MY MOTHER AT SIXTY :KAMALA DAS \ POEM\ C B S E 12

Driving from my parent’s

home to Cochin last Friday

morning, I saw my mother,

beside me,

doze, open mouthed, her face

ashen like that

of a corpse and realized with pain

that she was as old as she

looked but soon

put that thought away, and

looked out at Young

Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling

out of their homes, but after the airport’s

security check, standing a few yards

away, I looked again at her, wan, pale

as a late winter’s moon and felt that old

familiar ache, my childhood’s fear,

but all I said was, see you soon, Amma,

all I did was smile and smile and

smile......

 

WORDS	SYNONYMS
DOZE	SLEEP LIGHTLY
ASHEN	MUCH PALE WITH SHOCK, FEAR OR ILLNESS
CORPSE	DEADBODY
SPRINTING	MOVING FAST
SPILLING OUT	RUNNING OUT
WAN	PALE AND GIVING IMPRESSION OF ILLNESS
ACHE	PAIN

 

POET:

Kamala Surayya ( 31 March 1934 – 31 May 2009), popularly known by her one-time pen name Madhavikutty and married name Kamala Das. She was an Indian English poet as well as a leading Malayalam author from Kerala, India. She was popular in Kerala chiefly for  her short stories and autobiography and noted for the English poems and explicit autobiography. She was also a widely read columnist and wrote on diverse topics including women's issues, child care, and politics among others. She received many literary awards, including the Asian World Prize for Literature in 1985.Her popular poems are The Sirens,  Summer in Calcutta, The Descendants, The Old Playhouse and Other Poems, The Stranger Time, Tonight, This Savage Rite (with Pritish Nandy), Collected Poems, The Anamalai Poems, Only the Soul Knows How to Sing,  My Mother At Sixty-six,  Yaa Allah.

 

PARAPHRASE:

The poetess was driving from her mother’s home to Cochin airport. While driving she glanced on her mother who was sitting beside her in the car. She saw that her mother’s mouth was open and face was pale and lifeless. She was mush worried and dishearten. She felt nostalgic of childhood days of separation with her mother. Then she looks through the widow of the car and sees the young trees running behind and the children rushing out of their homes into the street in gay. It seems to her the fast running off life, human childhood and youth. Particularly her mother’s old age, frail and unhealthy health and imminent death upset and agonize her.
Then they reaches the airport and after the security check is over she once again looks at her mother’s face. She still looks as the poetess saw her in the car. It resembles her as foggy and misty as ‘late winter moon’. Same childhood fear once again captivated her. She could not say anything more just to hide her own grief and fear, she smiled and smiled.

 

SUMMARY

Kamala Das through her poem “My Mother at Sixty Six”, gives a sad pen picture of her sudden realization that her mother has grown old. She may pass away any day. While driving from her parent’s home to Cochin airport the poetess noticed that mother was sleeping by her with her open mouth. Her face looks pale and colourless. It seems to her lifeless. Thus her mind was captivated by great fear and pain. The poet suddenly grows aware of mother’s ageing and death. The reality is hard to accept but she gets the indication. Then the poetess puts her thoughts aside. She looks out and sees the trees scurrying down. She saw the trees racing past and the speeding car are just grim reminders that time has flown by. She witnesses the children playing outside reminds of her childhood days. Then her mother was young and she is carried away by nostalgia. Again after the security check at the airport, Kamala Das looks back at her mother standing, looking pale and grey like the winter moon. The poetess was deeply thinking about this separation, doubting the possibility of their meeting again and the possible demise of her beloved mother. To cheer her mind the poetess smiled and smiled with the pain of realization of the truth,’ death’. It is a poem on separation. It is a poem on death.

TITLE :

THEME:

QUESTIONS:

1.      Name the poet and the poet.

2.      Where was the poet driving to?

3.      Where is the poet at present?

4.      What does she notice about her?

5.      Why was her mother’s face looking like that of a corpse?

6.      How does she describe her mother?

7.      What thoughts had she given away?

8.      What worried the poet when she looked at her mother?

9.      Why was her pain in her realization?

10.  How can the trees sprint?

11.  What did she see when she looked out of the car?

12.  What was the poet’s childhood fear?

13.  What was the poet’s parting words?

14.  Explain ‘late winter’s moon’.

15.  What do the parting word and her smile signify?

16.  What poetic devices are used in the poem? Give examples.

17.  Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children spilling out of their home?

18.  Why are the growing trees described as sprinting

19.  Why are the growing trees described as sprinting

20.  Why does the poet smile and what does she say while bidding goodbye to her mother?

21.   What kind of images has the poet used to signifying her aging decay?

22.  What does the pain and ache the poet feels

23.  Why are the young trees described as sprinting

24.  What is the main theme of this chapter?

25.  What moral does this chapter gives you?

26.  Write a short note on the significance on the title.

27.  What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?

             28.Describe the world inside the car and compare it to the activities taking place outside the car?