My Mother at Six Six
My Mother at Six Six
My Mother at Six Six
-Kamala Das
(1934-2009)
INDEX
1. About the Poet
2. Introduction
3. Theme & Sub-Theme
4. Characters
5. Summary
6. Key-Points
7. Reference to the context & Vocabulary
8. Points to Ponder
9. Poetic Device & Rhyme Scheme
10.Assignments
MY MOTHER AT SIXTY-SIX
-Kamala Das (1934-2009)
SUMMARY
The poetess explains that once when she visited her parent’s house in Cochin. It was a Friday
when she was driving back to the airport, her mother was sitting beside her at the back of the
car. The poet looked at her mother. She saw that her mother was sleeping and her mouth was
open and her mother’s face resembled that of a corpse; pale and cheerless. 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. The poetess realised that her mother had grown old. She felt
pain for her. But soon she tried to get rid of this sad thought by diverting her thoughts towards
the trees outside. The young trees although stationary seemed to be running very fast as though
they were sprinting. She also saw children running out of their houses, into the playground. All
these things were full of life and energy, contrary to her mother who sat next to her. The poet
continues that when she reached the airport, she finished with the security check and stood a
few yards away from her mother. She noticed her mother’s ageing face which looked so dull,
weak and pale.
MY MOTHER AT
SIXTY-SIX
SUMMARY
The poet compares her mother to a late winter’s moon that looks hazy. Similarly,
her mother’s face too lost her youth and shine due to ageing and decay. The poet
feels the fear of separation and she calls it a familiar ache; a pain that she is
accustomed to as she would feel the same during her childhood too. As a child,
she could not bear the pain of separation from her mother. But now as it seemed
that her mother had grown older and was about to die, it might perhaps be the last
that she was seeing her mother. However, through her parting words “see you
soon, Amma”, the poet tried to instill hope and console her mother and also give
her the assurance that she would come back soon though she herself tried to hide
her own pain through her smile.
MY MOTHER AT SIXTY-SIX
KEY POINTS
❑When the poet is on her way to the cochin airport with her old mother sitting
beside her, she looks at her closely and presents before us her image.
❑She compares her with a corpse. As she looks at her mother’s pale and pallid
face, she is struck with the horror and pain of losing her. The mother with the
dozing face and open mouth is compared to a corpse. Here, the poet shows the
typical love and affection which is present in a mother-daughter relation.
❑The poet is pained and shifts her attention outside the car in order to drive out
the negative feelings. She changes her sad mood .The scene outside the window
is of growing life and energy. The rapidly sprinting trees alongside the merrily
playing children symbolize life, youth and vitality.
❑The poet here is reminded of her own childhood when her mother had been
young whereas now she is encircled with the fear of losing her and that has made
her insecure.
VOCABULARY
Doze- a short, light sleep; ashen- very pale, like ash; corpse- a dead
body; sprinting- here, shooting out of the ground; spilling- here, to move
out in great numbers
MY MOTHER AT SIXTY-SIX
Poetic Device/Figure of Speech –
Simile –
her face ashen like that of a corpse
wan and pale as a late winter’s moon
Rhyme Scheme –
The poem does not follow any rhyme or rhythm. It has
been written in free verse.
MY MOTHER AT SIXTY-SIX
ASSIGNMENT : QUESTIONS TO TEST COMPREHENSION
Short Answer Questions (30-40 words)
1. How does the poet describe her mother?
2. What do you infer from ‘dozed and open mouthed’?
3. Why does the poet compare her mother to a corpse?
4. How old was the poet’s mother?
5. Which thought does the poet refer to and why did she put her thought away?
6. Why are the young trees described as ‘sprinting’?
7. Why has the brought in the image of the merry children ‘spilling out of their homes’?
8. What are the thoughts of the poet as she is driving from her parent’s home to the airport?
9. Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’?
10. What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?
11. Why does the poet call her pain a familiar ache?
12. What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?
13. What is the childhood fear of the poet?
14. What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify?
15. What are the fears that the poet is overcome with?
16. What were the fears of the poet as a child? Why do they surface at this stage?
17. How does the poet’s mother look like and why?
18. Why did the poet put that thought away?
19. Mention the poetic devices used in the poem ‘My Mother at Sixty Six’.
20. Justify the title of the poem ‘My Mother at Sixty Six’.