My Mother at Sixty Six by Kamla Das.

22 April /2020.  #Stay at Home , Stay Safe"

Summary of the poem

It is a short and beautiful poem written by Kamla Das. It explains the paradox of human relationships. Sometimes we fail to explain our genuine feelings . It is what happens in this poem. The poetess was driving to Cochin airport. Her mother was sitting beside her. She was very weak and thin. Her mouth was open. She was dozing. She looked like a corpse. The poetess realized that her end was near. This thought made her  sad. Soon she put that thought away and looked outside. She saw merry children spilling out of their homes. She saw young trees sprinting back. On reaching the airport she saw her mother again. She could not articulate her parting words. She kept only smiling . Thus the poem contrasts life with death, energy with inactivity . It also brings out the paradox of human relationships.

Short Answer Type Questions

Q1 Why has the mother been compared to the late winter's moon?

In late winter , the moon becomes yellow and very small. It loses it lustre. The poet's mother was also very old and weak. She has turned pale due to old age. That is why , the poet compares her mother to waning moon.

Q2 What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?

Ans. The poet's mother was old and weak. She had grown pale due to old age. She would not live long. The thought of losing her mother created pain and ache in her heart.
3. Why are the young trees described as ''sprinting'?

Ans. 'Sprinting means "running very fast. As the poet's car was moving fast and the trees appeared to move backward, so they have been described as sprinting. Infact trees were still. It was only illusion of vision.

Q4. Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children spilling out of their homes,?

Ans. The image of merry children spilling out of their homes contrasts childhood and old age. Childhood is the symbol of energy, vitality and merry making while old age symbolises weakness, sadness and sickness.

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

Ans, The poet's parting words : "See you soon, Amma"  are only formal. They signify that poetess was indifferent to her mother's mental state. Her smile also indicates that she was not serious about her mother's condition.

Q6.What painful thought comes to the poet' mind and how does she drive it away?

Ans  On seeing her mother' s physical state, the poetess realized that her end was near. But soon she put that painful thought away and looked outside at the merry children and sprinting trees .


_____________________________________________

Read the stanza carefully 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 was as old as she looked,

Q1. "I saw my mother". Who does "I"refer to?
Q2. Who was driving and where?
Q3. Who was sitting beside the narrator?
Q4. What does she compare her mother to? Why?
Q5. Make sentence using ' as...as'.
Q6-. What did the poet realise with pain?
Q7.  What is meaning of " corpse"?