neighbourhood. She got an old drum and started to sing. For several hours she continued thumping the sagging skins of the old drum. She sang of the home-coming of warriors. She would not stop. They had to persuade her to stop to avoid overstraining. It was quite unusual for the grandmother to behave in that fashion. That was the first time that she forgot even to pray.
Describe how the common bond of friendship was broken when the narrator’s parents sent for them in the city.
Describe in brief the pen-picture of the narrator’s grandmother highlighting her noble qualities.
Describe the unique relationship of the grandmother with the sparrows. How did the sparrows mourn her death?
Draw a contrast of the life the narrator’s grandmother spent in the village with the kind of life she led in the city. Particularly, highlight her concern for her grandson’s education.
