AMMA

Down the stairs of this house where plaster flakes and falls,
Through the intimate emptiness of its rooms and hall,
I hear your slow footsteps, grandmother, echo or pause

As they used to through long summer afternoons spent within

The watered-down four walls of khus and fragile drinks
Of ice, mango or lemon, the circle of water -melon crescents.

Slowly you shuffle examining each new tear in the curtains

Which will have to be mended when the first monsoon rain
Provides a respite from sun, curtails the need for shade.

Slowly on arthritic joints you move from room to room

Marking the damage of the years, evaluating how soon
The past will collapse or how long the present last.

You never need glasses to mark the contours of your house

Though you can’t see grandsons at a distance, once wore a blouse
Inside out. Nothing has changed, grandmother, no, not yet;

Though your collected steps never turn the corner in to you

In a starched and white sari, the fragrance of soap around you.
And all the curtains have long been taken down.
Amma is a beautiful poem written by Tabish Khair published in his collection ‘Where
parallel lines Meet’. The poem appears to be a tribute to his grandmother. Here are given
the word-meanings and solution to the poem and book exercises.

Born and educated in the town of Gaya, in Bihar, India, TABISH KHAIR is the author of
various books, including the poetry collections, Where Parallel Lines Meet (Penguin,
2000) and Man of Glass (HarperCollins, 2010),

Word-Meanings: Poem Amma

flake – a bit or piece or layer; intimate – close, personal and private
relationship; fragile – easily broken or damaged; shuffle – walk by dragging one’s feet,
move from place to place; mended – repaired; respite – relief; marking – noticing,
observing, and giving attention to; contours – an outline representing the shape and
form of something; fragrance – pleasant smell; curtail – reduce;
Book Exercises: Poem Amma
Answers
1. a. The house belongs to the speaker’s grandmother.
b. The house is very old.
c. He remembers his grandmother’s echoing footsteps.
2. a. The grandmother.
b. Perhaps no. In the past the house though old used to have children coming
during the summer. In the present the grandmother wonders how long will she
and the house last.
c. When the children stop coming or the house falls apart.
3. a. Though her walking with effort will never make her visible physically, the poet
can still feel her presence.
b. The grandmother was very well liked by the poet and her presence can be felt
in the house long after she is no more.
c. She is no longer alive.

1. The echo is mentioned here because the house is empty. But, the grandmother
(Amma) is not alive and therefore it is in the poet’s memory that the echo occurs.
2. It is so because during summer the curtains provide respite from the sun but this
shade from the sun would not be required much during monsoon season.
3. The coolness of the wet khus and the various ice drinks are mentioned here in in the
grandmother’s house.
4. Here, it is the diminishing eyesight of the grandmother that has changed though the
things are the same way.
5. It means, there is no one living in that house and no need of any curtains.
6. Children were fond of their grandmother and liked to be with her. She, very well, knew
the house. The house has her presence even years later as the poet feels the echo of her
foot steps in the house.
7. It refers to the fact that the poet missed his grandmother and he knew very well the
reason of emptiness in the house i.e. she is not alive.
8. Amma was fond of her grandchildren and arranged for their coolness during summer.
She took care that children enjoyed their favourite ice drinks. Children also loved her as
they enjoyed their stay with Amma. She was meticulous about the time and its impact as
she was anxious as how long she or her old house would remain alive.