English Project

 Name S SANJEEVAN KUMAR

 Class & Sec 12 ‘B’
 Roll no. 12222
 Subject English
 Topic My Mother at Sixty-six
 School Kendriya Vidyalaya OCF Avadi Chennai-54
 Index
 Poem
 About the poet
 Introduction of the poem
 Summary
 Theme of the poem
 Poetic device used in the poem
 Vocabularies
 Assignment questions
 Key points
 Biblography
 declaration
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First and foremost I would like to thank the
almighty for giving me the strength, knowledge,
ability and opportunity to undertake this project and
complete it satisfactorily.
I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude
to my Principal who gave me the golden opportunity to
do this wonderful project. Next I would like to thank
my English Teacher whose support and guidance made
me complete the project on time.
Secondly I would also like to thank my parents and
friends who helped me a lot in finalizing this project
within the limited time frame.
Finally I thank all the people who have supported me to
complete the project directly or indirectly.
 POEM

My Mother at Sixty-six

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 realized with pain that she was
as old as she 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……

-Kamala Das
 About the poet
KAMALA DAS (1934-2009) was born in
Malabar, Kerala. She is recognised as one of
India’s foremost poets. Her works are known
for their originality, versatility and the
indigenous flavor of the soil. Kamala Das has
published many novels and short Stories in
English and Malayalam under the name
‘Madhavikutty’. Some of her works in English
include the novel Alphabet of Lust (1977), a
collection of short stories Padmavati the
Horlot and other stories (1992), in addition to
five books of poetry. She is sensitive writer
who captures the complex subtlities as human
relationships in lyrical idiom, My Mother at
Sixty-six is an example.
 My Mother at Sixty-six
INTRODUCION

My Mother At Sixty Six poem is written by Kamala Das and is one of her
very popular poems. Kamala Das is famous for capturing the complexities
of personal relationships. In the short summary of My Mother At Sixty
Six, the poet relates to her own experience in the poem. She brings out a
contradiction in human relationships. Throughout the poem, she has
pictured what emotions a daughter feels when she bids farewell to her
mother. She feels sad for her mother and is not able to express her
grief. A short and long summary of My Mother At 66 is provided below.
The poet was driving from her folks home to the Cochin air terminal last
Friday morning. Her mother was sitting close to her. She was sixty-six
years of age. The older woman was resting. Her mouth stayed open. Her
face looked pale and blurred. It was dim like debris. It looked dormant
like a body (dead body).Her youth dread overwhelmed her once more. In
any case, she controlled herself. She gave off an impression of being
ordinary. She scattered grains all over while bidding farewell to her
mother. She wished to see her old Amma once more.
 Summary

This is a touching poem written by Indian poet Kamala

Das who wrote under the pen name of ‘Madhavikutty’. In
the poem she described her feeling of love and attachment
towards her ageing mother.
Summary-

Once the poet went to visit her mother. She was no

her way back to the airport to return to Cochin. She
looked at her ageing mother who was seated beside her in
the car. Her mother had dozed off to sleep and her
ageing face-was smoky in colour like ash. Her mouth was
open and she resembled a dead body. The poet realized
that her mother was old. She felt pain and sympathy for
her. Her mother needed love, affection and care.

In order to come out of the gloom, the poet shifted

her glance and looked our of the car’s window. There she
saw young trees pass by. Little children were running out
of their houses into the playgrounds. These things were
contrary to the ageing face of her mother. They
symbolized energy, life and happiness.
Summary-

As they reached the airport and the poet was about to

leave for the aeroplane, she glanced at her mother one
more time. Her mother appeared weak and pale just like
the moon in the winter season which seems to have lots all
its strength. The poet felt the pain and fear of losing her
mother.
Summary-

As a child she could not bear to be separated

from her mother even for a few moments. Now
the loss would be permanent as her mother was
about to die and she would lose her forever.

The poet did not express her feelings. She

smiled and said ”see you soon, Amma” because she
wanted that her mother should live and they could
meet again.
 My Mother at Sixty-six
Main theme of the poem –
Pain of separation due to ageing and decay

Sub-theme of the poem-

Complexities of human relationship

Main characters-
The poet and her mother
MY MOTHER AT SIXTY-SIX

Poetic device
Simile-
Her face ashen like that of a corpse
I looked again at her, wan and pale as a late winter’s moon

Imagery-contrasting images-
poet’s mother inside the car & merry children/young tree
outside the car

Rhyme Scheme –
The poem does not follow any rhyme or rhythm. It has
been written in free verse.
 Vocabularies
1. Doze - a short, light sleep
2. Ashen - very pale, like ash
3. Corpse - a dead body
4. Sprinting - here, shooting out of
the ground
5. Spilling - here, to move out in
great numbers
ASSIGNMENT : QUESTIONS TO TEXT COMPREHENSION
Short Answer Questions (30-40 words)
1. How does the poet describe her mother?
2. What do you infer from ‘dozed and open mouthed’?
3. Why does the poet compare her mother to a corpse?
4. How old was the poet’s mother?
5. Which thought does the poet refer to and why did she put
her thought away?
6. Why are the young trees described as ‘sprinting’?
7. Why has the brought in the image of the merry children
‘spilling out of their homes’?
8. What are the thoughts of the poet as she is driving from
her parent’s home to the airport?
9. Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s
moon’?
10. What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?
11. Why does the poet call her pain a familiar ache?
12. What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet
feels?
13. What is the childhood fear of the poet?
14. What do the parting words of the poet and her
smile signify?
15. What are the fears that the poet is overcome
with?
16. What were the fears of the poet as a child? Why
do they surface at this stage?
17. How does the poet’s mother look like and why?
18. Why did the poet put that thought away?
19. Mention the poetic devices used in the poem ‘My
Mother at Sixty Six’.
20. Justify the title of the poem ‘My Mother at Sixty
Six’.
 KEY POINTS
 When the poet is on her way to the cochin airport
with her old mother sitting beside her, she looks
at her closely and presents before us her image.
 She compares her with a corpse. As she looks at
her mother’s pale and pallid face, she is struck
with the horror and pain of losing her. The mother
with the dozing face and open mouth is compared
to a corpse. Here, the poet shows the typical love
and affection which is present in a mother-
daughterrelation.
 The poet is pained and shifts her attention outside
the car in order to drive out the negative feelings.
She changes her sad mood .The scene outside the
window is of growing life and energy. The rapidly
sprinting trees alongside the merrily playing
children symbolize life, youth and vitality.
 The poet here is reminded of her own childhood
when her mother had been young whereas now she
is encircled with the fear of losing her and that
has made her insecure.
 The poet encourages her mother through her
parting words.
 The poet tries to hide her pain through her smile
DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the

project work entitled as
“MY MOTHER AT SIXT-SIX”
is submitted to the
respective teacher of
KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA OCF
is prepared by me. Which are
duly acknowledged under the
guidance of my subject
teacher.
-Thank you
BIBLOGRAPHY
 SuccessCDs.com
 Slideshare.com
 NCERT
 LearnCBSE.com
 Google.com
 NCERT Books
 Etc………
Thank
youFrom-
S SANJEEVAN KUMAR
12th