My mother at sixty six

My mother at sixty six

• 1.
  MY MOTHER ATSIXTY SIX KAMALA DAS
• 2.
  KNOW THE POET KamalaDas - also known as Kamala Surayya or Madhavikutty was an Indian English poet and at the same time a leading Malayalam author from Kerala Born : March 31, 1934 Died: May 31, 2009
• 3.
  ESSENCE OF THEPOEM • MOTHERS ARE GOD’S GREATEST GIFT TO HUMANITY. EACH ONE OF US HAS THE FEAR OF LOSING OUR MOTHER, DON’T WE ? SO .... THE POET KAMALA DAS AND THROUGH HER POEM “MY MOTHER AT SIXTY SIX”, SHE PORTRAYS HER SUDDEN REALIZATION THAT HER MOTHER HAS GROWN OLD AND MAY PASS AWAY ANY TIME.
• 4.
  THEMES • "MY MOTHERAT 66" IS AN IRONICAL EXPRESSION OF THE INEVITABILITY OF DEATH. • KAMLA DAS VERY SKILFULLY PORTRAYS THIS THEME OF  AGEING  DEATH  ISOLATION THROUGH A NARRATION INVOLVING HER MOTHER. THE POEM IS AN INTRICATE MIXTURE OF THE TWO VERY FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN TENDENCIES-- LOVE AND THE FEAR OF ISOLATION THESE TWO EMOTIONS ARE INSEPARABLE, INTERTWINED WITH ONE-ANOTHER FOR ETERNITY; THE FEELING OF LOVE GIVES RISE TO THE FEAR OF ISOLATION AND LOSS, AND THE FEAR OF ISOLATION ITSELF NOURISHES THE LOVE AS IT BUDS IN THE HUMAN HEART.
• 5.
  APPRAISAL OF THETITLE • THE TITLE, “MY MOTHER AT SIXTY-SIX” IS AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF SHOWING AN EVER UNFAILING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A DAUGHTER AND HER MOTHER. • NOSTALGIA SMEARED IN SEPARATION APPEARS TO BE THE DEFAULT SETTING OF THE POEM. • THE TITLE SCRUTINIZES EVERY MOTHER LUMBERS TOWARDS THE AGE, 66, WITH CARE OR WITHOUT CARE. BUT THIS VERY MOTHER GETS TO THE SAME AGE THROUGH THE GROWING EYES OF HER DAUGHTER. • THE NUMBER 66 ALSO POINTS OUT TO THE BEGINNING OF DOUBLE QUOTATION MARKS. IT SEEMS KAMALA DAS INDICATES THE ESTRANGEMENT HAS JUST BEGUN, AND IT'S ABSOLUTELY WAY AFAR TO MEET THE END. IT ALSO SOUNDS A LITTLE AMBIGUOUS, SINCE THE DAUGHTER, FOR THE FIRST TIME, NOTICES HER MOTHER HAS STEPPED INTO THE WRONG BOX OF SIXTY SIX. • IN SOME HERMETIC SYSTEMS, 6 MEANS "BEAUTY," AND THE SPEAKER'S MOTHER APPEARS MORE BEAUTIFUL. 6 + 6 = 12, THE NUMBER OF SIGNS IN THE ZODIAC, AND SO MAY REPRESENT THE TOTALITY OF CREATION. SO, SIXTY-SIX SIGNIFIES A
• 6.
  DRIVING FROM MYPARENT’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 LOOKED AS OLD AS SHE WAS BUT SOON PUT THAT THOUGHT FAR 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......
• 7.
  POEM AND EXPLANATION •DRIVING FROM MY PARENT’S HOME TO COCHIN LAST FRIDAY MORNING, I SAW MY MOTHER BESIDE ME. • BESIDE: ALONGSIDE • 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. • LITERARY DEVICES: ASSONANCE: HERE WE SEE THE USE OF VOWEL SOUND THAT IS ‘O’.(TO COCHIN LAST FRIDAY MORNING)
• 8.
  • DOZE, OPENMOUTHED, HER FACE ASHEN LIKE THAT OF A CORPSE AND REALISED WITH PAIN • DOZE: NAP ASHEN: PALE CORPSE: DEAD BODY • SHE SAW THAT HER MOTHER WAS SLEEPING AND HER MOUTH WAS OPEN. SHE FURTHER EXPLAINS THAT THE COLOUR OF HER MOTHER’S FACE WAS LIKE THAT OF ASH. (THIS MEANS THAT THERE WAS SOME SMOKY APPEARANCE ON HER FACE). SHE LOOKED LIKE A DEAD BODY. • LITERARY DEVICES: • ASSONANCE: USE OF VOWEL SOUND ‘O’,’A’, ‘E’ (DOZE, OPEN MOUTHED, HER FACE ASHEN LIKE THAT OF A CORPSE) • 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)
• 9.
  • THAT SHEWAS 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 POET COMPARES HER MOTHER TO A LATE WINTER’S MOON AS THE MOON IN WINTERS IS NOT SHINY AND EVEN HER MOTHER’S FACE HAD ALSO LOST HER YOUTH AND SHINE. AS HER MOTHER WAS GETTING OLDER AND WEAK . THE POET FEELS THE FEAR OF SEPARATION JUST AS SHE USED TO FEEL DURING HER CHILDHOOD. AS A CHILD, SHE COULD NOT BEAR THE PAIN OF SEPARATING FROM HER MOTHER. BUT NOW AS HER MOTHER HAS GROWN OLD AND IS ABOUT TO DIE, THE POET FEELS THAT MAY BE THIS IS THE LAST TIME THAT SHE IS SEEING HER MOTHER. SHE TRIES TO HIDE HER FEAR. SHE THEN SAYS THAT SHE WOULD SOON SEE HER MOTHER AGAIN. SHE SAYS SO BECAUSE SHE DOESN’T WANT TO LOSE HER MOTHER. • LITERARY DEVICES: REPETITION: USE OF ‘SMILE’ RHYME SCHEME - THE POEM DOES NOT FOLLOW ANY RHYME OR RHYTHM. IT HAS BEEN WRITTEN IN FREE VERSE. SIMILE: 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).
• 10.
  • SPILLING: LETOUT SPRINTING: MOVING FAST • THE POETESS REALIZED 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. • LITERARY DEVICES: CONSONANCE: USE OF THE SOUND ‘S’ AND ‘T’ IMAGERY: WHEN THE POET SAY TREES SPRINTING, MERRY CHILDREN SPILLING REPETITION: REPEATED USE OF ‘LOOKED’ • BUT AFTER THE AIRPORT’S SECURITY CHECK, STANDING A FEW YARDS AWAY, I LOOKED AGAIN AT HER, WAN, PALE • WAN: DIM, WEAK PALE: DULL, COLOURLESS • 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.
• 11.
  • AS ALATE 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...... • THE POET COMPARES HER MOTHER TO A LATE WINTER’S MOON AS THE MOON IN WINTERS IS NOT SHINY AND EVEN HER MOTHER’S FACE HAD ALSO LOST HER YOUTH AND SHINE. AS HER MOTHER WAS GETTING OLDER AND WEAK. THE POET FEELS THE FEAR OF SEPARATION JUST AS SHE USED TO FEEL DURING HER CHILDHOOD. AS A CHILD, SHE COULD NOT BEAR THE PAIN OF SEPARATING FROM HER MOTHER. BUT NOW AS HER MOTHER HAS GROWN OLD AND IS ABOUT TO DIE, THE POET FEELS THAT MAY BE THIS IS THE LAST TIME THAT SHE IS SEEING HER MOTHER. SHE TRIES TO HIDE HER FEAR. SHE THEN SAYS THAT SHE WOULD SOON SEE HER MOTHER AGAIN. SHE SAYS SO BECAUSE SHE DOESN’T WANT TO LOSE HER MOTHER. • LITERARY DEVICES: REPETITION: USE OF ‘SMILE’ RHYME SCHEME - THE POEM DOES NOT FOLLOW ANY RHYME OR RHYTHM. IT HAS BEEN WRITTEN IN FREE VERSE. SIMILE: 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).
• 12.
  POETIC DEVICES USED •SIMILE – A) HER FACE ASHEN LIKE THAT OF A CORPSE • B) AS A LATE WINTER’S MOON • PERSONIFICATION - TREES SPRINTING (GALLOPING) • METAPHOR – MERRY CHILDREN SPILLING OUT OF THEIR HOMES • REPETITION- SMILE AND SMILE AND SMILE…
• 13.
  “PALE AS ALATE WINTER’S MOON” THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF A SIMILE. THE POET HAS COMPARED HER MOTHER’S FACE TO A WINTER’S MOON. WINTER SYMBOLIZES DEATH AND A WANING MOON SYMBOLIZES DECAY. JUST LIKE WINTER LOSES ITS MAGNIFICENCE AND BEAUTY WHEN COVERED WITH FOG AND MIST, SIMILARLY THE POET’S MOTHER HAS LOST HER YOUTH, VITALITY AND HAVE BECOME INACTIVE AND WITHERED. ’…. PAIN THAT LOOKED AS OLD AS SHE WAS…’ • HER PAIN ABOUT LOSING HER MOTHER IS AS OLD AS SHE WAS. THE POETESS WANTS TO EXPRESS THE IDEA THAT THE PAIN / FEAR WAS HAUNTING HER SINCE HER CHILD HOOD.