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My Mother at Sixty Six
by Kamala Das
Introduction
This poem comments on the affection of a daughter for her aged mother. They cannot afford to live together for long. The poetess and her mother are going in a car. The poetess is going to catch a plane. Her mother accompanies her to the airport to see her off. She is old and weak. She looks pale like a dead body. The poetess looks out of the car. The trees racing backwards and the happy children running out of their houses stand for life. But her mother is nearing her end. The poetess doubts if she will be able to see her mother again. The poetess is sad but she tries to cheer up the old woman. She promises to see her mother again.
Summary In English
The poetess is on her way back to Cochin from her parent’s home. She is going in a car to the airport. Her mother accompanies her to airport to see her off. She is seated beside her in the car. She is dozing with her mouth open. The poetess looks at her face. She is pale and ashen like a dead body. For a moment it seems to her that her mother is dead. But soon she drives that thought away from her mind. The poetess looks out of the car. The young trees are racing back at full speed. She sees cheerful children coming out of their homes. They are the symbol of life. They are in deep contrast to her pale looking and old mother. They reach the airport. They pass through the security check. Standing a few yards away, she looks at her mother again. The mother looks pale and weak like the moon a late winter night. This arouses a tinge of pain in her heart. Her old fear comes back that her mother would soon depart from this world. There is no hope of improvement in her condition. Then the poetess bids farewell to her mother. The poetess smiles and expresses hope to see her mother again.
Explanation
Stanza 1:
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 was as old as she looked but soon put
that thought away, and looked but soon
put that thought away
The poet while going from her parents’ home to Cochin airport sees her mother who was dozing beside her in the car. Her face resembled pale like a dead body. She was looking aged, so old as she was looking. That poet started something about the away world but soon she managed to come out of those painful thoughts.
Stanza 2:
..... 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
Lost in those thoughts, poet sees the trees running. She also observed the children coming out of their houses. The atmosphere in the car and outside the car was in stark contrast with each other. After the security check up poet again sees her mother from the distance of few yards and found her pale and sickly.
Stanza 3:
... 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....
Poet here observes her mother to be late cold winter moon fading, it reminded her that same painful ache that used to haunt her in her childhood of losing her mother. But she did not want that her mother should realize her that fear on her face, so she smiled looking at her mother and said that she will meet soon though she had fear in mind of meeting her again will be possible or not.
Exercises
Stanzas for Comprehension
Stanza 1:
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 was as old as she looked but soon put
that thought away, and looked but soon
put that thought away
Questions
(i) Name the poet of this poem.
(A) Kamala Das
(B) Rabindranath Tagore
(C) Stephen Spender
(D) Pablo Neruda
Ans. (A) Kamala Das
(ii) Where is the poetess going?
(A) Kolkata
(B) Cochin
(C) Chennai
(D) Kanyakumari
Ans. (B) Cochin
(iii) Who was sitting beside the poetess?
(A) her grandmother
(B) her mother
(C) her daughter
(D) she was driving all alone
Ans. (B) her mother
(iv) How does the poet’s mother look?
(A) hale and hearty
(B) rosy coloured
(C) tall and fat
(D) pale and weak
Ans. (D) pale and weak
(v) How did the poet feel to see her mother?
(A) pleasure
(B) satisfaction
(C) pain
(D) no feeling
Ans. (C) pain
Stanza 2:
..... 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
Questions
(i) Name the poem:
(A) My Mother at Sixty-six
(B) Keeping Quiet
(C) A Thing of Beauty
(D) An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum
Ans. (A) My Mother at Sixty-six
(ii) What did the poetess see making a movement?
(A) the trees
(B) the children
(C) both (A) and (B)
(D) none of the above
Ans. (C) both (A) and (B)
(iii) Where was the poetess at that very moment?
(A) at the bus stand
(B) at the railway station
(C) at the airport
(D) at her home
Ans. (C) at the airport
(iv) Who did the poetess look at again?
(A) her grandmother
(B) her mother
(C) her friend
(D) her daughter
Ans. (B) her mother
(v) How did the other person look?
(A) sickly
(B) yellow coloured
(C) both (A) and (B)
(D) none of the above
Ans. (C) both (A) and (B)
Stanza 3:
... 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....
Questions
(i) Name the poet/poetess of these lines.
(A) Stephen Spender
(B) Pablo Neroda
(C) John Keats
(D) Kamala Das
Ans. (D) Kamala Das
(ii) With whom the poetess compares her mother to?
(A) the winter moon
(B) the summer sun
(C) the summer moon
(D) the winter stars
Ans. (A) the winter moon
(iii) Why did the poetess feel ache in her heart?
(A) to find the journey troublesome
(B) to think of her future
(C) to see her sick and old mother
(D) all of the above
Ans. (C) to see her sick and old mother
(iv) Who does the word ‘Amma’ refer to for the poetess?
(A) her mother
(B) her elder sister
(C) her grand mother
(D) all of the above
Ans. (A) her mother
(v) What did the poetess tell her mother?
(A) never to see her again
(B) see her soon again
(C) see her after a long time
(D) never going to leave her
Ans. (B) see her soon again
Question and Answers
Ans. The poetess looks at the pale and sickly face of her mother. She looks like a dead body. The old childhood fears of the poetess come back. She fears that her mother will depart from this world soon. She fears that she will not see her mother again. She smiles at her mother. But her heart is sad. She feels an ache in her heart to see her ageing mother.
Q.2. Why are the young trees described as ‘sprinting’?
Ans. The poetess is going in a car with her mother. She looks out of the window. She finds that the young trees are racing backwards. They are a symbol of youth and energy. On the other hand, the poetess’ mother is slipping towards death.
Q. 3. Why has the poetess brought in the image of the merry children ‘spilling out of their homes’?
Ans. The poetess looks out of the car. She finds happy children running out of their homes. These children are full of life. They symbolise the start of the life’s journey. The image of the happy children is in contrast to her mother whose life journey is coming to an end. The image of these children makes the poetess sad because she thinks that her mother will die soon.
Q.4. Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’?
Ans. The late winter moon looks hazy. It loses its shine and brightness. The poetess’ mother is also old. She is at the end of her life’s journey. She looks ashen and pale. She has lost that energy which she had in her youth. That is why the poetess compares her mother to the late winter’s moon.
Q. 5. What do the parting words of the poetess and her smile signify?
Ans. The poetess is going to catch a plane. She bids farewell to at her mother. She smiles at her mother. She hopes that they will meet again. But the smile and the parting words only hide her fears. These words and the smile are meant to give assurance to the old lady. However, in her heart, the poetess fears that she will not see her mother again.
Q.6. Compare the world inside the car and outside the car.
Ans. Inside the car there was the poetess’ mother and there were signs of death on her face. Outside the car there was a merry world. The children were spilling out of their homes with all their happiness and the sprinting trees were on both sides of the road.
Q.7. What are the poetess’ thoughts at the airport?
Ans. The poetess and her mother reach the airport. Her mother is standing a few yards away from her. After the security check she looks at her mother again. She thinks that her mother is pale like the late winter’s moon.
Q.8. Give a brief summary of Kamala Das’s poem ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six’.
Or Justify the title of the poem, ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six’.
Ans. Kamala Das is going to the airport in a car. Her mother is with her. She looks at her mother. She is old, pale and sickly. She looks like a corpse. The poetess looks out of the car. The young trees are racing backwards. She sees children running out of their homes. At the airport she bids farewell to her mother. But she is very sad. She thinks that she will not see her mother again.
To enjoy Detailed Explanation of these questions refer the video
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Who is the poetess of the poem ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six’?
(A) Kamala Das
(B) Damala Kas
(C) Wordsworth
(D) R.K. Narayan
Ans. (A) Kamala Das
2. When the poem starts, where is the poetess going?
(A) to the bus stand
(B) to the airport
(C) to the railway station
(D) to the port
Ans. (B) to the airport
3. Who is sitting in the car with the poetess as she is going to the
airport?
(A) her father
(B) her sister
(C) her mother
(D) her son
Ans. (C) her mother
4. How does the poetess’ mother look?
(A) hale and hearty
(B) rosy coloured
(C) tall and fat
(D) pale and weak
Ans. (D) pale and weak
5. What fear comes to the mind of the poetess?
(A) she would miss the flight
(B) her mother would soon die
(C) she would not reach the airport
(D) she would lose her money
Ans. (B) her mother would soon die
6. To whom does the poetess bid farewell?
(A) to her mother
(B) to her father
(C) to her grandfather
(D) to her son
Ans. (A) to her mother
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