My Mother at Sixty Six

Kamala Das

Driving from my parent’s

home from 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 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………
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.

The poem expresses a distressing chord of separation of a daughter from her aging mother which
she happens to notice while she leaving to go to Cochin. As she leaves her home for the airport her
mother accompanies her. She dozes off during her journey to the airport. This is when her daughter
observes her and is disturbed by the sight. She notices that her mother is sleeping with her mouth
open and has lost all colour, vitality and energy. This disturbs her and she looks out of the window to
distract herself. She sees the youthful trees running speedily behind as the car sped ahead. (This is
the illusion created by the moving car) She also observes the young children coming out of their
homes and playing who are a stark contrast to her aging mother. The speeding trees also make her
realize that how soon time has flown time has flown by and her mother has aged.

She may have distracted herself for sometime but she observes her mother again after the airport
check and notices that she has lost all colour and is faded as the pale moon in the winter season. Her
mother too has reached the winters of her age i.e. old age. This time she even realized that she
herself is afraid of the separation from her mother like she was when she was a child. She then hid
her fear behind her smile and expressed her assurance of meeting her mother soon.
EXTRACT BASED UNDERSTANDING

Lines 1 to 4

1. Who is driving and from where?

Ans. The poetess, Kamala Das, and she with her mother is driving from her home.
2. Where is she driving to?
Ans. She along with her mother is going to Cochin airport.
3. When did she leave for Cochin airport?
Ans. She left for Cochin airport on Friday morning.

Lines 5 to 8

1. What did the poetess observe about her mother?

Ans. The poetess Kamala Das observed that her mother dozed open mouthed beside her.
2. What did she observe about her mother while she was dozing?
Ans. The poetess observed that her mother slept with her mouth open and appeared like a
dead person as her face appeared ashen like that of a dead person.
3. What did the poetess realize with pain?
Ans. The poetess realized with pain that her mother had gone old.
4. Pick out the figure of speech in the given line “her face ashen like that of a corpse”.
The figure of speech used in the above line is simile.
5. What thought did she put away and why?
The poetess put away the thought of her aging mother because she felt disturbed at thought
of leaving her aged mother.

Lines 9 to 13

1. What did the poetess look out at?

Ans. The poetess looked out of the car window at the young trees sprinting and merrily
children spilling out of their homes.
2. What is the contrast in these lines?
Ans. These lines are a contrast to the aging mother who is weak, lack luster and old
compared to the youthful, energetic and happy children and trees that she saw while
looking out of the window.
3. Pick out the figure of speech in the lines 9 to 13.
Ans. In these lines the figure of speech used is:
Young Trees sprinting—Personification
Trees sprinting – Metaphor
Wan pale as a late winter’s moon—simile
4. What did she observe after the security check?
Ans. The poetess observed her mother again after the security check and yet again was
disturbed by the sight of her aging mother.

Lines 13 to 17

1. What familiar ache is she talking about?

She is talking about her ache of separation from her mother.
 2. What is her ‘childhood fear’?
Her ‘childhood fear’ is her separation from her mother.
3. How did she hide her fear?
Ans. She tried to hide her fear behind her smile and her expression ‘see you soon Amma’.
4. Why did the poetess smile and smile and smile…?
The poetess smiled and smiled and smiled as an assurance to herself and her mother that
they would meet again and soon.
5. What figure of speech is used in the last line?
Ans. The figure of speech used in the last line is repetition.

SHORT QUESTION ANSWERS

1. What is the kind of ache and pain that the poet feels?
ANS. The poetess is pained to see that her mother has grown old, pale and worn out. Time
has flown by and old age has crept in upon her mother slowly and steadily. This realization is
as sudden as it is distressing. She is overcome with the feelings of insecurity, reminiscent of
what she used to feel when she was a child. She is gripped with the pain of separation of
which the farewell at the airport is only a rehearsal.
2. Why are the young trees described as ‘sprinting’?
ANS. The young trees are described as ‘sprinting’ as the movement of the racing car makes
the trees appear as if they are running along. The poetess is taking her mother to the airport
in the fast moving car. The illusion is caused due to the fast moving vehicle. There is also a
subtle reference to life sprinting i.e. moving quickly. The poetess realizes how soon time has
gone by and she is leaving behind her aging mother which causes an anxiety for her.
3. Why has the poet brought in the image of ‘merry children spilling out of their homes’?
ANS. The poetess has brought in the image of ‘merry children spilling out of their homes’ to
express life, youth of being alive and carefree days. The mother and the children reflect two
different perspectives of life. Youth and childhood express exuberance and joy of living
whereas old age reflects maturity, melancholy and loneliness.
4. Why is the poet’s mother compared to ‘late winter’s moon’?
ANS. The poetess mother has been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’ because she
appears pale and worn out, devoid of brightness and blush of youth. In the twilight of her
life, she appears as lack luster as the winter’s moon.
5. What do the parting words of the poet and her parting words signify?
ANS. The poetess parting words and her smile signify her innermost thoughts and feelings.
She is overcome with the feeling of insecurity at the thought of her mother who she realizes
has grown old with the passage of time. She has no words but smiles to her mother as an
assurance, conveying that this is not the last parting but there will be more meetings and
that she will see her soon.

LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. Highlight the significance of the smile of the poet as she bade farewell to her mother.
ANS. The poetess smiled to her mother as she bade farewell to her mother. She experienced
great [pain and disappointment as she looked at her mother’s pale and worn out figure.
Seeing her frail appearance she had a feeling this could be her final separation but she
 suppressed her thoughts and put them off by smiling to her as she bid her farewell. She tried
to control her fears of losing her mother. She was apprehensive and so made a vain attempt
to hide her tears behind a smile. Through her smile she also wanted to provide a hope to her
mother as well as to herself that this is not the last parting. She conveyed the positivity that
she would live and that she would meet her soon again. Despite her fears she put up a brave
front and smiled through her sadness to comfort her mother and even assure herself.
2. What poetic devices have been used by Kamala Das in ‘My mother at Sixty six’?
ANS. The poem ‘My Mother at Sixty six’ is rich in imagery. We can visualize the aged mother
sleeping as she travels in the car. The poetess has used a variety of contrasts and
comparisons in order to highlight the circumstances and situations prevailing during her
departure from her mother’s place to the airport. The poem captures the complex subtleties
of human relationships in the texture of symbols, imagery and other poetic devices. The
entire poem is structured in the frame of a single sentence, punctuated by commas. There is
a simile in the comparison of the ‘ashen face’ of her mother to that of a ‘corpse’. There is
another simile used by the poetess in the poem. The ‘wan, pale’ face of the mother is
compared to ‘a late winter’s moon’. The old dozing lady inside the car is contrasted with the
young trees ‘sprinting’ and merry children ‘spilling out of their homes. The metaphor ‘trees
sprinting’ forcefully point out that time has flown by with a blink of an eye she has grown up
from childhood to a mature person.