My Mother at Sixty-six-Qs-Ans-Explanation- Kamala Das-Summary-English for Class XII

 Poem 1: Book: Flamingo: Class XII (Notes by Shish Pal Chauhan)

My Mother at Sixty-six by Kamala Das

Summary

The poetess Kamala Das is an Indian poet. She tells us about her deep love for her mother. She never thought of being separated from her not only in her childhood but also in her adulthood. She used to feel pain in her stomach due to the fear of being separated from her mother. Once she was going to Cochin airport with her mother in a car. Then she had a chance to see her mother closely. She saw that her mother’s face was as pale as death. Then she felt the same old pain. But she diverted her thoughts at once. After the security check-up, she just said ‘ See you soon Amma.’

A.     Questions & Answers

Q1. What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?

Ans. It was the same kind of pain that she used to feel in her childhood. It was caused by her fear of being separated from her mother.

Q2.Describe why the young trees are described as sprinting?

                                        Or

What does the poet want to convey to us when she describes the merry children ‘spilling out of their homes’?

Ans. The poetess wants to create contrast between the old age and the young age. The mother is pale and weak. But the children are joyful and full of energy. Childhood period is full of joy and energy while the old age lacks in all this.

Q3. Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’?

Ans. The poetess compares her mother’s face to a waning winter moon. The late winter’s moon looks pale and it suggests decay and death.

Q4. Where was the poet going? Who was with her? What did she observe about the person who was going with her in the car?

Ans. The poetess, Kamala Das was going to Cochin airport. Her mother was with her. She observed that paleness was spread on it. She also thought that her mother was not going to live for more time. She feared separation from her mother.

Q5. What were Kamala Das’ fears as a child? Why did they surface when she was going to the airport?

Ans. Kamala Das did not want to be separated from her. The idea about her mother’s separation from her always pained her. She looked at her closely and found paleness on her face. She feared that her mother would not survive for more time.

Q6. What painful thoughts come to the poet’s mind? How does she drive them off?

Ans. The poetess noticed (saw) her mother’s face closely. She found paleness on her face. Such paleness is found on a dead body’s face. Then she looked outside the car to change her thoughts.

Q7.  What does the poetess see when she looks outside the car while going to the Cochin airport in a car?

Ans. She looked at the young trees. They were young. It seemed they were running fast in the opposite direction.  She also saw the happy children. They were also running out of their homes.

Q8. What happens when the poetess reaches the airport?

Ans. The poetess reaches the airport. After the security check, the poet looked again at her mother’s face. It was still pale. She again had the pain that comes out of the fear of losing her mother. Then she uttered hopefully “see you soon, Amma”.

Facts to learn

1.  The poet is ‘My Mother at Sixty-six the poetess is ‘Kamala Das.

2.         The poetess was going to Cochin Airports.

3.         The poetess’s mother looked as pale as death.

4.         She realised that she won’t live long.

5.         The poetess looked out at young trees.

6.         She put away the thoughts about her mother’s pale and aged face.

7.         The young sprinting trees signify here -vitality of youth / young age.

8.         Sprinting means running very fast.

9.         The poet compares her mother’s pale face to ‘late winter’s moon’.

10.       The poet feels pain/ache to see her mother’s pale face.

11.       The poetess say ‘See you soon Amma’ to her mother.

12.       The poet feels regret that she could utter a few words to her grandmother. She did only smile, smile and smile .....                                 

Stanzas for Comprehensions:  Stanza 1.

“…but after the airport’s/ Security check, standing a few yards

Away, I looked again at her, wan,/ Pale/ As 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…”

Questions:

Q1.Name the poem and its poet. Ans. The poet is Kamala Das and the title of the poem is ‘ My Other at Sixty-six’.

Q2. Who is ‘I’ in the above stanza?   Ans. The poetess/poet Kamala Das.

Q3.What was the familiar childhood ache the poet felt now?

Ans. That pain troubled her again when she thought that her mother would not survive for more time.

Q4. What were the parting words spoken by the poet. What did they suggest?

Ans. She said, “See you soon, Amma,”. These words suggested hope.

 Q5. What poetic device has been used in the line, I looked again at her, wan, Pale /As late winter’s moon’?    Ans. Simile has been used here.

Q6. Give a synonym for the word ‘wan’.   Ans. Pale

Stanza 2

“…but soon/ put that thought away, and/looked out at young/ trees sprinting, the merry children spilling/ out of their homes,…”

Q1. Which thought does the poet put away?  Ans. She puts away the thought that her mother would not survive for long time.

Q2. What poetic device does the expression ‘sprinting trees’ stand for? What do the sprinting trees add to the poet’s description of her mother?

Ans. The device used in the expression ‘sprinting trees’ is personification. This expression adds contrast to the poet’s description about her mother’s old age.

Q3. What do the “…the merry children spilling
out of their homes…” symbolize?   Ans. ‘The merry children’ symbolize energy and youth. The word ‘spilling’ signifies the flow of energy.

Q4. What do you mean by ‘sprinting’?   Ans. It means ‘running fast’

Stanza 3  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.

Q1. Who is “I” in the above stanza?  Ans. “I” is the poet Kamala Das.

Q2. Who is ‘you’ in the above lines?   Ans. ‘You’ is the poet’s grandmother.

Q3, Where are both of them standing?  Ans. They are standing at the Cochin airport.

Q4. Which poetic device has been used in “wan, pale as a late winter's moon”?

Ans. Simile has been used here.

Q5. Explain the words: ”… old familiar ache, my childhood's fear…”

Ans. In her childhood, the poet used to feel some pain when her mother was away from her. Now, she suffers the fear of losing her mother as she is in her extreme old age.

Q6. What does the word ‘all’ suggest in the lines “all I said was, see you soon, Amma,/all I did was smile and smile and smile.”?

Ans. The word ‘all’ suggests that she could not express all her feelings to her mother.

Q7. Why did the poet repeat the word smile in the line ‘smile and smile and smile’?

Ans. It shows a long smile.