I.

EXTRACTS FROM THE POEM

1. Driving from my parents
(to)
That she thought away,
(i)Identify the poem and the poet.
(i)
Who is the I referred to here?
(ii)
Where was she driving from?
(iii)
Where was she driving to?
(iv)
Who was with her?
(v)
How did her mother look like?
(vi)
What did she realize about her mother?
Answers:
(i) The poem is My Mother at Sixty-six and the poet is Kamala Das.
(ii) The I referred to here is the poet,Kamala Das.
(iii) She was driving from her parents home
(iv) She was driving to Cochin
(v) The poets mother was with her.
(vi) Her mother was sitting by her while she was driving from her parents home to Cochin. She was dozing and her mouth
was open. Her face was pale and looked like that of a dead man.
(vii) The poet realized that her mother was very old and depressed at her parting. She also visualized the impending death of
her mother.
2. And looked but soon
( to)
As a late winters moon
(i) Identify the poem.
(i)
What thought did she put away?
(ii)
What did she do to get rid of her painful thought?
(iii)
What did she do after reaching the airports security check?
(iv)
How did the poets mother look like as described in these lines?
Answers:
(i) The name of the poem is My Mother at Sixty-six.
(ii) She was very much pained at the thought of her mothers impending death. This
thought of her mothers was put away
by the poet.
(iii) To get rid of the thought of her mothers death, she looked outside through the
window of the car. She looked at the trees
going behind and merry children coming
out of their home.
(iv) After reaching the airports security check, the poet looked at her mother again.
(v) In these lines the poets mother has been described as pale and depressed. She has
been compared to late winters moon.
3. --------------------and felt that
Old
(to)
Smile
(i)
What was her familiar ache?
(ii)
What was her childhood fear?
(iii)
What did the poet say to her mother before parting?
(iv)
Why did the poet smile looking at her mother?
Answers:
(i) Her familiar ache was her childhood fear.
(ii) Her childhood fear was the fear of separation from her mother.
(iii) Before parting from her mother, the poet said see you soon.
(iv) The poet felt that her mother was sad, pale and depressed. She appeared to have lost
her hope of living. So, she wanted to
give her a hope of living with her smile and to
feel that she was not unwanted.
II. SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
1. What kind of pain and ache does the poet feel?
The pain that the poet feels is about her separation from her mother. She always feels that death may separate her from
her mother any moment.
2. What are some of the images that Kamala Das sees on the way to the airport?
Kamala Das sees the trees sprinting and the merry children coming out of their homes on the way to the airport
3. Why does Kamala Das compare her mother to the late winters moon?
Winter is a symbol of old age. The moon appears pale in winter. The poet means to say that her mother was approaching
death by comparing her to the late winters moon.
4. What is the image of the children sprinting out of their homes referring to?
The poet contrasts the old age of her mother with the merry youth of the children. She puts away thoughts about her
mother after seeing the children bubbling with life and energy.
5. What was the childhood fear of the poet?
The childhood fear of the poet was that she would be separated from her mother. She was always afraid that her mother
may die any moment. All of us are afraid to be separated from our loved ones.
6. What does the final smile of the poet signify?
The smile that she gave her mother at the airport was a sign of moral support. She means to say that though young
children catch out attention, we must not forget to show concern and love for old people.

1. Read the following passages and answer the questions that follow.

A . Far Far from gusty waves, these childrens faces

(to)
Of squirrels game, in tree room, other than this.
1. What does the Expression these children stand for?
For slum children of the elementary school.
2. Describe the paper-seeming boy
He is lean & thin has small eyes-suffered the diease of his gnarled father.
3. What is the boy at the back of the dim class doing?
He dreams of the squirrel s game in the tree room which he feels is better than the
classroom.
4. What is the dim class compared to?
It is compared to the dark tree room of the squirrel.
B. On sour cream walls, donations. Shakespeares head.
(to)
Far far from rivers, capes and stars of words.
1. Why does the poet mention beautiful things?
They are Given to the school as donations, but they are useless for the slum children.
2. What are the different things mentioned in the above lines ?
Portrait of Shakespeare ,Huge domes of the city,valley full of flowers & a world map.
3. Why does the future of the slum dwelling children appear to be painted with a
fog?
The future of the slum dwelling children is like a fog which means that their future is
unclear and vague. They have no future
and no hopes.
4. Why is the sky referred to as a lead sky?
Lead is a base metal. Here it symbolizes unending poverty and hopelessness.
C. Surely, Shakespeare is wicked, the map a bad example,
(to)
So blot their maps with slum as big as doom.
1. What does the map with ships and sun and love tempt them to do?
Those things tempt them to steal for lives.
2. Where does their life finally turn to?
Their lives finally turn to dark cramped holes their slums.
3. How does the poet describe the spectacles of the slum children?
The poet compares the spectacles to bottle bits on stones. The spectacles are made of steel and mended glass.
4. What does the poet want to do to the world map?
5. The poet wants to blot the map with slums as big as doom because no one cares for the slum people.
D. Unless, governor, inspector, visitor
(to)
History theirs whose language is the sun
1. Who does the poet address in the above lines?
He address the governor, the inspector and the visitor to the slum school.
2. How are the authorities responsible for shutting up their lives like catacombs?
The authorities have never lent any support to the children in slum schools.
3. What does the line let their tongues Run naked into books means?
It means to make sincere efforts to educate them.
4. What are white and green leaves mentioned in the last line?
The white leaves refer to pages of books implied knowledge compiled in them. Green leaves are suggestive of natures
beauty.
SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
1. Describe the elementary school classroom in the slum.
The elementary school classroom of the slum is dim .there are great posters which lure them to life .but they are poor sick
so they dont lend life to the classroom.
2. Describe the students of the school in the slum.
The students are weak, pale, thin diseased with rough hair and weak eyes that imply they are undernourished.
3. Why does the poet feel that the future of these poor children is painted in fog?
The future of the slum dwelling children is like a fog which means that their future is unclear and vague. They have no
future and no hopes.
4. Why does the poet compare the faces of the slum children to rootless weeds?
The rootless weeds are dependent on other living material for food. Similarly these children have no life on their face. They
are dull and will ever depend on the society to which they belong.
5. Why does the poet say that the map hung in the school is not their window to the world?
The poet says so because what the world shows is very different to the world of slum that they saw. So the world map will
be useless for them.
6. What is the real world of the slum children?
The children know only their slum. They know nothing about the outer world. Their sky is the sky of lead. The rivers and
stars are stranger to them. All the time and space are foggy.
7. What impact does the portrait of Shakespeare and rising domes etc have on children of the slum?
The portrait of Shakespeare etc create a longing in them to lead a life of luxury. This may lead them to steal.
8. How can the map of the world become their window?
The authorities must try earnestly to educate them and expose them to the world so that their life can be made better.
9. Why is the life compared to catacombs?
The slums are totally separated from the outer world. They know nothing of the outer world. It is like a grave under the
ground, dark and gloomy. So it is compared to catacombs.
10. What will happen when the catacombs are broken open?
If the authorities start taking proper care about the health and education of the children of the slums and expose this outer
world to them, they will know the world its beauty, its history and they will become knowledgeable.