JAIN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

Grade 12- English

Lesson Notes

My Mother at Sixty-Six” ( Flamingo)

About the authorKamala 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.

The poem, ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six,’ is confessional. As such, it is a first-person monologue. It runs like an aside.
The poet expresses her inner thoughts and her reactions to those thoughts. The language is conversational. The
arrangement of the lines is free and fluid. The poetic touch appears when the poet describes her mother and her
old age. She first compares her mother’s appearance to that of a corpse. She then describes her mother as the
winter moon. In both instances, the poet alludes to the imminent death of her mother. It is usually mothers who
describe their children as moons, but here, an affectionate daughter describes her mother as a moon. The last
lines of the poem repeat the word ‘smile’, indicating that people helplessly display such gestures to express their
true feelings for their loved ones.
One can find the absence of full stops or end-stopped lines. It infers that it is written in the form of a single chain
of thoughts, also known as a “stream-of-consciousness.” When people think about something deeply, they
visualize the things in an unbroken flow.

I Main points
1. Poetess travelling to Cochin airport with her mother in a car.
2. Looks at the wan, pale face of her dozing mother.
3. Old fear of losing her mother returns.
4. Sprinting trees and merry children provide the contrast and relief.
5. After the security check the old familiar ache returns.
6. Tries to hide her emotions by smiling.
7. Bids good bye to her mother with a hope to see her again.

II Answer with Reference to the Context

S1. 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….

Q1. Where was the poet driving to?

1. The poet was driving to the airport from her mother’s place to her house in Cochin.

Q2. Why was her mother’s face looking like that of a corpse? OR
Why was her mothers’ “face ashen like that of a corpse”?
2. Her mother’s face was pale, lifeless and colourless. It had the dull countenance of a
corpse. OR

2. Her mother’s face was ashen due to aging. The poet compares her mother’s face to a
corpse to foreshadow her imminent death and mortality

Q3. What did the poet notice about her mother?

3. The poet noticed that her mother was ageing and losing her youth. This is a painful
reminder of the latter’s imminent death.

S2. …..my childhood’s fear

but all I said was, see you soon,
Amma,
all I did was smile and smile and smile …

Q1. Who is ‘I’?

1. ‘I’ refers to the poet, Kamala Das.

Q2. Why did the narrator smile repeatedly?

2. The poet’s childhood fear is that of death and decay. She is concerned about her
mother’s frail health and old age.

Q3. What is the childhood fear referred to by the poet?

3. The poet’s childhood fear is that of death and decay. She is concerned about her
mother’s frail health and old age. OR

Q3. What does the phrase ‘my childhood’s fear’ represent?

3. The phrase ‘my childhood’s fear’ refers to the thought that crossed the poetess’ mind
about the fear as a child about being separated from her mother.

Q4. Why did the narrator smile repeatedly?

4. The poet smiled repeatedly to reassure herself that she will meet her mother soon. Her
words and smiles are a deliberate attempt to hide her real fears and feelings.

Q5. What do the poet’s parting words suggest?

5. The poet’s parting words reveal her fear. Though she hopes she will see her mother soon
but she is anxious about her mother’s deteriorating health and falls short of words to
convey her true feelings.

Q6. What poetic devices are used in “smile and smile and smile”?
6. The phrase “smile and smile and smile” contains three poetic devices: repetition,
tautology, and polysyndeton.

S3 … but soon
put that thought away, and
looked out at young
trees sprinting, the merry children spilling
out of their homes, …
Q1What thought did the poet drive away from her mind?
1. The poet put away the thought that the meeting could probably be their last.

Q2. What did she see when she looked out of the car?
2. The poet saw young trees sprinting past her car and young children spilling out of their
homes to play. She looked outside at the world which was full of life and activity.

Q3. How do we know that the joyful scene didn’t help drive away the painful thought from
her mind?
3. The joyful scene didn’t help drive away the painful thought because when she looked at
her mother’s pale and withered face, the fear of separation rose in her again.

Q4. What does the poet see happening outside?

4. When the poet looks out of the car's window, she sees young trees sprinting and merry
children spilling out of their homes.

III SHORT ANSWER TYPE

Q1. How did Kamala Das’s mother look during the drive to Cochin?
1. During the drive to Cochin, Kamala Das’s mother looked rather old and pale. As she
dozed off beside the poet, she looked almost like a corpse as her face was like ash, totally
colourless and it seemed to have completely lost the zest for life.

Q2. What childhood fear did Kamala Das refer to in the poem? How did she hide it?
Kamala Das’s childhood fear was the imminent death of her mother. She hid her fear
behind the facade of a smile.

Q3. How does Kamala Das try to put away the thoughts of her aging mother?
3. The thought of the death of her ageing mother and her death was very depressing and
painful. In order to put away the thoughts of her ageing mother, she looked outside the car
and tried to rejuvenate her thoughts with the vitality of nature.

Q4. Why are the children said to be “spilling out of their homes”?
4. The children are depicted as a symbol of life and energy. It seemed to the poet that the
children were spilling out their energy while coming out of their homes to play.

Q5. How does Kamala Das capture the complex subtleties of human relationships in “My
Mother at Sixty-Six”?
5. To put away the thoughts of her aging mother, she looked outside the car and tried to
rejuvenate her thoughts with the vitality of nature.

Q5. Why has the poet’s mother been compared to the late winter’s moon’?
5. The winter season is a traditional symbol of death and the moon, especially, if it is pale,
it enhances the image of decay. The mother’s pale and colourless face that has become
rather wrinkled due to old age gives her a look that the poet compares with ‘the late
winter’s moon’.

Q6. What is the irony in “My Mother at Sixty-Six”?

6. The irony of “My Mother at Sixty-Six” is that the speaker did not actually smile while
leaving her mother at the airport. Though she would have smiled, apparently, she was
sobbing within.

Q7.How does the poem “My Mother at Sixty-Six” bring out the irony of human
relationships?
7. Kamala Das reveals the irony of human relationships by portraying how she left her
mother at the airport. She knew that her mother was going to die soon. Still, she had to
leave her alone.

Q8. What is the message of “My Mother at Sixty-Six”?

8. The message of this piece lies in the attitude of the speaker towards her mother. Her
departure signifies that everyone has to leave their loved ones someday.

Q9. Why does the poet smile, and what does she say while bidding goodbye to her mother?
9. The poet smiled to hide her pain. She did not want to show her true feelings to her
mother as it would make her mother weak. In the end, she could only say, “see you soon,
Amma.”

Q10. What is the poet's old, familiar ache? How did that ache return at the airport?
10. The poet’s separations from her mother in her childhood were painful memories for
her. At the airport she faced another separation from her mother and it reminded her of
the past separations. Her childhood fear of losing her mother now resurfaces. The poet
feels that her mother’s old age and helplessness may cause a permanent separation

Q12. The poet had felt the fear of separation from her mother in her childhood. How was
that different at the airport?
12. The poet was about to separate from her aged mother at the airport. The mother and
daughter had many times stayed separated in the past but this was going to be different
from all. The childhood separations were brief and less painful. But today, the poet was
flying away for a long stay. Now that her mother is old and frail and her health is
deteriorating, the familiar ache resurfaces that she might not be able to see her mother
again. She could not bear the thought if the two would ever meet again.

Q13. Why did the poet promise her mother of a meeting in the near future?
13. The poet was doubtful of her seeing her mother again. She knew that the mother was
also aware of the same as she was. Yet, to encourage her mother, to leave a hope in her
mind, to strengthen herself, the poet promised a futile reunion in the future.

Q14. The poet's repeated smile seems out of place in a way. In which way is that
appropriate?
14. The poet had no reason to smile at the time of separation from her aged mother. She
was deeply distressed and pained to separate her mother at such a very old age of 9 the
mother. Yet, to make the mother feel 'there is nothing to worry,' the poet attempted to be
glad, cheerful and reassured by her extended smile.
Q15. Why does the poet put that thought away and looked outside?
Ans. The thought of her mother’s death and their final separation is too painful for the
poet to bear with. Therefore, she tries to distract herself by looking outside.

Q16. Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children ‘spilling out of their
homes’?
16. The merry children stand as a contrast to the old mother sitting beside the poetess.
The mother’s ashen face is a contrast to the rosy faces of the children. The young children
are merry but the old faces are sad. Yet both of them are a part of life.

Q17. What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify?
17. The parting words and the smile of the poetess signify her failure with the words. She
feels the pain born out of the fear of separation from her mother who is so old and weak.

Q18. Having looked at her mother, why does Kamala Das look at the young children?
18. After looking at her mother, Kamala Das looks at the ‘merry children spilling out of
their homes’ as they are symbolic of energy, vigour and liveliness, which is in sharp
contrast to her old and pale mother. The spontaneous outpouring of life symbolised by
these children is contrasted with her mother’s passive and inactive life.

IV LONG ANSWER TYPE

Q1. What can be inferred from the phrase “her face wan, pale as late winter’s moon“?
A. When the speaker looks at her mother standing a few yards from her at the airport
security check, the mother’s face is described by the simile “wan, pale as late winter’s
moon“. A brilliant imagery of the winter moon is used in this part of the poem. “Winter” is
used to evoke a sense of an ending (like the ageing mother), a certain frigid, inert state
(like that of a corpse) and the inevitable darkness (death) that is to follow. The mention of
‘wan’ here also represents the waning moon conveying the weakening stage. The reference
to the late winter’s moon also signifies the concept of a dying and dull appearance of the
moon.
Also, moon has stereotypically received a feminine treatment and the simile “as a pale
moon” is quite apt to describe the pale face of the aged mother. On seeing her mother,
the poet experiences “that familiar old ache, my childhood fear”. Though she doesn’t
specifically state what it actually is, we can safely infer that it is the fear of losing her
mother.

Q2. Give the theme of Kamla Das’ poem ‘My Mother at Sixty Six’?
Ans. The mother of the poet is not yet very old. She is sixty six. But due to her illness or
so, she looks pale and ash colored like a dead body. The poet is in a hurry to catch a flight.
She is deeply concerned about her aged murder. She is not sure of finding her alive on her
next visit. She looks out of the car at the young trees and merry children. By contrast, the
sight of the mother looks critical. She casts a last look at her at the airport. In order to
cheer up the old mother, she smiles and smiles to hide her own fear and promises to see
the old woman again.

Q3. Ageing is a natural process; have you ever thought what our elderly parents expect
from us?
1. Ageing is a natural process. When the person becomes old he becomes weak, he needs
support both emotional and physical. Thus, it becomes our duty to provide our old parents
the love, emotional support and respect they deserve. Our parents usually give us their
best period of life to bring us up. Therefore, it becomes our moral duty to reciprocate the
same when they become old.

But unfortunately, due to rank materialism and nuclear family system the old people are
treated as an unnecessary commodity. They are harassed and sometimes even mistreated.
Many a time the old people are sent to old age homes, where they lack emotional support
which the family can provide. It is very shameful for the younger generation. Our parents
do not deserve such shabby treatment in their old age.

2. My Mother at sixty six” is an emotional account of the poet about her old mother.
Discuss.

Ans. “My Mother at sixty six” is an emotional account of the poet about her old mother.
She feels very sad and depressed on seeing her pale, weak and worn out. She tries her best
to divert her thought but remains unsuccessful and this thought haunts her mind every now
and then. Till the end of the poem, she feels very sad and disappointed about the declining
age of her mother. She is unable to express her fears and emotions to her mother with the
thought of disheartening her. She bids goodbye to her mother by just smiling in order to
hide her hurt feelings and encourage her mother.