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  • My Mother at Sixty

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    Kamala Das was an Indian poet and author who wrote extensively in both English and Malayalam. She is considered one of the best modern Indian authors and earned the title "Mother of Modern Indian English Poetry." The poem describes the poet's experience driving her aging mother to the airport. Seeing her mother appear pale and corpse-like made the poet realize how old she had become. Though feeling deep sympathy, the poet did not express it and simply smiled, feeling the familiar childhood fear of separation from her mother.

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    Kamala Das was an Indian poet and author who wrote extensively in both English and Malayalam. She is considered one of the best modern Indian authors and earned the title "Mother of Modern Indian English Poetry." The poem describes the poet's experience driving her aging mother to the airport. Seeing her mother appear pale and corpse-like made the poet realize how old she had become. Though feeling deep sympathy, the poet did not express it and simply smiled, feeling the familiar childhood fear of separation from her mother.

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    49 views3 pages

    My Mother at Sixty

    Uploaded by

    Home Grown Creation
    Kamala Das was an Indian poet and author who wrote extensively in both English and Malayalam. She is considered one of the best modern Indian authors and earned the title "Mother of Modern Indian English Poetry." The poem describes the poet's experience driving her aging mother to the airport. Seeing her mother appear pale and corpse-like made the poet realize how old she had become. Though feeling deep sympathy, the poet did not express it and simply smiled, feeling the familiar childhood fear of separation from her mother.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
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    of 3

    My mother at sixty-six

    About the poetess

    Kamala das also known Kamala Surayya (born Kamala; 31 March 1934 - 31
    May 2009), was an Indian poet in English as well as an author
    in Malayalam from Kerala, India. Her popularity in Kerala is based chiefly on her
    short stories and autobiography, She was also a widely read columnist and wrote
    on diverse topics including women's issues, child care, politics, etc.
    Kamala Das went on to produce what is considered some of the best work in
    modern Indian literature. Some of her notable works in English are the
    novel Alphabet of Lust (1977), the collection of short stories Padmavati the
    Harlot and other stories (1992) and a compilation of her poetry Summer in
    Calcutta (1973). In Malayalam, they include Balyakalasmaranakal (The
    Memories of Childhood), chandanamarangal (Sandalwood Trees) and many
    more. On account of her extensive contribution to the poetry in our country, she
    earned the label ‘The Mother of Modern Indian English Poetry’. She has also
    been likened to literary greats like Sylvia Plath because of the confessional style
    of her writing.

    Kamala Das has received many awards for her literary contribution, including:

     1963: PEN Asian Poetry Prize


     1968: Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story – Thanuppu
     1984: Shortlisted for the Nobel Prize in Literature
     1985: Kendra Sahitya Academy Award (English) – Collected Poems
     1988: Kerala State Film Award for Best Story
     1997: Vayalar Award – Neermathalam Pootha Kalam
     1998: Asian Poetry Prize
     2002: Ezhuthachan Award
     2006: Honorary D.Litt by University of Calicut
     2006: Muttathu Varkey Award

    1
    Poem

    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 realised
    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’s fear,
    but all I said was, see you soon,
    Amma, all I did was
    smile and smile and smile......

    2
    Central idea

    Aging is an important phase of human life. A person enters his


    childhood, experiences youth when he is full of energy and dreams to have
    luxury of life. Finally, he approaches his old age and encounters death.
    Relationship between people becomes stronger at every aspect of life and they
    can’t bear separation due to aging. This is a touching poem written by Indian
    poet Kamla Das who wrote under the pen name of ‘Madhavikutty’. In this poem,
    she describes her feeling of love and attachment towards her ageing mother In
    this poem, the poet relates a personal experience. She brings out a common
    paradox of human relationships and portrays a sensational separation of a
    mother and a daughter. She has been able to capture almost all the emotions
    which a daughter is filled with, on bidding farewell to her beloved mother.
    Sometimes we do feel deep sympathy for someone but we fail to express it in a
    proper manner.

    Summary

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