Updated on 31/05/2026
Poem-1 My Mother at Sixty Six (Kamala Das)
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 was as old as she 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......
Very Short Type Q-Ans.
1. Who is the poet of the poem ‘My Mother at Sixty Six’?
Ans. Kamala Das
2. Where was the poetess going and when?
Ans. The poetess was giving to the Cochin airport on a Friday morning
3. Who is sitting beside the poetess in the car?
Ans. Her sixty-six year old mother
4. How does the poetess’ mother look?
Ans. Her mother looks as pale and weak as a dead body
5. What did the poetess notice about the trees?
Ans. She noticed that the trees were sprinting (running fast)
6. What did the poetess notice about the children?
Ans. The poetess noticed that children were spilling (coming out from their houses)
7. With whom did the poetess compare her mother?
Ans. To the late winter moon
8. What did the poetess say to her mother in the end?
Ans. She said, see you soon, Amma
9. Why did the poetess feel an ache in her heart?
Ans. To see her sick and old mother
10. What did the poetess feel?
Ans. She felt the old childhood fear
11. What fear comes to the mind of the poetess?
Ans. The fear of separation from her mother
Q.12 What is the 'childhood fear' mentioned in the poem?
Ans. The childhood fear is the fear of losing her mother.
Q.13 Why are the 'young trees sprinting' and 'merry children spilling out' mentioned?
Ans. They represent life, energy, and youth.
Q.14 Which poetic device is used in "face ashen like that of a corpse"?
Ans. Simile
Q.15 Which poetic device is used in "as a late winter’s moon"?
Ans. Simile.
Q.16 Why is the mother compared to the 'late winter’s moon'?
Ans. Because the winter moon looks pale and hazy, just like an old mother.
Q.17 What were the 'parting words' of the poetess?
Ans. Her parting words were: "See you soon, Amma."
Q.18 What did the poetess do after the security check at the airport?
Ans. She stood a few yards away and looked at her mother’s face again.
Textual Questions
Q. 1 What is the kind of pain and the ache that the poetess feels?
Ans. The poet sees her mother’s pale and weak face. She looks as pale as a dead body. She realises that her mother looks very old and will not live long. This fear of losing her mother gives her much pain.
Q. 2 Why are the young trees described as ‘sprinting’?
Ans. The poetess is going to the Cochin airport. Her mother is sitting beside her in the car. She looks outside and finds the trees coming fast towards her. They seem to be sprinting (running fast). In fact, it is only the car that is running, not the trees. The trees represent youth and energy.
Q. 3 Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’?
Ans. The late winter’s moon looks very pale and colourless. The poetess’ mother is also old. She looks pale like late winter’s moon. She has lost her glow due to old age. That is why her mother has been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon.’
Q. 4 Where is the poetess going and who is with her?
Ans. The poetess is going to Cochin airport in the morning of last Friday. She is going in the car. Her mother is also sitting beside her. Her mother looks very old and weak.
Q. 5 How do we know that the poetess’ mother is old and weak?
Ans. The poetess’s mother looked as pale as a corpse (dead body). She was dozing and her mouth was open. Her face looked very pale. This shows that she was very weak and old.
Q. 6 What does the poetess see outside?
Ans. The poetess saw outside the young trees sprinting that seemed to be running fast. She looked at the merry children spilling out of their homes in joy.
Q. 7 Why did the poetess smile and smile and smile?
Ans. The repetition of 'smile' emphasizes her desperate effort to hide her true feelings of grief and fear from her mother. It acts as a mask of optimism.
Long-Answer
Q. 1 Give a brief summary of Kamala Das’s Poem ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six’.
OR
Analyse the Poem ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six briefly.
Ans. It was Friday morning. The poetess, Kamala Das was going to the Cochin airport. Her sixty-six years old mother was sitting beside her. The poetess’ mother looked as pale as a dead body. A sad thought came into the poetess mind. She looked outside at the sprinting trees and merry children coming out of their homes. After reaching the airport, the poetess went through the security check, standing a few yards away. She again looked at her mother. The mother looked pale and weak. But the poetess said nothing but this “See you soon, Amma” Then she smiled and smiled and smiled. That was all she did.
Important Spellings
ashen
corpse
realised
affection
sprinting
spilling
daughter
familiar
accompanies
ache
children
Cochin
security
arouse
Airport
Childhood
Separation
Hazy
Word-meanings
arouse- awake, rouse
doze- drowse, snooze, sleep lightly
ashen- ash coloured, bloodless
corpse- stiff, dead body
unconscious- put that thought away
sprinting- running fast
spilling- coming out
wan- sick, pale, weak, colourless
familiar- well known
ache- pain