CBSE NCERT Class XII English Flamingo Poem 1 My Mother at Sixty-Six summary, theme, explanation line by line, poetic devices and questions answers are given here. Students can check out for better performance in Class 12 board exam.
My Mother at Sixty Six Poet Kamala Das
Kamala Das is one of the foremost Indian writers writing in English. She wrote both in English and Malayalam. She is popularly known by her one-time pen name Madhavikutty and married name is Kamala Das but later she is known as Kamala Surayya after her second marriage. She was born on 31 March 1934 at Punnayurkulam, Trichur, Cochin, Kerala. She died on 31 May 2009 (aged 75) at Pune, Maharashtra, India. She is famous as Poet, novelist, short story writer. Her works are known for their originality, versatility and the indigenous flavour of the soil. Some of her notable works are –Alphabet of Lust,My Story, A Doll for the Child Prostitute, Padmavati the Harlot and Other Stories,The Sirens, Summer in Calcutta,The Descendants & The Old Playhouse and Other Poems.
My Mother at Sixty Six Introduction
My Mother at Sixty Six composed by Kamala Das is an autobiographical poem in Lyrical Idiom. This poem deals with the complexities of human relationship in this mortal world and realization of parents’ old age and their eventual death. This poem is the best example of the relationship between mother and daughter. It beautifully depicts the feelings of pain and suffering due to the separation of a daughter from her aged mother.
My Mother at Sixty Six Theme –
“My Mother at Sixty-Six” is a poem by Kamala Das that explores the theme of aging and the emotional impact it has on both the individual and their loved ones. The poem reflects on the inevitability of aging and the changes it brings, both physical and emotional. It delves into the complex emotions of the speaker as she witnesses her mother’s advancing age and contemplates the imminent separation that death will bring. The poem captures the universal experience of grappling with the passage of time and the bittersweet nature of life’s transitions.
- Age and fear of loss and separation
- the complexities of human relationship in this mortal world .
My Mother at Sixty Six Summary
The poem examines the theme of age and fear of loss and separation. The poetess is suddenly struck by the thought that her mother has grown old. This realization being sudden is alarming. Old age seems to have crept up on her and it is a reality that she finds hard to accept. Her corpse like an ashen face brings thoughts of her eventual death. Her mother sleeping beside her in car appears pale and worn out and the green trees racing past the speeding car is a grim reminder that time has flown by.
The joyous children playing outside gives a respite that she is seeking from her thoughts of old age and parting as they are representative of youth, energy and life. Perhaps they take her back to the days of her youth when her mother too was young and energetic or perhaps they bring the fear of losing her mother that haunts every child. Once again she feels the insecurity on parting from her mother who has lost the blush of youth and in the twilight of her life has become as pale and as lusterless as the winter moon.
Beset with sorrow at this knowledge and with the insecurity and pain of parting the poetess at the airport bids her mother goodbye smiling all the time in a vain attempt to hide her real feelings.
My Mother at Sixty Six Summary in Hindi
कविता My Mother at Sixty Six वृद्धावस्था और खोने तथा बिछड़ने के डर के विषय पर आधारित है। कवयित्री एक बार अपनी माँ के घर से कोचीन एअरपोर्ट कार से अपनी माँ के साथ जा रही है | कवयित्री अचानक अपनी माँ को देखती है जो ऊँघ रही थी और कवयित्री को अचानक यह ख्याल आता है कि उसकी माँ बूढ़ी हो गई है। यह अचानक अहसास उसे चौंका देता है। ऐसा लगता है कि बुढ़ापा धीरे-धीरे उसके ऊपर छा गया है और यह एक ऐसी हकीकत है जिसे वह स्वीकार नहीं कर पाती है। कवयित्री को उसकी माँ का राख के समान चेहरा उसे उसकी अंतिम मृत्यु के बारे में सोचने पर मजबूर कर देता है। कार में उसके बगल में सो रही उसकी माँ पीली और थकी हुई दिखाई देती है और यह सब सोच कवयित्री बहुत दुखी हो जाती है
अपने मन को हल्का करने और अपनी माँ से बिछड़ने का गम को दूर करने के लिए, कवयित्री रफ्तार वाली कार की खिड़की से बाहर देखती है और उस ने हरे भरे नए और पुराने पेड़ को देखा जो कार के पीछे से गुजर रहे थे और उस ने अपने घरों से दौड़ कर खेलने के लिए बाहर जाते हुए प्रसन्नचित बच्चे को देखा | यह कवयित्री को याद दिलाता है कि समय कितनी तेजी से उड़ गया है।खुशी से बाहर खेल रहे बच्चे उसे अपनी माँ से बिछड़ने का गम से राहत देते हैं क्योंकि वे यौवन, ऊर्जा और जीवन के प्रतिनिधि हैं।
कवयित्री अब अपनी माँ के साथ एअरपोर्ट पर पहुचती है, और सुरक्षा चेक के बाद कवयित्री एक बार फिर अपनी माँ को देखती है कि उनकी माँ बहुत बूढी हो गयी है और बुढ़ापा उसकी माँ को पूरी तरह से अपनी पकड़ में ले लिया है और उसकी माँ संध्या समय में सर्दियों के चाँद की तरह पीली और फीकी पड़ गई है, और यौवन का लालिमा खो दिया है | ये सब कवयित्री उसके युवावस्था के दिनों में वापस ले जाती हैं जब उसकी माँ भी युवा और ऊर्जावान थी या शायद कवयित्री अपनी माँ को खोने का डर लग रहा था, जो हर बच्चे को सताता है। एक बार फिर वह अपनी माँ से बिछड़ने की असुरक्षा महसूस करती है|
इस ज्ञान से दुःख से ग्रस्त और बिछड़ने की असुरक्षा और पीड़ा से कवयित्री मुस्कुराते हुए अपनी वास्तविक दुःख की भावनाओं को छिपाने के व्यर्थ प्रयास में हवाई अड्डे पर अपनी माँ को अलविदा कहती है,
My Mother at Sixty Six Text
| 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 realized with pain that she was 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, 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 fear, but all I said was see you soon , Amma, all I did was smile smile and smile……. |
My Mother at Sixty Six-Difficult / New Words
- Doze – Napping , Sleep lightly
- Ashen – Very pale with shock, Like ash
- Corpse – A dead body
- Spilling out – Running out , Moving out
- Sprinting – Running fast
- Wan – Pale and giving impression of illness or exhaustion
- Ache – Pain
- Pale – Colourless
My Mother at Sixty Six Important Terms
Tree Sprinting– Movement of young trees backward as the car moved forward has been called trees sprinting . it is symbolized for life, vigour, energy and charm.
Children spilling– children looked happy when they are moving out of their homes. it is aslo symbolized for life, vigour, energy and charm.
Late winter’s moon– poet’s mother’s face colour was compared to the colour of late winter’s moon which is pale as her skin has lost its sheen ( splendor/glamour) and looks pale.
Ashen like that of dead– mother’s face looked pale and faded. It was grey like ash. It looked lifeless like corpse / dead body.
Familiar ache– number of times when poet separated from her mother. Those separations were painful to her. After so many separations this pain and separations were familiar to the poet. Separation from her mother is the childhood fear of poet.
Smile at departure–smile is used to pacify poet herself and her mother. The poet wants to hide her fear and attempts to be glad and cheerful. It is a way of reassuring herself that all will be fine.
Childhood fear – The poet felt insecurity about losing her mother just as all young children often are. The same old feeling come back to haunt her when she sees her mother’s pale face and lifeless face. She is tortured by the fact that she may not see her alive again.
Significance of smile -The poet smiles as she bid farewell to her mother and assure her that they would meet again. As she looked at her mother, who looks pale and weak due to old age, her heart is pained to think that her mother might not live long. She smiles but her smile is only an effort to cover up the hidden fear and pain in her heart. It is a smile put on deliberately to hide her tears. Her situation is quiet ironical.
My Mother at Sixty Six Explanation
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 realized with pain
that she was as old as she looked ..
Explanation – The poet, Kamala Das once visited to her parents’ home. After seeing her parents, she was returning back to Cochin Airport by car to catch flight the last Friday morning. Her mother was sitting beside her in the car. She was sixty six years old. The poet looked at her mother who was beside her. She saw that her mother was dozing. Her mouth remained open. Her face pale and faded. It is grey like ash. It looked like lifeless like a dead body. The poet became panicky. She thought that her mother would not live long. This thought pained her due to the fear of separation.
…She was 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,..
Explanation – The thought that her mother would not live long. This thought pained her due to the fear of separation. To remove the thought of sadness and pain, Kamala Das turned away her attention from her mother and looked outside through car window.The world outside was full of life, vitality, vigour and activity. The young trees appeared like running back at full speed. The children were cheerful and happy while they were coming out of their homes to play.
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 fear,
but all I said was see you soon , Amma,
all I did was smile smile and smile…
Explanation – The poet with her mother reached the Airport and passed through the security check. Then, she was standing a few yards away form her mother. She looked her mother again. She felt that her mother was weak and pale like the late winter’s moon which had lost her shine and strength due to the foggy surroundings.As the full moon of late winter became deserted, blurred and dim due to dense fog in the same way the growing old age had snatched all type of glow, charm, vitality and vigour of her mother. It is an indication of her approaching death.
This sight of her mother revived the poet’s old childhood fear of being separated from her mother. And this childhood fear of separation from her mother recalled the familiar pain of separation which has happened with her. The poet felt that there was no hope of improvement in her mother’s condition. At the final departure, the poet consoled her mother by wishing her old mother to meet her soon. And the poet was started smiling continuously to her mother , so that she can hide the feeling of pain and suffering of separation from her mother because she thought that this may be the last meeting with her mother.
My Mother at Sixty Six Poetic Devices
IMAGERY – Imagery is any sensory detail or evocation in a work of literature / the use of figurative language to evoke a feeling to describe an object.
- Young tree sprinting
- Merry Children spilling
The imagery used in the poem is suggestive of both death and youth. The image of `young trees and merry children’ are a contrast to the mother.
SIMILE – An direct comparison between two dissimilar things by using like, as or so.
- Her face ashen like that of a corpse
- As a late winter’s moon
PERSONIFICATION – Lifeless objects and abstract ideas are treated as persons having life.
- Tree Sprinting
REPETITION – The repletion of a word, phrase or sentence in the poem
- Smile and smile and smile…
ALLITERATION – Sequence of repeated beginning sound usually before stressed syllable..
- Smile and smile and smile…
My Mother at Sixty Six Questions Answers
Q.1 What are the thoughts of the poet as she is driving from her parent’s home to airport?
A.1 The poet is pained to see that her mother has grown old, pale and worn out. Time has frown by and old age has crept in slowly and steadily. This realization is distressing and she is overcome with feelings of insecurity and pain of separation.
Q.2 Ashen, open mouthed and corpse”… What do these words signify?
A.2 These words convey the physical state of the poet’s mother. Her mother looks old, pale and quite unmindful and oblivious of the surroundings almost as inert and lifeless as the dead.
Q.3 What does “thought away” mean?
A.3 Her mother sleeping beside her is lost in a world far away and this seeming attachment makes the poet feel that her mother is already far away from her.
Q.4. What do “sprinting trees “signify?
A.4. The green trees racing past the speeding car are a grim reminder that time has flown fast.
Excellently explained.
Excellently explained