My Mother at Sixty Six – Kamala Das

My Mother at Sixty-six About the poet Kamala Das (1934) was born in Malabar, Kerala. She is recognised as one of India’s foremost poets. Her works are known for their originality, versatility and the indigenous flavour of the soil. Kamala Das has published many novels and short stories in English and Malayalam under the name ‘Madhavikutty’. Some of her works in English include the novel Alphabet of Lust (1977), a collection of short stories Padmavati the Harlot and Other Stories (1992), in addition to five books of poetry. She is a sensitive writer who captures the complex subtleties of human relationships in lyrical idiom, My Mother at Sixty-six is an example.

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 thought away, and 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……
What are the poetic devices used in the poem?

Simile:

1.her face ashen like that of a corpse

2.wan, pale as a late winter’s moon

Metaphor

the merry children spilling out of their homes

Personification

young trees sprinting

Repetition

I did was smile and smile and smile……

How to write an appreciation for the poem:My Mother at sixty six

A touching poem that laments separation. An adult daughter for the first time accepts that her mother is no more young. She sees the reality that rules life. We have traveled long journey of life together but here we separate.Kamala Surayya captures the picture of her mother in a significant moment of comprehension. The speaker in a fast-forward life, pauses for a moment to regard her mother, with reference to time and space. The drive from home to Cochin also serves to illustrate the metaphor of journey as experience. The poem is indeed born, out of love as one observes the possessive pronoun ‘my’ when the word ‘Mother’ is prefixed. The speaker’s understanding of her mother at the age of sixty-six, is indeed one of enriched experience. It comes out of the speaker’s individual maternal experience as with her own children and also from the past when she was single. She could probably understand her better as mother now.The seemingly short poem touches upon the theme of the filial bond between the mother and daughter smeared in the backdrop of nostalgia and fear.Nostalgia of the past(the time spent with the mother) and fear of the future without her.It is a poem on separation. It is a poem on death.

Poem 1 : To a Daughter Leaving Home, Questions and Answers

Q1.How old was the girl when her mother taught her to cycle? Was it done on a bicycle or a learner’s tricycle? How can you tell? where did the teaching take Place?
Ans1. The girl is eight years old when she learns how to ride the bicycle. She learns on a bicycle, as line 6 says, ‘along the curved path of the park’. It took place in the park.

Q2.What made the girl wobble’ as she moved forward on the bicycle?Why did the mother “lope along ” beside her?
Ans2. The bicycle wobbles because the mother has probably just let the bicycle go. She ‘lopes’ along’, in case the girl loses her balance and falls.

Q3. When, at one point, the bicycle pulled ahead and went on its own, the mother experienced two feelings, one of them was surprise.What was the other? (What did she expect and do next) ?
Ans3.The other emotion that the mother experiences is fear. The mother expects that the bicycle would crash and sprints ahead to catch up.

Q4. Did the daughter experience any anxiety or fear? Did she try to slow down or stop? wrrat oio she actually feel and do? Point out the relevant words
Ans4. The daughter did not experience any anxiety or fear. She did not try to slow down or stop. She probably experienced the joy of being able to ride a bicycle as she was screaming with laughter.

5Q. While the mother was running to catch up with the daughter’ the daughter appeared to be doing something quite different.What did she appear to be doing? What caused that impression?
Ans5. The daughter was cycling away from her, faster and faster. She appeared to be waving goodbye to her mother. Her hair, flapping behind her in the wind, caused this impression.

6Q. The poem describes how a small girl learnt to ride a bicycle with her mother,shelpandthenrodeawayonherown.Do you think the poet sees this as a metaphor for something larger that happens in life?Look at the title of the poem. what is the bicycle-riding lesson a metaphor for? Does it have anxiety and a wish to proteci on one side, and excitement and the joy of independence on the other?
Ans6.Riding a bicycle is used as a metaphor for independence and a sense of balance in life. The struggle to gain balance, confidence and independence are part of growing up, and leaving home. The anxiety and fear of the mother are depicted, as well as the daughter’s struggle, which later leads to independence.