My Mother at Sixty-six Think it out

Question 1.
What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels ?
Answer:
The poet (here poetess) is deeply attached to her mother who is pretty aged, weak and
pale. She is troubled to think that the old mom might depart in her absence.
Question 2.
Why are the young trees described as ‘sprinting’ ?
Answer:
The young trees running spiritedly stand in sharp contrast to the aged and pale looking
mother. The trees symbolise youth and life, whereas the old mother is slipping
towards the grave.
Question 3.
Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children spilling out of their
homes ?
Answer:
The little children are full of life, hope and cheerfulness. They have just begun life and
have a long way to go. The old and weak mother of the poetess, however, is fast
losing hold on life. She could breath her last any day in near future. The image of
cheerful children makes the sight of the mother all the more painful.
Question 4.
Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’ ?
Answer:
The old mother is pale and cheerless. The moon also in late winter loses its shine or
brightness. So she has been compared to the winter’s moon.
Question 5.
What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify ?
Answer:
The poetess is taking leave of her mother. She is going to fly to some distant place.
She is not sure of meeting the old lady again. But she hides her fears, smiles and
assures mother that they would meet again.

My Mother at Sixty-six Extra Questions and Answers

My Mother at Sixty-six Extra Questions Short Answer Type

Question 1:
How does Kamala Das try to put away the thoughts of her ageing mother?
Answer:
Kamala Das finds it hard to accept the fact of her mother growing old, as it brings
back to her mind her childhood fear of losing her mother. She makes a deliberate
effort to drive or put away such thoughts by looking outside the car at the sights
passing by.
Question 2:
What was the poet’s childhood fear?
Or
What were the poet’s feelings at the airport? How did she hide them?
Or
What were Kamala Das’fears as a child? Why do they come back when she is going to
the airport?
Answer:
During her childhood, Kamala Das was insecure about losing her mother just as all
young children often are. The same old feelings come back to haunt her when she sees
her mother’s pale and lifeless face. She is tortured by the fact that she may not see her
alive again. She hides her feelings by smiling.
Question 3:
What do the parting words of Kamala Das and her smile signify?
Answer:
The parting words of the poet reflect the poet’s feeling that she wants to meet her
mother again. But she wears a smile on her face to mask her pain and to give hope,
happiness and reassurance to her mother.
Question 4:
Why has the poet’s mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon?
Answer:
Just as a ‘late winter’s moon’ looks hazy and appears to lack brightness and lustre due
to mist and fog, similarly, the poet’s mother, who is now old, looks pale and devoid of
exuberance. Her face looks dull and colorless due to old age.
Question 5:
Why are the young trees described as’sprinting1?
Answer:
The car was moving when the poet looked outside at trees. They appeared to be
‘sprinting’ because the car was speeding past in the opposite direction. The ‘young’
trees represented life in contrast to her mother’s approaching death.
Question 6:
What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify?
Answer:
The poet’s parting words, ‘See you soon, Amma’, signify hope and assurance, not
only to her but to her mother also, that they will meet again.
Question 7:
Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children Spilling out of their
homes?
Answer:
The poet has used this imagery to bring out the contrast between children, who
ard’energetic and full of life, and her mother, who is old, pale and lifeless.
Question 8:
What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?
Answer:
The poet is pained to see her mother’s dull and colorless face. She is hurt to see that
her mother’s face looks like that of a dead body. She is afraid of the fact that she may
not see her alive next time.
Question 9:
Ageing is a natural process; have you ever thought what our elderly parents expect
from us?
Answer:
Aged people usually undergo pangs of loneliness and need companionship. They long
only for our love, care and attention. They expect their children to share the
happenings in their lives with them and take their suggestions for making significant
decisions. This will encourage them to live life enthusiastically.
Question 10.
Give the sum and substance of the Kamala Das’s poem My Mother at Sixty Six.
Answer:
The mother of the poetess is not yet very old. She is sixty-six. But some how because
of illness or so, she looks pale and ash-coloured like a dead body. The poetess is in a
hurry to catch her flight. She is deeply concerned about the aged woman. She can’t be
sure to find her alive on her next visit. She looks out of the car at the young trees
children. By contrast, the sight of the mother looks critical. She casts a last look a at
the airport. In order to cheer up the old mother, she smiles and smiles to hide her own
n -s and promises to see the old woman again.
Question 11.
All I did was smile and smile and smile. Why does the poetess repeat the word smile
thrice ?
Answer:
The smile of the poetess at the time of parting from her emanciated mother only hides
her tears. She is not certain of meeting the old woman again. The mother is already
ash-coloured like a dead body.
Question 12.
What is the significance of the parting word of the poet and her smile, in “My mother
at Sixty-six?” ?
Answer:
See answer in Textbook Questions (Page 226).
My Mother at Sixty-six Extra Questions Long Answer Type
Question 1:
Bring out the significance of the smile of the poet as she bade farewell to her mother.
Answer:
The poet smiles as she bids farewell to her mother and assures her that they would
meet again. As she looks at her mother, who looks pale and weak due to old age, her
heart is pained to think that her mother might not live long. She smiles, but her smile
is only an effort to cover up the hidden fear and pain in her heart.
It is a smile put on deliberately to hide her tears. Her situation is quite ironical.
Though she tells her mother that she’ll see her soon, she doubts if she will ever see her
alive again. The repetition of the word ‘smile’ shows that it is a long and cheerful one.
The smile is also significant because it must have comforted both the mother and the
daughter and kindled in them the hope that the mother would survive long enough for
the two to meet again.
Question 2:
Bring out the poetic devices used in the poem.
Answer:
The poem ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six’ captures the complex subtleties of human
relationships in a texture of symbols, imagery and other poetic devices.
The entire poem is structured in the frame of a single sentence, punctuated by
commas. It indicates a single string of thought that runs throughout. There is a simile
in the explicit comparison of the ashen face of her mother to that of a corpse. We find
another simile in the comparison between the pale visage of her mother and the late
winter’s moon, as her face has lost its brightness.
There is the use of personification in the line “Trees sprinting’, where trees are
attributed with the quality of running swiftly, for enhancing the poetic effect. The poet
has used alliteration in the use of the words ‘familiar’ and ‘fear’ with the repetition of
the consonant sound |f|. It also suggests the poet’s familiarity with her childhood fear
and the sorrow of losing her mother to death.
My Mother at Sixty-six Extra Questions Value Based Type
Question 1:
Analyse the concept of losing our dear ones on account of old age in the context of the
poem.
Answer:
The poem ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six’ brings out the natural complexities of the human
mind and the natural fear of losing our parents, which is common to the hearts of all
humans. Ageing is an indispensable part of human life which we have to accept,
irrespective of the pain it cultivates in our hearts. The poet speaks about her mother
who is growing old and has a pale and weak face.
Her mother sleeps while travelling, as we realize that she requires rest. The poet
recalls how even as a child she has experienced the fear of losing her mother. Now her
fear has changed into the fear of losing her mother to death. Her attention is arrested
by her mother’s failing health and yet she smiles, only with the hope of meeting her
soon.
My Mother at Sixty-six Extra Questions Extract Based Type
I. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
“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 looked …”
Question 1:
Name the poem and the poet.
Answer:
The name of the poem is, ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six’ and the poet is Kamala Das.
Question 2:
Where was the poet driving to?
Answer:
The poet was driving from her parents’ home to Cochin airport on a Friday morning.
Question 3:
What did she notice about her mother?
Answer:
The poet noticed that her mother was sleeping with her mouth open and the mother’s
face was the colour of ash, just like that of a dead body.
Question 4:
Why was her mother’s face looking like that of a corpse?
Answer:
Her mother’s face had lost all its glow and colour of youth due to ageing. It looked
pale, faded and nearly lifeless. That was why it was looking like a corpse’s face.
II. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
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, …………
Question 1:
What worried the poet when she looked at her mother?
Answer:
Her mother looked pale and faded, just like a corpse, which worried the poet. This
indicated that her mother may die very soon. .
Question 2:
Why was there pain in her realisation?
Answer:
The poet felt pain in the realisation that she would not see her mother again, as she
may die soon.
Question 3:
Why did she put that thought away?
Answer:
The poet put that thought away because she got distracted from driving the car by
thinking about her mother’s impending death.
Question 4:
Identify the figure of speech used in these lines.
Answer:
Simile is used in these lines when the colour of her mother’s face is ashen, like that of
a corpse.
III. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
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, ……….
Question 1:
How can the trees sprint?
Answer:
The car was moving when the poet looked out so the trees appeared to be running in
the opposite direction. Thus, the trees have been described as ‘sprinting’.
Question 2:
Why did the poet look at her mother again?
Answer:
The poet looked at her mother again to bid her goodbye.
Question 3:
What did she observe?
Answer:
She observed that her mother looked lifeless and dull like a late winter’s moon.
Question 4:
Identify the figure of speech used in these lines.
Answer:
The figure of speech used in these lines is simile; her mother’s pale appearance is
compared to that of a late winter’s moon.
IV. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
… but soon
put that thought away, and
looked out at young
trees sprinting, the merry children spilling
out of their homes,…
Question 1:
What thought did the poet drive away from her mind?
Answer:
The poet realised that her mother had become very old and her mother was pale and
lifeless like a dead body. She drove this disturbing thought away from her mind.
Question 2:
What did she see when she looked out of the car?
Answer:
The poet saw the trees moving past the moving car and also saw the children rushing
out of their homes to play. Both the trees and children were full of life in comparison
to her mother, who was pale and lifeless beside her.
Question 3:
How do you know that the joyful scene didn’t help her drive away the painful thought
from her mind?
Answer:
We know that the joyful scene didn’t help her drive away the painful thought from her
mind because soon afterwards, at the airport, when she looked at her mother, the
painful thought came back again.
Question 4:
What does the phrase trees sprinting signify?
Answer:
The phrase ‘trees sprinting’ signifies time, which has passed at a fast pace.
V. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
I looked again at her, wan, pale
as a late winter’s moon and felt that old
familiar ache, my childhood’s fear, ……………
Question 1:
Who is ‘her?
Answer:
‘Her’ refers to the mother.
Question 2:
Why did the poet look at’her’again?
Answer:
The poet looked at ‘her’ again because of the insecurity of losing her mother.
Question 3:
What was the poet’s childhood fear?
Answer:
The childhood fear was that of losing her mother.
Question 4:
Identify the figure of speech used in these lines.
Answer:
The figure of speech used in these lines is simile; her mother’s pale appearance is
compared to that of a late winter’s moon.
VI. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
“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.”
Question 1:
Who went for security check and who is ‘her’ in the above lines?
Answer:
The poet, Kamala Das, went for security check at the airport. ‘Her’ in the above lines
refers to the poet’s mother.
Question 2:
What does the poet compare her mother’s face to and why?
Answer:
The poet compares her mother’s face to a late winter’s moon. Just as a ‘late winter’s
moon’ looks colourless and dull because of mist and fog, the poet’s mother’s face
looks pale and lacks brightness due to old age.
Question 3:
Explain ‘late winter’s moon’.
Answer:
‘Late winter’s moon’ refers to the moon dining the late winter season, which appears
pale and lusterless because of mist and fog. The poet has compared her mother’s face
to the late winter’s moon because it seems to have lost all its sheen.
VII. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
I looked again at her, wan, pale
as a late winter’s moon and felt that did .
familiar ache, my childhood’s fear,
but all I said was see you soon, Amma,
all I did was smile and smile and smile
Question 1:
What was the poets child hood fear?
Answer:
The poet’s childhood fear was the insecurity about losing her mother. Looking at her
mother’s pale and dull face when leaving her, the poet was again gripped by the same
insecurity.
Question 2:
What were the poets parting words?
Answer:
The poet’s parting words were, “See you soon, Amma”, suggesting hope to herself
and her mother that they will meet again.
Question 3:
What is the poetic device used in these lines?
Answer:
The poetic device used in these lines is simile; her mother’s wan, pale face is
compared to a late winter’s moon.

Question 4:
Explain, ‘late winter’s moon’.
Answer:
The poet has compared her mother’s face colour to the colour of a late winter’s moon,
which is pale, as her skin has lost all its sheen and looks pale.

Read the stanzas given below and answer the questions that follow each:
1. Driving from my parents home to Cochin last Friday morning, 1 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
Questions
(a)Where was the poet driving to? Who was sitting beside her?
(b)What did the poet notice about her mother?
(c)Why was her mother’s face looked like that of a corpse?
(d)Find words from the passage which mean :
(i) sleep lightly (ii) dead body (iii) felt.
Answers:
(a)The poet was driving from her parent’s home to the Cochin airport. Her mother was
sitting beside her.
(b)She noticed that her mother was dozing with her mouth open.
(c)Her mother’s face looked pale, faded and lifeless like a dead body because she had
grown old.
(d)(i) doze (ii) corpse (iii) realised.
2.…………..She
looked but soon
put that thought away, and
looked out at Young
Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling
out of their homes,
Questions
(a)What did the poet realise? How did she feel
(b) What did she do then?
(c)What did she notice in the world outside?
(d)Find words from the passage which mean: (ii) running fast (ii) happy (iii)
moving out.
Answers:
(a)Her mother was lost somewhere else in thoughts. It pained her.
(b)The poet withdrew her thoughts from her mother and looked outside.
(c)The young trees growing outside went past as if they were sprinting. Happy
children were coming out of their houses.
(d)(i) sprinting (ii) merry (iii) spilling.
3………………but after the airport’s
security check, standing a few yards away, I looked again at her, wan, pale
as a late winter’s mooft 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
Questions
(a)What did the poet do after the security check?
(b)Why did the poet compare her mother’s face to a late winter’s moon?
(c)What is her childhood fear ?
(d)How do the parting words of the poet and her smile present a contrast to her
real feelings?
Answers:
(a)After the security check, the poet stood a few yards away from her mother and
looked at her face again.
(b)The late winter moon lacks brightness as well as strength. The pale and colourless
face of the mother resembles the late winter moon.
(c)The fear of ageing and ultimate death/separation.
(d)The poet’s parting words of assurance and her smiles present a stark contrast to the
old familiar ache or childhood fear. Her words and smiles are a deliberate attempt to
hide what is going on inside.
QUESTIONS FROM TEXTBOOK SOLVED

Q1. What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?
Ans: When the poet sees the pale and corpse-like face of her mother, her old familiar
pain or the ache returns. Perhaps she has entertained this fear since her childhood.
Ageing is a natural process. Time and ageing spare none. Time and ageing have not
spared the poet’s mother and may not spare her as well. With this ageing, separation
and death become inevitable.
Q2. Why are the young trees described as ‘sprinting’?
Ans: The poet is driving to the Cochin airport. When she looks outside, the young
trees seem to be walking past them. With the speed of the car they seem to be running
fast or sprinting. The poet presents a contrast—her ‘dozing’ old mother and the
‘sprinting’ young trees.
Q3. Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children ‘spilling out of
their homes’ ?
Ans: The poet has brought in the image of merry children ‘spilling out of their homes’
to present a contrast. The merry children coming out of their homes in large numbers
present an image of happiness and spontaneous overflow of life. This image is in stark
contrast to the ‘dozing’ old mother, whose ‘ashen’ face looks lifeless and pale like a
corpse. She is an image of ageing, decay and passivity. The contrast of the two images
enhances the poetic effect.
Q4. Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’ ?
Ans: The poet’s mother is sixty-six years old. Her shrunken ‘ashen’ face resembles a
corpse. She has lost her shine and strength of youth. Similarly the late winter’s moon
looks hazy and obscure. It too lacks shine and strength. The comparison is quite
natural and appropriate. The simile used here is apt as well as effective.
Q5. What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify?
Ans: The poet’s parting words of assurance and her smiles provide a stark contrast to
the old familiar ache or fear of the childhood. Her words and smiles are a deliberate
attempt to hide her real feelings. The parting words: “See you soon, Amma” give an
assurance to the old lady whose ‘ashen face’ looks like a corpse. Similarly, her
continuous smiles are an attempt to overcome the ache and fear inside her heart.

MORE QUESTIONS SOLVED

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS (Word Limit: 30-40 words)

Q1. Where was the poet going and who was with her?
Ans: The poet was driving from her parent’s home to the Cochin airport. The poet’s
mother had comfe to see her off. She was sitting beside her. She was dozing with her
mouth open. The words ‘driving’ and ‘doze’ provide a contrast between images of
dynamic activity and static passivity respectively.
Q2. What was the poet’s childhood fear? [All India 2014]
Ans: The child is always in fear of being separated from his parents. In the same way,
the poet’s fear as a child was that of losing her mother or her company.
Q3. What does the poet’s mother look like? What kind of images has the poet
used to signify her ageing decay?
Ans: The poet’s mother is sixty-six years old. She is sitting beside the poet and dozing
with her mouth open. This is a sign of old age. Usually old people keep their mouth
open to overcome breathing problems. Her face looked pale and faded like ash.
Actually, she is an image of death as her ‘ashen’ face looks like that of a corpse.
Q4. What does the poet realise with pain? Why does the poet ‘put that thought
away’ and look outside?
Ans: The lifeless and faded face of the poet’s mother pains her heart. She looks
lifeless like a corpse. She provides an image of passivity, decay and death. The old
lady seems to be lost in her thoughts. The poet needs a distraction, a change. She puts
that thought away and looks outside. There she gets a picture of life, happiness and
activity.
Q5. Describe the world inside the car and compare it to the activities taking place
outside?
Ans: The pale and faded face of the poet’s mother looks lifeless like a corpse. Her
dozing with mouth wide open suggests passivity, decay and death. Outside the car, the
poet watches young trees speeding past them. They seem to be running fast or
sprinting. Happy children are moving out of their homes cheerfully. They present an
image of life, dynamism and activity.
Q6. Why does the poet look outside? What does she see happening outside?
Ans: The thought of the ageing mother at sixty-six and her pale and ashen face
looking like a corpse becomes too heavy for the poet to bear. She needs a distraction,
a diversion and therefore she looks outside. She watches young trees. These trees
speed past them and appear to be sprinting. Then she sees happy children moving out
of their houses and making merry.
Q7. How has the poet contrasted the scene inside the car with the activities going
on outside?
Ans: The poet has used beautiful images to highlight the stark contrast between the
scene inside the car and the activities going on outside. The ‘ashen’ face of the poet’s
mother is pale and lifeless. It looks like that of a corpse. She is dozing and lost to
herself. The image of the ‘dozing’ mother is contrasted with the ‘spilling’ of children.
The ‘ashen’ and ‘corpse¬like’ face is contrasted with the young trees sprinting
outside.
Q8. What does the poet do after the security check-up? What does she notice?
Ans: They have to pass through a security check-up at the airport. After it, the poet
stands a few yards away. Before saying parting words to her mother, she looks at her
mother again. Her face looks pale and colourless like the late winter’s moon. She
presents a picture of ageing and decay.
Q9. Why is the poet’s mother compared to the late winter’s moon?
Ans: The poet’s mother has been compared to the late winter’s moon to bring out the
similarity of ageing and decay. The late winter moon looks hazy and obscure. It lacks
shine and strength. The poet’s mother has an ‘ashen’ face resembling a corpse. She
has lost her shine and strength of youth. The comparison reinforces the impact.
Q10. What is the poet’s familiar ache and why does it return?
Ans: The poet is pained at the ageing and decaying of her mother. The fear is that
with ageing comes decay and death. The sight of her old mother’s ‘ashen’ and corpse-
like face arouses “that old familiar ache” in her heart. Her childhood fear returns. She
is also pained and frightened by the idea that she may have to face all these things
herself.
Q11. How does Kamala Das try to put away the thoughts of her ageing mother?
[All India 2014]
Ans: Kamala Das was in much trouble after seeing the lifeless and faded face of her
mother. The old lady seemed to be lost in her own thoughts. The poetess turned away
her attention from her mother and looked outside. The outside world was full of life
and activity. The young trees seemed to be running fast. The children looked happy
while moving out of their homes.
Q12. Why does the poet smile and what does she say while bidding good bye to
her mother ?
OR
With fear and ache inside her heart and words of assurance on lips and smile on
the face, the poet presents two opposite and contrasting experiences. Why does
the poet put on a smile?
Ans: The ‘wan’, ‘pale’, face of the poet’s mother at sixty-six brings an image of decay
and death. It brings that old familiar fear of separation back. She fears the ultimate
fate of human beings. But she has to put on a brave face. She regains self-control. She
composes herself and tries to look normal. She utters the words of assurance that they
will meet again soon. She tries to hide her ache and fear by smiling continuously.
Q13. 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. Kamala Das uses the
devices of comparison and contrast. The use of simile is very effective. The face of
the poet’s old mother is described as ‘ashen’. This ashen face is ‘like that of a corpse’.
The poet uses another simile. The “wan, pale’ face of the mother is compared to ‘a
late winter’s moon’.
The poem excels in contrasts. The old ‘dozing’ lady inside is contrasted with the
young trees “sprinting” and merry children “spilling” out of their homes.