GRADE XII

MY MOTHER AT SIXTY SIX – BY KAMLA DAS

NOTES

Theme

My Mother at sixty six, a poem by Kamala Das is based on the theme of universal truth
of advancing age, emotions and the fear of loss and separation. The poem brings out the
ordinary but profound human nature through a personal reverie. Death is inevitable but
people are afraid of losing their dear ones. The poem brings out the inner thoughts of a
daughter for her mother. The poetess undergoes a plethora of emotions when she sees
her mother ageing, and feels the pangs of separation at the thought of losing her. The
poet uses simile and contrast as the poetic device to express her feeling towards her
mother.

Message

Ageing is an inescapable phase of every human’s life. The message of the poem is
gradual but inevitable realisation of one’s parents getting old. The last line depicts the
irony of life. Life is full of false promises, fake smiles and temporary joy whereas death
and loss are ultimate and its fear remains in one’s mind right from a young age.

Summary

Ageing is a natural process, and no one has control over it. As human beings, we are
involved in warm relationships with people much older than us – like that between our
parents and us. As much as we love our parents and wish for them to live forever with
us, nature does not seem to heed our wishes. Our parents do grow old and need help
and care. It might be painful to see them lose their youth with time. It is unfortunate, but
it is just like sand slipping away from between our fingers. We cannot hold on to it
forever.

In the poem My Mother at Sixty-six, Kamala Das explores the loving relationship
between a mother and a daughter. Her mother is old, and she cannot bear the thought of
losing her. The poem describes feelings and emotions that surface within her as she
rides to the airport with her mother before departing to another place.

The poet describes her ride to Cochin from her parent’s house in the poem. Her mother,
who was sitting beside her, dozed in the car. The poet observed her closely and realised
that her mother had grown old. She did not exhibit any youthful nature – her mouth was
open as she was sleeping, and her face did not have the lively glow found in young
people. The poet described her face as ‘ashen’. It is indicative of a state after death – the
end of life.
She found this thought troubling and looked out the window to distract herself. The
world outside presented a contrast to her recent thoughts and observations. She could
see things that represented the very vibrant spirit of life. There were several young
trees outside the window on the roadside. They seemed to sprint as the car drove on.
The poet could see children run out of their houses to play. Their happiness was an
embodiment of energy and optimism, opposite to what she felt when she looked at her
mother.

At the airport, after the security check, the poet looked at her mother again. Her face
looked colourless and pale. She compared it to a late winter’s moon – hazy and dim. The
poet could relate this to a childhood fear she used to have – the fear of losing her
mother. The situation described here is a moment of parting, and leaving her mother
alone at this age makes her sad and helpless. She felt a pang of pain and fear here. She
knew that her mother was approaching her end. There was nothing she could do about
it. She controlled her feelings and waved her mother goodbye with a smile. The poet
uses the repetition of the word ‘smile’ here to show how hard she tried to contain her
pain in front of her mother to give out a rather pleasant demeanour.

The poem ends on a note of sad acceptance of reality. The poet understands that no
matter how much she worries about her mother’s growing age and eventual demise, life
goes on. It is the way nature intends things to be in life.

Conclusion of My Mother at Sixty-six

My Mother at Sixty-six summary teaches us the concept of acceptance in life – the need
to understand nature and how it affects our roles in life. We might feel strongly about
certain things and people in life. We might form deep attachments to certain people in
life, but even those relationships are bound to end at some point of time in life – no
matter how much we try to fight the idea of it. Kamala Das has beautifully illustrated
this idea in her poem My Mother at Sixty-six, using apt imagery and symbolism in the
appropriate places.

Form, Style and Literary devices

The poem , ‘ My Mother at Sixty -six’ is confessional . It is first person monologue. The
poetess expresses her inner thoughts and her reactions to those thoughts. The language
is conversational.

 Assonance: Use of vowel sound ‘o’,’a’, ‘e’ (doze, open-mouthed, her face ashen
like that
of a corpse)
 Assonance: Here we see the use of vowel sound that is ‘o’.(To Cochin last Friday
morning)
 Simile: The colour of the mother’s face has been compared to that of a corpse –
ashen. use of ‘like’ (her face ashen like that of a corpse)
Mother’s face is compared to the late winter’s moon – both are dull and lifeless.
use of ‘as’ (as a late winter’s moon).
 Imagery: when the poet say trees sprinting, merry children spilling
 Repetition: use of the word ‘smile’
Rhyme scheme : The poem does not follow any rhyme or rhythm. It has been
 written in free verse.

Textual questions

Q1. What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?
Ans: When the poet sees the pale and corpse-like face of her mother, her old familiar
pain or the ache returns. Perhaps she has entertained this fear since her childhood.
Ageing is a natural process. Time and ageing spare none. Time and ageing have not
spared the poet’s mother and may not spare her as well. With this ageing, separation
and death become inevitable.

Q2. Why are the young trees described as ‘sprinting’?

Ans: The poet is driving to the Cochin airport. When she looks outside, the young
trees seem to be walking past them. With the speed of the car they seem to be
running fast or sprinting. The poet presents a contrast—her ‘dozing’ old mother and
the ‘sprinting’ young trees.

Q3. Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children ‘spilling out
of their homes’ ?
Ans: The poet has brought in the image of merry children ‘spilling out of their
homes’ to present a contrast. The merry children coming out of their homes in large
numbers present an image of happiness and spontaneous overflow of life. This
image is in stark contrast to the ‘dozing’ old mother, whose ‘ashen’ face looks lifeless
and pale like a corpse. She is an image of ageing, decay and passivity. The contrast of
the two images enhances the poetic effect.

Q4. Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’ ?
Ans: The poet’s mother is sixty-six years old. Her shrunken ‘ashen’ face resembles a
corpse. She has lost her shine and strength of youth. Similarly the late winter’s moon
looks hazy and obscure. It too lacks shine and strength. The comparison is quite
natural and appropriate. The simile used here is apt as well as effective.

Q5. What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify?

or

In the last line of the poem, ‘My Mother at Sixty-six’, the word ‘smile’ is
repeated three times. What is its significance ?
Ans: The poet’s parting words of assurance and her smiles provide a stark contrast
to the old familiar ache or fear of the childhood. Her words and smiles are a
deliberate attempt to hide her real feelings. The parting words: “See you soon,
Amma” give an assurance to the old lady whose ‘ashen face’ looks like a corpse.
Similarly, her continuous smiles are an attempt to overcome the ache and fear inside
her heart. The poet uses the word “smile” three times in the final line to emphasize
that, while she is afraid of losing her mother and is distressed by their separation,
she does not let it show on her face. She smiles to persuade herself and her mother
that they will meet soon.

Extra questions

Extract Based Questions

1. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
"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 realised with pain that she thought away"

Questions:
(a) Where was the poet coming from ? Where was she going ?
Ans. The poet had gone to her parent's home to visit them. She was now going to
Cochin from where she had to board an aeroplane for her journey back home.

(b) Where was the poet's mother ?

Ans. The poet's mother was sitting beside her in the car. She was travelling with the
poet to Cochin to see her off at the airport.

(c) How does the poet describes her mother ?

Ans. The poet describes her mother as old and pale. As she dozed off beside her, the
mother looked almost like a corpse, for her face was colourless and seemed to have
lost the fervour of life.

(d) Who does 'she' refer to in the last line ? What thoughts had she driven away ?
Ans. 'She' here refers to the poet's mother. Like all elderly people, she also suffered
from the pain of loneliness and wanted her children to be with them. However, she
seemed to have accepted her seclusion with quiet resignation, reconciling herself
with the circumstances and compulsions of life.

2. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
"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."

(a) Where was the poet standing?

Ans. The poet was at the Cochin airport waiting to board the plane after the security
check.

(b) Who does 'her' refer to here? How did she look like?
Ans. 'Her' here refers to the poet's mother. She was an aged lady and hence looked
pale and colourless.

(c) Why does the narrator 'look at her again'?

Ans. The narrator looked at her mother once again for the last time before she left to
reassure herself about the well-being of her mother. She had tried to drive away the
pain she had felt on seeing her weak and aged mother. One last time she looked at
her to wish her goodbye.

(d) Explain: " wan, pale as a late winter's moon."

Ans. In this simile, the poet compares the mother's pale and withered face with the
winter's moon. The moon seems to lose its brightness in the winter season as it is
veiled behind fog and mist. The mother's face also seemed to have lost its radiance
which was now misted by age. Winter symbolises death and the waning moon
symbolises decay