Complete Summary and Solutions for My Mother at Sixty-six – NCERT Class XII Flamingo English Core, Chapter 1 Poetry – Summary, Explanation, Questions, Answers
Detailed summary and explanation of Chapter 1 'My Mother at Sixty-six' by Kamala Das from the NCERT Class XII Flamingo English Core textbook poetry section, a sensitive lyrical poem capturing the feelings of pain, fear, and love experienced during a journey with the poet's elderly mother—along with all NCERT questions, answers, and exercises.
Updated: 3 weeks ago
My Mother at Sixty-six
Kamala Das | Flamingo Poetry - Ultimate Study Guide 2025
Introduction to the Poem
"My Mother at Sixty-six" is a deeply personal and emotional poem that captures the poet's poignant realization of her mother's ageing and the inevitable separation it brings. Written in free verse, it reflects on the transient nature of life, the fear of loss, and the tender bond between mother and daughter. The poem unfolds during a car journey to the airport, symbolizing life's fleeting moments.
Key Elements
- Setting: A drive from parents' home to Cochin airport, blending domestic intimacy with impending departure.
- Narrator: The poet-daughter, observing her mother's frailty amid youthful surroundings.
- Theme Preview: Ageing as a natural yet painful process; the ache of childhood fears resurfacing.
Context in Flamingo
This poem opens the poetry section of Flamingo, emphasizing introspective themes of family and mortality, aligning with CBSE's focus on emotional intelligence for 2025 exams.
Points to Ponder
- How does everyday travel mirror life's transience?
- What do elderly parents truly expect from their children amid ageing?
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About the Poet: Kamala Das (1934-2009)
Biography
Born in Malabar, Kerala, Kamala Das is recognized as one of India’s foremost poets. Her works are known for their originality, versatility, and the indigenous flavour of the soil. She published many novels and short stories in English and Malayalam under the name ‘Madhavikutty’. 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 of her poignant exploration of familial bonds.
Legacy
Das's confessional style broke taboos on gender, sexuality, and identity in Indian literature. Her shift to Islam in later life and adoption of the name Kamala Surayya added layers to her multifaceted persona.
Worldview
Das's poetry often delves into the raw emotions of love, loss, and longing, reflecting her bilingual heritage and feminist sensibilities—resonating with contemporary discussions on ageing in 2025.
Expanded Bio
Married young, Das navigated societal constraints through her writing. Influenced by modernism, her works critique patriarchy while celebrating vulnerability, making her a pioneer in Indian English poetry.
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Before You Read
Ageing is a natural process; have you ever thought what our elderly parents expect from us?
Consider the emotional needs like companionship, reassurance, and quality time. This poem invites us to confront the unspoken fears and affections in parent-child relationships as time passes.
Pre-Reading Thoughts
- Ageing brings physical frailty but emotional depth—how do we bridge the generational gap?
- Das prompts empathy: Do we notice our parents' vulnerabilities in daily rushes?
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Full Text & Summary
Summary (English)
The poem captures a daughter's tender yet painful observation of her ageing mother during a drive to Cochin airport. As the poet glances at her mother dozing with an ashen, corpse-like face, she confronts the harsh reality of her mother's advancing age and mortality. This realization strikes like a sharp pain, evoking her childhood fear of losing her mother. To distract herself, she turns to the vibrant outside world: young trees sprinting past and merry children spilling out of homes, symbols of youth and vitality contrasting her mother's pallor. After the security check, standing yards away, the poet looks again at her wan, pale mother, reminiscent of a late winter's moon—faded and distant. The familiar ache returns, but she masks it with parting words: "see you soon, Amma," and a repeated smile, signifying forced cheerfulness and unspoken love amid inevitable separation. The single-sentence structure mirrors the uninterrupted flow of thought and emotion, blending inner turmoil with external observations. This poem, rooted in Das's confessional style, explores the universal theme of ageing's inevitability, urging readers to cherish fleeting moments with loved ones. It highlights the daughter's internal conflict between denial and acceptance, using vivid imagery to evoke empathy. In the broader context of human relationships, it underscores how life's transience amplifies the subtleties of maternal bonds, reminding us that time, like the speeding car, carries us inexorably forward.
सारांश (हिंदी)
यह कविता एक बेटी के माध्यम से अपनी वृद्धावस्था की ओर बढ़ती माँ के प्रति कोमल लेकिन दर्दनाक अवलोकन को चित्रित करती है, जो कोचीन हवाई अड्डे की ओर कार यात्रा के दौरान घटित होता है। कवयित्री जब अपनी माँ को सोते हुए देखती है, जिसका चेहरा राख जैसा पीला और लाश जैसा लगता है, तो वह माँ की उम्र बढ़ने और मृत्यु की कठोर वास्तविकता का सामना करती है। यह एहसास तीव्र दर्द की तरह चुभता है, जो बचपन के खोने के डर को जगा देता है। खुद को विचलित करने के लिए, वह बाहर की जीवंत दुनिया की ओर मुड़ती है: युवा पेड़ तेजी से दौड़ते हुए और मज़ेदार बच्चे घरों से बाहर उमड़ते हुए, जो माँ की निस्तेजता के विपरीत युवावस्था और ऊर्जा के प्रतीक हैं। सुरक्षा जाँच के बाद, कुछ गज दूर खड़ी होकर, कवयित्री फिर से अपनी पीली, फीकी माँ को देखती है, जो देर सर्दी के चाँद की तरह—मद्धम और दूर—प्रतीत होती है। पुराना दर्द लौट आता है, लेकिन वह इसे विदाई शब्दों से छिपाती है: "जल्द मिलते हैं, अम्मा," और बार-बार मुस्कान से, जो जबरन हँसीमुखता और अनकही प्रेम को दर्शाती है, अपरिहार्य अलगाव के बीच। एकल-वाक्य संरचना विचार और भावना के निर्बाध प्रवाह को प्रतिबिंबित करती है, आंतरिक उथल-पुथल को बाहरी अवलोकनों के साथ मिश्रित करती है। दास की स्वीकारोक्तिपूर्ण शैली में निहित यह कविता, वृद्धावस्था की अपरिहार्यता के सार्वभौमिक विषय की खोज करती है, पाठकों को प्रियजनों के साथ क्षणभंगुर पलों को संजोने का आह्वान करती है। यह बेटी के इनकार और स्वीकृति के बीच आंतरिक संघर्ष को उजागर करती है, जीवंत चित्रण से सहानुभूति जगाती है। मानवीय संबंधों के व्यापक संदर्भ में, यह मातृ बंधनों की सूक्ष्मताओं को उभारती है कि समय, गति पकड़ती कार की तरह, हमें अटल रूप से आगे ले जाता है। यह कविता न केवल व्यक्तिगत हानि का चित्रण करती है बल्कि जीवन की नाजुकता पर गहन चिंतन को प्रेरित करती है, जहाँ हर विदाई एक अनंत प्रतीक्षा का प्रतीक बन जाती है।
Full Text
Key Imagery
- Mother's face: "ashen like that of a corpse" – Symbolizes mortality.
- Young trees and children: Contrast to ageing, representing life's renewal.
- Winter's moon: Faded, distant – Evokes loneliness in old age.
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Glossary
- sprinting: short fast race, running – Used metaphorically for the swift movement of young trees, symbolizing youthful energy.
- wan: colourless – Describes the mother's pale, lifeless complexion, highlighting her frailty.
Additional Terms
- ashen: Pale grey, like ashes – Conveys deathly pallor.
- ache: Emotional pain – The recurring childhood fear of separation.
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Understanding the Poem (Think it out)
1. What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?
The pain is the sudden, piercing realization of her mother's old age and impending death, evoking a deep emotional ache rooted in childhood fears of losing her mother forever.
2. Why are the young trees described as ‘sprinting’?
The young trees 'sprinting' symbolize the vitality and speed of youth, contrasting sharply with the mother's static, ageing form, and helping the poet momentarily escape her painful thoughts.
3. Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children ‘spilling out of their homes’?
The merry children 'spilling out' represent boundless energy and innocence of childhood, serving as a vivid counterpoint to the mother's pallor, distracting the poet from her sorrow.
4. Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’?
The 'late winter’s moon' is pale, waning, and distant, mirroring the mother's colourless, frail appearance and the emotional remoteness brought by age and separation.
5. What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify?
The words "see you soon, Amma" and repeated smiles signify a facade of optimism and reassurance, masking the poet's inner turmoil and conveying enduring love despite the fear of loss.
Notice on Structure
Notice that the whole poem is in a single sentence, punctuated by commas. It indicates a single thread of thought interspersed with observations of the real world around and the way these are connected to the main idea.
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Themes & Critical Analysis
Central Themes
- Ageing and Mortality: The natural yet distressing process of growing old, symbolized by the mother's frail appearance.
- Mother-Daughter Bond: Unspoken love and fear of separation, blending tenderness with anxiety.
- Transience of Life: Contrasts between youth (trees, children) and decay (winter moon), highlighting life's fleeting nature.
Sub-Themes
- Denial and Acceptance: The poet's attempt to suppress painful thoughts through external distractions.
- Emotional Masking: Smiles as a shield against vulnerability in familial relationships.
Critical Appreciation
Das's free verse mimics the stream-of-consciousness, creating an intimate, confessional tone. Imagery of vitality vs. decay evokes pathos, critiquing how modernity accelerates emotional distances—relevant to 2025's nuclear families and elder care debates.
Deeper Analysis
Autobiographical Elements: Das's Kerala roots infuse indigenous warmth; poem reflects her real-life observations of family.
Cultural Context: In Indian ethos, ageing evokes dharma—caring for parents—yet urban migrations strain bonds.
- Relevance: Mirrors contemporary anxieties over parental loneliness in fast-paced lives.
Discussion Prompts
- How does imagery bridge personal and universal emotions?
- Does the poem advocate confronting or evading mortality?
Poetic Devices & Form
The poem is written in free verse, without rhyme or meter, emphasizing natural speech rhythms to convey raw emotion. It employs vivid imagery, metaphor, and contrast for depth.
Key Devices
- Metaphor: Mother as "corpse" and "late winter’s moon" – Evokes death and isolation.
- Contrast: Sprinting trees/children vs. dozing mother – Highlights life's dualities.
- Repetition: "smile and smile and smile" – Builds emotional intensity, showing forced positivity.
- Stream of Consciousness: Single sentence structure – Mirrors uninterrupted flow of thoughts.
Enjambment across lines creates urgency, paralleling the drive's speed and life's haste.
Form Insights
- Why free verse over structured form? To capture fleeting, unfiltered emotions.
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Talking about the Poem
1. How does the poem reflect the poet's cultural roots while addressing universal fears?
Indigenous Kerala flavour in familial intimacy; universal through ageing's inevitability, resonating across cultures.
2. In what ways does the airport setting amplify the theme of separation?
Security check symbolizes barriers; "yards away" mirrors emotional and physical distance in modern life.
3. Discuss the role of smiles in masking grief—personal experiences?
Smiles as cultural norm for strength; invites sharing stories of hidden family emotions.
Expanded Discussion
Links to Indian poetry's evolution; confessionalism in Das vs. traditional bhakti expressions of longing.
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Interactive Quiz - Test Your Understanding
10 MCQs on the poem, themes, and devices. Aim for 80%+!
Suggested Reading
Das's Works
- Summer in Calcutta – Early confessional poems.
- The Old Playhouse and Other Poems – Explores relationships.
More
- Essays on Indian women poets; Ageing in literature (e.g., Tagore's works).
- Biographies: My Story by Kamala Das.
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