My Mother at Sixty Six by Kamala Das

My Mother at Sixty-Six :

Text:

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.....

Summary

Kamlas Das was driving to Cochin from her parent’s house. Her sixty six years old mother was with her. She looked at her mother. She was dosing. Her mouth was open. Her face was pale and colorless like a corpse. This pained her. She thought her end was near. But she did not wish to think about it. So she looked outside. By contrast, the scene outside was pleasant and cheerful. Young trees too seemed full of energy. They were sprinting. Happy little children were coming out of their homes. They were running and skipping.

When she reached the airport, she again looked at her mother. Mother looked sickly and wan. Again the fear of separation seized her. But she overcame her emotions. She felt it was her duty to give moral support to her mother. So she smiled and assured her mother that she would see her soon again. 

About Author:

Kamala Das was an Indian English poet as well as an author in Malayalam from Kerala. Her popularity is based 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. Her liberal treatment of female sexuality, marked her as an iconoclast in popular culture of her generation. On 31 May 2009, aged 75, she died at Jehangir Hospital in Pune.

Major Works:

Poetry Collections:

1. The Sirens 1964

2. Summer in Calcutta 1965

3. An Introduction 1965

4.  The Descendents 1967

5. The old playhouse and other poems 1973

Novels: 

Alphabet of Lust 1977

Autobiography

My Story 1976 

Short Stories

A Doll for the child prostitute 1977

Padmavati, The Harlot and other stories

Solutions:

1. What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels? 
Answer:
When the poet looked the corpse-like pale face of her mother, her old familiar pain returns.  Ageing is a process which occurs naturally.  She is troubled to think that the old mom might depart in her absence.
2. Why are the young trees described as ‘sprinting’? 
Answer:
While driving to the Cochin airport, she observed outside the young trees which seemed to be walking across them. They seem to be sprinting or running fast with the speed of the car. The trees symbolize youth and life, whereas the old mother is slipping towards the grave.
3. Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children ‘spilling out of their homes’? 
Answer:
The merry children who are coming out of their houses in huge numbers explain the spontaneous flow and happiness of life. It is different from the old mother ‘dozing’, whose ‘ashen’ face looks pale and lifeless, similar to a corpse. The contrast between these two images strengthens the effect of the poem.
4. Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’? 
Answer:
The mother of the poet is sixty-six years old. She has lost the strength of youth and her shine. The late moon in the winter looks obscure and hazy. It also lacks strength and shine. So she has been compared to the winter’s moon.
5. What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify?
Answer:
The parting words of the poet, her smile and her assurance present a sharp contrast to the fear of childhood or the old familiar ache. Her smiles and words are a conscious attempt to hide her feelings. The parting words – “See you soon, Amma” provides an assurance to the old woman whose ‘ashen face’ is similar to a corpse. In the same way, her continuous smile is an attempt to overcome the fear and ache which is present in her heart.