ENGLISH ASL PROJECT REPORT

BY MOHIT JOSHI

MY MOTHER AT SIXTY-SIX
(FLAMINGO)
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

THEME - PHOBIA OF LOSING LOVED ONES

INSPIRED FROM THE POEM MY MOTHER AT SIXTY SIX BY KAMALA DAS

OBJECTIVES OF CHOOSING THE TOPIC

This poem resonated with me on a deeper

level.
The theme of the poem was about how the
fear of losing a loved one or how knowing
that someone you cared about was walking
closer to death every passing day felt like a
truck hit me while we were reading and
understanding the poem and I wanted to
portray my view of it to my peers and
teachers.
 It made me realize how precious my time
is with the people I care about, especially my
parents and grandparents.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kamala Surayya (born Kamala) (1934-2009), also

known by her one-time pen name Madhavikutty and
Kamala Das, was an Indian English poet and
litterateur besides being a leading Malayalam
author from Kerala, India. Her popularity in Kerala
is based chiefly on her short stories and
autobiography, while her literature in English,
written under the name Kamala Das, is noted for
the poems and explicit autobiography. She was
also a widely read columnist and wrote on diverse
topics including women’s issues, child care and
politics among others.

ACTION PLAN
● To accept the reality of aging and fear of loss and
separation associated with it
● To recognise hidden pathos of the speaker with the
verse
● To develop empathy with poet's sense of loss
● To develop interest in the poetry

SKIT
INTRODUCTION
‘My Mother at Sixty Six’ captures the fear of the narrator of losing her
mother due to declining health and loss of energy which accompanies
old age. The narrator accepts this reality and is disturbed by her
mother’s need for her on the one hand and her own duties and
responsibilities on the other hand.
1.While driving to the airport The daughter looks at her mother,
looking pale and tired and she wonders when she started looking that
way. She starts thinking when did her mother start looking so old and
frail, the wrinkles on her face clearly visible, are her eyes playing a
trick on her? Or is her mother just not the same as she used to be all
those years ago. She's scared to say the answer out loud.
2.Observing her surroundings she notices how youthful and joyous the
mothers of other children are around the airport. This reminds her of
how young and energetic her mother used to be, who is now a hollow
husk.She looks at her mother again, and her heart aches... can she
really do this? Live in a world without her?
3.She hopes that her mother is not fearing the same thing as her. But
instead she just smiles, so the daughter says see you soon, as if
there's more than enough years left for them to cherish, and walks
into the airport, smiling to hide her pain.
4.The poem ends with a tone of recognition. The Narrator accepts
reality. Just as life is the start of a miracle, death is the end of the
miracle. This realization strikes her as it is the ultimate harsh truth that
she may never see her mother again. Kamala Das has beautifully
balanced the contrast between old age and childhood or youth in the
poem.

VIDEO REPORT

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aDVdS7mPh704GqPkTrX5r3neXz4JLJ
ZH/view?usp=share_link

ESSAY

We have sought to bring to you poet Kamala Das’s thought

process of first denying her mother’s aging towards death and
then her gentle acceptance of the same. The poem begins
with the poet’s mother beside her and ends at a parting, with
the hope and desire of meeting soon again. And in the middle,
there are contrasting references to both vitality (young trees
and children) and impending death (corpse, wan and pale late
winter moon), shedding light on the conflicts we go through
while coming to terms with the fact that all springs eventually
turn into winter and youth steadily progresses towards old
age. This poem is indeed a thought-provoking reflection on
child-mother love and relationship, fear of losing loved ones,
denial and escape, and quiet acceptance of harsh
realities.Does it not make you think of the times we have all
been scared of losing someone – a parent, a friend, or a lover
–not just to death but simply to circumstances. Just like the
poet, don’t we all have the tendency to escape hurtful
emotions? However, do we all succeed in processing and
accepting those emotions as the poet has towards the end?
Maybe that can only happen in poetry but it is so much harder
in real life. Writing this “My Mother at Sixty Six” explanation
has really gotten me thinking… Could you all tell me how
each of you deal with loss or thoughts of losing the one you
love?
My Mother at Sixty Six’ captures the fear of the narrator of
losing her mother due to declining health and loss of energy
which accompanies old age. The narrator accepts this reality
and is disturbed by her mother’s need for her on the one hand
and her own duties and responsibilities on the other hand.
This helplessness is poignantly brought out in this poem. The
treatment is different as it emphasizes the subtlety of a
mother- daughter relationship. The tone is reflective and the
mood is one of resignation and acceptance. In the poem, the
narrator is driving to the airport. The mother is with her. She
realizes that her mother is old when the latter dozes off. The
mother is pale and looks like a corpse. When the mother
wakes up she says nothing and the narrator is painted on
having to leave her frail and old mother behind. Kamala Das
has beautifully balanced the contrast between old age and
childhood or youth in the poem. Old age is shown as an
ashen face, a corpse. This is contrasted with words and ideas
expressing vitality, energy and movement. For example,
‘Trees sprinting’ and `children spilling out’. Old age is like a
winter’s moon and the mother is pale and wan. The narrator is
pained yet with a smile says ‘see you soon’. The separation is
not merely of a daughter leaving, but there is pain and a fear
of death, a permanent separation, yet the narrator must leave
— probably to fulfill her commitments. The poem ends with a
tone of resignation. The narrator accepts reality. She smiles
as She is separated from her mother. The repetition of the
word smile reiterates the facade the daughter puts up for the
sake of the mother — the brave act, the cheerful parting —
the resignation and finally the acceptance that as she goes
away she may never see her mother alive again.Ageing is an
inescapable phase of every human’s life. A person enters their
childhood, experiences adolescence when they are energetic
and have so many dreams. Finally, every person approaches
their old age and then they die. Relationships between people
become much stronger in every phase of life. No one can’t bear
the separation from their loved ones just because of aging.
Firstly, when the author is going to the Cochin airport with her
mother she looks at her carefully and presents before us her
image. As she looks at her mother’s soft and whitish face, she
gets stuck with the fear of losing her mother. Her mother with a
sleepy face and open mouth is comparable to a corpse. Here,
the author shows love and affection in a relationship between a
mother and a daughter.The poet is hurt and sad and shifts her
attention outside the car for drive out the undesirable feelings.
She changes her bad mood. The scene from the window of the
car is of rising life and energy. The fast sprinting green and
huge trees alongside the cheerfully playing kids represent life,
youth, and vitality. The poet here is remembering her own
childhood. In her childhood, her mother was young and
beautiful. Whereas now her mother is surrounded by the fear of
losing her life and that made her insecure and sad.She reaches
the airport to take her flight. It shows departure and parting
which makes her sad. As she said goodbye to her mother, the
image of the old mother in the dusk of years strikes her. Here
again, a simile is comparable with her mother with a late-night
moon of the winters. The light of the moon is an obstacle by the
fog and haze as she appears older now. The poet is now feeling
the pain of getting separated because of leaving her mother.
Her childhood fear of losing her loving mother now became so
terrifying. Now her mother could die of old age anytime
unexpectedly. She is so sad that she starts crying slowly without
control but keeping a brave heart she hides her tears and starts
smiling. Thus, she offers her farewell to her old mother and
keeps her hope of seeing her mother alive again. She says “see
you soon, Amma”. She hides her tears and sorrow as she does
not want to make a painful and emotional environment.
Moreover, she doesn’t want her mother to cry and shows her
that she is enjoying her life. She expects her mother to be
happy and enjoy her life just like her.

REFLECTION

It is rightly said by Abraham Lincoln that "No man is poor who has a
mother."Mothers are God's most prominent blessing to humankind.
Every one of us has the trepidation of losing our mom, thus has the
artist Kamala Das and through her sonnet "My Mother at Sixty Six",
she depicts her sudden acknowledgment that her mom has developed
old and may breathe easy. The lyric rotates around the "Trepidation of
misfortune". The lyric communicates the anguish of a little girl over her
mom's propelling age and the apprehension of perpetual detachment
from her.She sees the truth that standards life. They have voyage long
yet here they isolate! She comprehends that nothing will stay with a
man and eventually demise needs to come. The writer recalls her
days when she was youthful and vigorous, yet the days passed as
quickly as the trees were running behind when she was en route to
the air terminal with her mom. The trees symbolizes the developing
days and the kids in the road symbolizes the new trust and bliss in life
which stays for a brief timeframe and the times of satisfaction run out
quickly. While the writer was profoundly contemplating this partition,
questioning the likelihood of their meeting again and the conceivable
end/passing of the matured mother, she happened to take a gander at
the mother.
Bibliography

● FLAMINGO TEXTBOOK (CLASS 12)

● TOPPER .COM

● BYJUS.COM

● BEAMINGNOTES.COM

THANK YOU