What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels ?
The poet sees that her mother has grown very pale and weak. She looks as pale as death. She realises that her mother is not going to live long. This thought gives her much pain.
Why are the young trees described as ‘sprinting’ ?
The poet is driving to the airport. She looks outside and finds the trees coming fast towards her. They seem to be running fast. In fact, it is only the car that is running, not the trees.
Why are the youngsters described as sprinting ?
While driving from her parent’s home to Cochin airport, the poet looked out of the window of the car. She looked at the youngsters running out of their homes in joy. This scene contrasts the poet’s sadness with the joy of the youngsters.
Why has the poet mentioned ‘merry children spilling out of their homes’ in the poem ?
(Or)
Having looked at her mother, why does Kamala Das look at the young children ?
This image helps to bring out the contrast between childhood and old age. While childhood is a period of carefree merry-making, old age is a period of death-like sadness. With childhood, the journey of life begins, and with old age, the journey ends.
Why does the poet look at ‘young trees’ and ‘merry children’ ?
When the poet sees her mother’s pale and aged face, a painful thought comes to her mind that her mother is not going to live long. To drive away this painful thought from her mind, she starts looking out at the ‘young trees’ and ‘merry children’.
Why does Kamala Das compare her mother to ‘a late winter’s moon ?
Winter, like old age, is a time of inactivity. Old age is the last phase of human life, just as winter is the last phase of the year. And in old age, a man grows pale like death, just as the moon in late winter looks pale white.
What does the poet’s smile in the poem, ‘My Mother at Sixty-six’, show ?
The poet’s smile shows that she has no idea of her mother’s mental state. While her mother is looking as pale as death, the poet can do nothing but smile and smile and smile.
Where was the poet going ? Who was sitting beside her ? What does she say about the one going with her ?
The poet was going to the Cochin airport. Her mother was sitting beside her. The poet turned to look at her mother. She found her mother dozing. Her mouth was open and she looked as pale as death.
How does the poet feel when she looks at her mother during her drive to the airport ?
When the poet turns to look at her mother, she finds her dozing. The mother’s mouth is open. She looks as pale as death. A painful thought comes to the poet’s mind. But soon she drives this thought away..
What were Kamala Das’s childhood fears ? Why do they surface when she is going to the airport ?
In her childhood, Kamala Das’s fears were that her mother would leave her. Those were a child’s fears of insecurity. But now the fear was not of insecurity. It was the fear of being left alone without her mother.
What was the poet’s childhood fear ?
In her childhood, the poet used to fear that her mother would leave her one day. It is a fear of insecurity that every child feels when its mother is not around.
Kamala Das speaks of ‘an old familiar ache…’ What do you think is the reason for this feeling ?
This old familiar ache was like the poet used to feel in her childhood when some fear overpowered her. Looking at her weak and old mother, the poet fears that her mother is not going to live long. This fear gives rise to that old ache in her heart.
What painful thought comes to the poet’s mind and how does she drive it away ?
The poet sees that her mother looks as pale as death. A painful thought comes to her mind. She feels that her mother won’t live long now. But soon she drives this thought away. She starts looking at the scene outside.
What does the poet see when she looks outside during her drive to the airport ?
The poet sees young trees on the roadside. These trees seem to be running fast towards her. In fact, it is the car that is running, not the trees. Then she sees children running out of their homes in joy.
What happens when the poet reaches the airport ?
First of all, the poet goes through the security check. Then she again looks at her mother who is a few yards away. The mother’s pale weak face gives her pain. But she says only this, ‘‘See you soon, Amma.’’ And then she does nothing but smile and smile.
What do the poet’s parting words to her mother signify ?
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What is the significance of the parting words of the poet and her smile, in ‘My Mother at Sixty-six’ ?
As her parting words, the poet says just this to her mother, ‘‘See you soon, Amma.’’ These words signify that youngsters do feel for their elders, but they don’t communicate their feelings in a manner that can soothe the troubled heart of their elders.
What were the poet’s feelings at the airport ? How did she hide them ?
The mother’s pale face gave her ache. It was like she used to feel in her childhood when some fear overpowered her. But she hid her feelings by saying, ‘‘See you soon, Amma.’’ The only thing the poet did was smile and smile and smile.
In the last line of the poem, why does the poet use the word ‘smile’ repeatedly ?
By using the word ‘smile’ repeatedly, the poet wants to convey how hard she tried to hide her feelings of pain from her mother.
What does the poet want to convey through the poem, ‘My Mother at Sixty-six’ ?
Through this poem, the poet wants to convey that the youngsters do feel for their elders but they don’t communicate it properly. The poet recalls the day when she was driving from her parent’s home to Cochin where she was to catch a flight. Her mother was also sitting beside her. She was going to the airport to see off the poet. When the poet turned to look at her mother, she found her dozing. Her mouth was open and her face looked very pale like that of a corpse. A painful thought came to the poet’s mind. She realised that her mother had grown very old and would not live for long. But soon she drove that painful thought away from her mind. She started looking out at the young trees that seemed to be running fast. She saw children running out of their houses in joy. After reaching the airport, the poet went through the security check. Standing a few yards away, she looked at her mother once again. The mother looked pale and weak. The poet felt in her body an old familiar ache. It was like she used to feel in her childhood when some fear overpowered her. Still the only thing she said was : ‘‘See you soon, Amma.’’ All she did was smile and smile and smile.
