Pointing to a man in a photograph, Anitha said, "His mother's only daughter is my mother." How is Anitha related to that man?

Introduction / Context:
This blood relation problem involves a photograph and a layered description: his mother's only daughter is my mother. You are asked to determine how the speaker, Anitha, is related to the man in the photograph. Such questions test whether you can carefully substitute relationships step by step and recognise standard relations like aunt, niece or cousin.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Anitha is pointing to a man in a photograph.
• She says, his mother's only daughter is my mother.
• His mother refers to the man's mother.
• That woman's only daughter is Anitha's mother.
• No other siblings or spouses are mentioned, and standard, simple family structures are assumed.

Concept / Approach:
The key step is to understand the phrase his mother's only daughter. If the man's mother has only one daughter and that daughter is Anitha's mother, then Anitha's mother is also the man's sister. Once Anitha's mother is identified as the man's sister, Anitha becomes the child of the man's sister. The child of one's sister is called a niece (if female) or nephew (if male). Since Anitha is the speaker and is female, she is the man's niece.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Let M be the man in the photograph.Step 2: M's mother is some lady L.Step 3: L's only daughter is my mother, says Anitha, so Anitha's mother is L's daughter.Step 4: Therefore, Anitha's mother is the only daughter of M's mother L.Step 5: If Anitha's mother is L's only daughter, then she is M's sister, because M is also a child of L.Step 6: Anitha is the child of M's sister, so Anitha is M's niece.

Verification / Alternative check:
Draw a simple family: mother L has two children, the man in the photograph M (a son) and a daughter who becomes Anitha's mother. Since the daughter is the only daughter, there are no other sisters. Anitha is the child of this daughter. From M's perspective, his sister has a child, Anitha. This is exactly the niece relationship. No alternative reading (for example, treating the man as a cousin) is consistent with the description his mother's only daughter is my mother.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Aunt would mean that Anitha is in an older generation than the man, which contradicts her being the child of his sister.Mother is impossible because Anitha's mother is clearly a different person, namely the only daughter of the man's mother.Sister would require Anitha and the man to share parents directly; here her mother is his sister, not his mother.Cousin would require them to share grandparents through siblings of their parents, not a direct aunt-niece link.

Common Pitfalls:
Some learners misread only daughter as only child and incorrectly assume the man cannot exist as a son. Others mix up the direction of the relation and conclude that the man is the niece or nephew of Anitha. Always start from the innermost phrase (his mother's only daughter) and move outward, making sure you know whether the relationship is from the man to Anitha or from Anitha to the man.

Final Answer:
Anitha is related to the man in the photograph as his Niece.