My Mother at Sixty-Six - Kamala Das:

About the Poet: Kamala Das (1934-2009) is recognised as one of India’s foremost poets. Her works are
known for their originality, versatility and indigenous flavours of the soil. She has published many novels and
stories in English and Malayalam under the name ‘Madhavi Kutty’.

Poem Outline: The poem has been written in lyrical idiom and brings out the complexity of human
relationships. The poet had gone to meet her mother and now driving back to the Airport. On the way she
notices the pale face of her mother and is struck with an instant realisation that her mother is very old. The
poet is very upset.

Think about it :
1. What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?
When the poet looks at her mother’s face closely, she discovers that she has aged and her end is near.
The feeling of her mother being old, needing care and help pains the poet as there is no one to look
after her. She feels that her mother might die at any moment and then she will lose her forever. Her
childhood fear of losing her mother which was then timely but now, will be forever, resurfaces. The poet
feels the pain of her mother’s old age and her helplessness towards her. She has the fear of separating
from her mother forever, upon her death.

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

The young trees have been personified. When looked at from the poet’s moving car, they seem to be
running past and fast. The poet finds it strikingly opposite to her mother, who looked as still as a dead
body.

3. Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children ‘spilling out of their homes’?
The power draws a comparison between what is travelling with her and what she can see outside. It is
a comparison between life and death. Her mother is sleeping, with her mouth open, like a dead body,
while outside she can see children who are full of life, energy and enthusiasm.

4. Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’?
Just as the late winter’s moon is dull and lacks light and energy, so is her mother at this age and stage
of her life. Also, as the late winter moon gets overshadowed by the fog and mist in the sky, similarly her
mother can get overshadowed by death at any time. Both of them are nearing an end - one is a season
and the other is a life.

5. What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify?
The parting words of the poet show her positive attitude. She overcomes her pain and fear and assures
herself and her mother that they will meet again. She is being very brave which is indicated by the use
of repetition in the poem: “smile and smile and smile…”

SATQ:
1. What was Kamala Das worried about as a child? Why does it surface when she is going to the airport?
As a child, the poet always had a fear of getting separated from her mother. There was a sense of
insecurity and fear of losing her mother. The childhood fear reappeared when, while going to the
airport, she looked at the pale and withered face of her mother. She realised that her mother was
ageing and she might lose her mom.

2. How does Kamala Das try to distract herself from her mother?
 In order to distract herself, the poet starts looking out of the window of the car at the young trees
sprinting, and the merry children spilling out of their homes.

3. Why is the word ‘Smile’ repeatedly used by the poet?

The poet uses the word ‘smile’ in the last line repeatedly to hide her emotions. She tries to give hope to
her ageing mother by saying that they will meet again.
4. How are the youngsters described?
Youngsters are described as springing because they are full of energy and vitality. They represent the
vibrant youth. The poet is trying to bring in the contrast of her old and ageing mother with the energetic
youth.

5. What was the childhood fear explained in the poem?

Childhood fear was that one day she would lose her mother. As a child, she also felt a moment of
loneliness when her mother was not around. Now, as her mother is ageing, the poet is afraid that if her
mother dies, she will become lonely.

6. Why did the poet smile at her mother?

The poet was very sad in reality. But she did not want to show her fear to her mother, so she was
smiling. Her smile was just a facade. Internally, she had a fear of losing her mother soon.

Long-answer questions

Analyze the concept, the poet describes her experience with her similes in general, by sharing her context
about her mother's old age through a few significant similes in the poem My mother At Sixty Six. Explain?

Firstly, 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 (a smile is a figure of speech to show a comparison between her mother’s
face and 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 symbolise life, youth and vitality. The poet here is reminded of her
childhood when her mother was young whereas now she is encircled with the fear of losing her and that has
made her insecure.

She is at the airport to take a flight. It indicates departure and separation which creates melancholy. As she
bids goodbye to her mother, the image of the old, wan, worn-out mother in the twilight of years strikes her
again. Here again, a smile is used to compare her mother with a late winter's moon whose light is an obstacle
by fog and mist. As she looks old now, her personality is affected by it.

The poet is feeling the pain of separation while leaving her mother, and going. Also, her childhood fear of
losing her mother which she felt earlier was temporary but now, could be forever as she could die of old age, is
haunting her. She is so pained that it is natural for her to cry but keeping a brave front she hides her tears and
smiles.
She bids farewell to her mother and keeps her hope of seeing her again alive, saying "See you soon, Amma”.
She hides her sorrow as she does not want to create a painful environment for her mother and conveys her
that as she is enjoying her life, similarly her mother should also be happy and enjoy her life.

(The poem revolves around the theme of advancing age and the fear that adheres to its loss and separation. It
is a sentimental account of the mother's approaching end through the eyes of the daughter. The seemingly
short poem touches upon the theme of the filial bond between the mother and daughter smeared in the
backdrop of nostalgia and fear. Nostalgia of the past (the time spent with the mother) and fear of the future
without her.)

It is a short poem, without a full stop, the poem is like a long sentence, overflowing thought process. The poet
uses the device of comparison and contrast, simile and repetition.

Read the given extracts and answer the questions:

1. Driving from my parent’s home to Cochin last Friday morning, I saw my mother, beside me, dozing,
open-mouthed, her face ashen like that of a corpse and realised with pain
a. What was the poet doing with her mother besides?
She is driving the car.
b. The poet’s mother was sitting beside her and _______.
She is dozing/sleeping.
c. What describes the colour of a corpse?
Ashen

2. …….That she thought away, and looked but soon put that thought away, and looked out at young trees
sprinting, the merry children spilling out of their homes, …….
a. What was the poet hesitant about?
To put away the thought of being with her mother.
b. What exactly did the poet put away during the journey?
Her thoughts of separation from her mother.
c. What are merry children doing?
They are spilling or running out of their homes for fun.
d. The young trees seemed to be …….
Sprinting or running very fast.

3. …………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….
a. Why did the poet use the words ‘Old familiar ache’?
To describe a painful, persistent thought, that she had long back in her childhood days.
b. The poet’s mother’s face looked pale as the ________ moon.
Late winter’s moon
c. What are the parting words of the poet?
‘See you soon, Amma’.
d. What is ‘familiar ache’ referring to?
The poet’s childhood fear.
e. The words wan, pale as a late winter’s moon refer to _______
The poet’s mother’s painful face.