NCERT Solutions For Class 12 English
Flamingo
My Mother at
Sixty-six (Kamala Das)
Ø Theme
Ø Stanza
Ø Question Answers
Ø Word Meaning
‘My Mother at Sixty-Six’ encapsulates the narrator's
apprehension about losing her mother due to the inevitable decline in health
and loss of vitality that accompanies old age. The poet acknowledges this
reality and grapples with the conflict between her mother's dependency on her
and her own set of duties and responsibilities. The poem poignantly conveys a
sense of helplessness in the face of these conflicting emotions. The sentiments
expressed by the poet are fundamentally universal, tapping into the common fear
of losing a beloved individual that resonates with readers.
In terms of its form, the poem adopts a narrative structure
comprised of fourteen lines composed as a single sentence, employing
enjambment. The use of commas punctuating this extended sentence creates a
stream of consciousness effect, where one thought seamlessly transitions into
the next. This stylistic choice enhances the organic flow of the narrative.
IMPORTANT STANZAS FOR
COMPREHENSION
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)
While driving, where was the poet headed, and who accompanied her on the
journey?
(b) Regarding her mother, what did the poet
notice?
(c)
What caused her mother's face to resemble that of a lifeless body?
(d)
Point out terms in the text that indicate: (i) nap (ii) inert body (iii) sensed.
Answers:
(a) The
poet was en route from her parents' residence to the Cochin airport, with her
mother as her companion.
(b) She observed that her mother was napping,
mouth agape.
(c) Her
mother's countenance appeared pallid, faded, and devoid of vitality, resembling
that of a deceased person due to the effects of aging.
(d) (i) doze (ii) corpse (iii) realised.
2She 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
dawned on the poet, and what emotions did she experience?
(b) Following that realization, what action did
the poet take?
(c) What
observations did she make about the external world?
(d) Locate terms in the text that signify: (i)
sprinting swiftly (ii) joyous.
Answers:
(a)Her mother was lost in her thoughts.
It pained her.
(b) The
poet redirected her focus away from her mother and turned her gaze outward.
(c) The juvenile trees seemed to race
backward, akin to a swift sprint, while cheerful children emerged from their
homes.
(d)(i) sprinting (ii) merry.
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)
Following the security check, what action did the poet take?
(b) What prompted the poet to liken her
mother’s face to a moon in the late winter?
(c) What
constitutes the fear from the poet’s childhood?
(d) In what manner do the poet’s farewell
words and her smile contrast with her actual emotions?
Answers:
(a)
Post the security check, the poet cast her gaze once more upon her mother's
face from a short distance.
(b)
The mother's visage, pallid and devoid of color, mirrors the late winter moon,
lacking both brilliance and vigor.
(c) The dread of growing old and the
inevitable experiences of death and separation.
(d)
The poet’s reassuring parting words and smiles sharply contrast with the
familiar ache of childhood fear. Her expressions and words are a conscious
effort to conceal the turmoil within.
QUESTIONS ANSWERS
Q1.
What type of discomfort and anguish does the poet experience?
Ans: Upon witnessing her mother's pallid and
cadaverous countenance, the poet is afflicted by a familiar, longstanding pain.
This ache, possibly rooted in her childhood, resurfaces. Aging, an inherent
facet of life, affects everyone indiscriminately. The poet's mother, like all,
is not exempt from the passage of time and its inevitable consequences,
including separation and mortality.
Q2. Why are the young trees described
as ‘sprinting’?
Ans: The poet, en route to the Cochin airport, observes the
young trees seeming to pass by rapidly as she looks outside the moving car. The
speed of the vehicle creates an illusion of the trees running swiftly or
sprinting. This description serves to contrast the poet's dozing mother with
the energetic, lively impression of the trees.
Q3. Why has the poet brought in the
image of the merry children ‘spilling out of their homes’?
Ans: The poet introduces the image of joyful children 'spilling
out of their homes' to establish a sharp contrast. The exuberant children
emerging from their residences in abundance create an image of happiness and a
spontaneous overflow of life. This vivid contrast enhances the impact,
particularly when compared to the poet's dozing, aged mother, whose pallid face
resembles that of a lifeless corpse. The stark opposition of these two images
intensifies the poetic effect.
Q4. Why has the mother been compared
to the ‘late winter’s moon’?
Ans: The poet's mother, at the age of sixty-six, exhibits a
shriveled and pallid visage resembling that of a corpse. Her countenance has
lost the radiance and vigor of youth. Similarly, the late winter’s moon appears
dim and obscured, lacking its characteristic shine and strength. This
comparison is fitting and effective, employing a simile that accurately
reflects the shared attributes of the mother and the late winter’s moon.
Q5. What do the parting words of the
poet and her smile signify?
Ans: The poet’s farewell words of reassurance
and her continuous smiles stand in stark contrast to the familiar childhood
ache or fear. Her expressions and words are a purposeful effort to conceal her
genuine emotions. The parting words, "See you soon, Amma," serve as a
comforting assurance to her aged mother, whose ashen face resembles that of a
lifeless body. Likewise, the persistent smiles function as a means to suppress
the internal turmoil and childhood fears within the poet's heart.
Q6. 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.
Q7. 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.
Q8. What poetic devices have been
used by Kamala Das in ‘My Mother at Sixty-six’?
Ans: The poem 'My Mother at Sixty-six' is abundant in vivid
imagery, skillfully employing the literary techniques of comparison and
contrast. Kamala Das effectively employs similes to enhance the descriptive
elements of the poem. The poet vividly depicts her mother's aged countenance,
describing it as 'ashen,' akin to that of a lifeless corpse. Another simile is
employed, likening the mother's 'wan, pale' face to the appearance of 'a late
winter’s moon.'
The poem stands out for its adept
use of contrasts. The elderly, 'dozing' woman indoors is juxtaposed against the
youthful trees appearing to be 'sprinting,' and the joyful children
enthusiastically 'spilling' out of their homes. These contrasts contribute to
the overall depth and impact of the poetic composition.
WORD MEANING
1. Ashen: pale
2. Beside: alongside
3. Corpse: dead body
4. Doze: nap
5. Pale: dull, colourless
6. Spilling: let out
7. Sprinting: Moving fast
8. Wan: dim, weak
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