Mission 100

According to Latest CBSE Board Syllabus

Poem – 1 | Flamingo

My Mother
at 66
Kamala Das Kamala Das (1934-2009)
was born in Malabar,
Kerala. She is recognized
as one of India’s foremost
poets. Her works are
known for their
originality, versatility and
the indigenous flavor of
the soil. She has
published many novels
and short stories. She
wrote under the pen
name “Madhavi Kutty”.
Introduction to the lesson :

My mother at sixty six is written by

Kamala Das who is famous for
capturing complexities of human
relationships. The poem my mother
at sixty six is one of the finest
examples of the human bonding,
especially that of a mother and
daughter. It describes the pain and
fear of the poet - of losing her
mother due to harsh reality of life
which is death.
Poem and explanation

Stanza 1 :

Driving from my
parent’s home
To Cochin last Friday
morning,
I saw my mother
beside me.
Beside: alongside

The poetess explains that

once when she visited
her parent’s house in
Cochin. It was a Friday
when she was driving
back to the airport, her
mother was sitting beside
her at the back of the
car. The poet looked at
her mother.
Stanza 2 :
doze, open mouthed, her face ashen like that
of a corpse and realized with pain

Doze : nap
Ashen : pale
Corpse : dead body

She saw that her mother was sleeping and her mouth
was open. She further explains that the colour of her
mother’s face was like that of ash. (This means that
there was some smoky appearance on her face). She
looked like a dead body.
Stanza 3 :

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,

Spilling: let out

Sprinting: Moving fast
The poetess realized that her
mother had grown old. She felt pain
for her. But soon she tried to get rid
of this sad thought by diverting her
thoughts towards the trees outside.
The young trees although stationary
seemed to be running very fast as
though they were sprinting.
She also saw children running out
of their houses, into the playground.
All these things were full of life and
energy, contrary to her mother who
sat next to her.
Stanza 4 :
but after the airport’s
security check, standing a few yards
away, I looked again at her, wan, pale

Wan: dim, weak

Pale: dull, colorless

The poet continues that when she reached the airport,

she finished with the security check and stood a few
yards away from her mother. She noticed her mother’s
ageing face which looked so dull, weak and pale.
Stanza 5 :

as a late winter’s
moon and felt that old
familiar ache, my
childhood’s fear, but
all I said was, see you
soon,
Amma, all I did was
smile and smile and
smile......
The poet compares her
mother to a late winter’s
moon as the moon in
winters is not shiny and
even her mother’s face had
also lost her youth and
shine.

As her mother was getting

older and weak. The poet
feels the fear of separation
just as she used to feel
during her childhood.
As a child, she could not bear
the pain of separating from her
mother. But now as her mother
has grown old and is about to
die, the poet feels that may be
this is the last time that she is
seeing her mother.

She tries to hide her fear. She

then says that she would soon
see her mother again. She says
so because she doesn’t want
to lose her mother.
Expected Questions
Q1. What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?

A1 When the poet sees her ageing mother who is about to die, she
felt the pain of losing her. This is similar to the pain which she use to
feel if her mother was not near her.

She feels that as her mother is growing old and pale, she will die
soon and they will get separated. Time and death never spare
anyone. Not even the poet’s mother and so, she has to lose her.
Q2. Why are the young trees described as sprinting?

A2. While the poet was on her way to the airport. She saw
the trees beside the road which seemed to be running fast
as she was travelling in a car. It seemed as if they were
sprinting. Here the poet tries to show the difference
between her pale and weak mother who looked like a
corpse and the trees that were running and were full of life.
Practice Question
Q. What do the parting words
of the poet and her smile
signify?
A. The poet’s parting words “see you soon,
Amma” show the pain and fear of losing her
mother.
But she smiles and looks at her mother to give
her ailing mother assurance that she will meet
her soon. Here one can easily see that she is
trying to hide her real feelings of pain and fear
from her mother and tries to console herself
and her mother that they both will be able to
see each other again.
MCQs
English Literature
Flamingo
My Mother at 66
Q1- Who is the poet of this poem?

A) John Keats
B) Rudyard Kipling
C) William Wordsworth
D) Kamladas.
Q2- What is her work known
for?

A) for their originality, versatility

and flavor of the soil.
B) for their popularity
C) for their style
D) for the expressions used
Q3- What is the kind of pain and ache that
the poet feels?

A) Losing her mother.

B) heart attack
C) headache
D) children screaming at her
Q4- In which languages has Kamla Das
written stories and novels?

A) English and Tamil

B) English and Hindi
C) English and urdu
D) English and Malayalam.
Q5- Name the poetic devices used in the poem.

A) metaphor
B) simile
C) alliteration
D) all these.
Q6- What is the significance of the title My
Mother at Sixty Six?

A) Poets fear of losing her old mother.

B) poets fear of moving fast
C) poets inability to express her feelings
D) All these
Q7- Which poetic device is Trees sprinting ?

A) metaphor
B) simile
C) alliteration
D) Personification.
Q8- What is the distinctive feature of the
poem?

A) its metaphors
B) simile used
C) alliteration used
D) narrative style using a single sentence in
a set of 14 lines.
Q9- What does this narrative style
of the poem signify?

A) differing thoughts
B) many thoughts
C) contrasting thoughts
D) a single thread of thought mixed
with harsh realities.
Q10- What is the main idea of the poem?

A) eternal painful old age and its fears.

B) mother and daughter love
C) helplessness of a daughter
D) lack of strength
Extract Based
Questions