Sure Shot Questions: Poem - My Mother at Sixty-Six

Q1: What do the poet's parting words to her mother signify?
Ans: The poet's parting words and her smile are outward reassurances that mask an inner fear. They show a deliberate attempt to appear calm and composed while she hides her anxiety about her mother's frailty and declining health. In other words, the words and smile are a protective disguise against the painful thought of possible separation.

Q2: What is the significance of the parting words of the poet and her smile in 'My Mother at Sixty-six'?
Ans: The parting words reveal the poet's inner conflict: she tries to be reassuring while feeling helpless. Her smile is superficial and forced; it hides deep worry. While she hopes for her mother's survival and another meeting, she is at the same time anxious and frightened by her mother's weak condition. The words and smile therefore combine hope with a reluctant acceptance of vulnerability.

Q3: Why did Kamala Das add the image of merry children to her poem?
Ans: The merry children represent youth, energy and the beginning of life. Their lively image contrasts sharply with the poet's aged, passive mother and highlights the theme of life's cycle. By showing this bright, spontaneous life outside, the poet deepens the sense of loss and decay she perceives in her mother and makes the contrast between youth and old age more vivid.

Q4: Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follows:
...but soon
put that thought away and
looked out at young
trees sprinting, the merry children spilling
out of their homes, ...
(i) Which thought did the poet put away?
Ans: The poet put away the painful thought of her mother's ageing and failing health and the fear of losing her. She momentarily suppresses this fear in order to distract herself from the hurt.

(ii) What do the 'sprinting trees' signify?
Ans: The 'sprinting trees' give the impression of rapid motion as the car moves. They signify youthful vigour and motion, creating a lively outside world that contrasts with the stillness and frailty of the poet's mother.

(iii) What are 'the merry children spilling out of their homes', symbolic of?
Ans: The 'merry children spilling out of their homes' symbolise joy, playfulness and the freshness of youth. Their careless energy accentuates the poet's sorrow and the sense of ageing in her mother by presenting a clear contrast between life's beginnings and life's decline.

Q5: What were Kamala Das' fears as a child? Why do they surface when she is going to the airport?
Ans: Since childhood, Kamala Das feared being separated from or losing her mother. These old fears resurface on the way to the airport because the journey suggests a possible separation and because her mother's frail condition makes the threat of loss seem real and imminent. The combination of physical distance and visible decline revives that childhood dread.

Q6: Why are the young trees described as 'sprinting'?
Ans: The young trees seem to be 'sprinting' because the speed of the car makes the outside world appear to rush by. This image emphasises movement and life, and it stands in strong contrast to the passive, ageing mother inside the car. The metaphor heightens the sense of vitality outside against decline within.

Q7: What childhood fear did Kamala Das refer to in her poem? How did she hide it?
Ans: Kamala Das's childhood fear was the fear of losing her mother to death and being separated from her forever. She hides this fear by wearing a forced, elongated smile and by speaking reassuring words. These outward signs are meant to conceal her inner distress and prevent her mother from knowing how deeply she is affected.

Q8: Why has the poet's mother been compared to the Tate winter's moon'?
Ans: The comparison to 'the late winter's moon' highlights pallor, chill and the sense of an ending. A late winter moon is wan and faint, suggesting the closing phase of a cycle. Similarly, the mother's pale, drawn face reflects ageing and the approach of life's final stage, reinforcing the poem's mood of quiet sorrow.

Q9: How does Kamala Das try to put away the thoughts of her ageing mother?
Ans: Kamala Das distracts herself by looking out of the car window and focusing on lively scenes - young trees flashing by and children playing. By turning her attention to the energetic world outside, she attempts to push away pain and soften the sting of her worry, even if only temporarily.

Q10: What were the poet's feelings as she drove to Kochi airport?
Ans: The poet felt deeply disturbed and anxious as she noticed her mother dozing with an open mouth and looking frail. A familiar, childhood fear of losing her mother began to haunt her. She was filled with sadness, helplessness and a quiet dread about whether her mother would still be alive on her return.

Q11: Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
'........I looked at her, wan
pale
. as a late winter's moon and felt that
old
familiar ache, my childhood's fear,
................
(i) Name the poem and the poet.
Ans: The poem is "My Mother at Sixty-Six" by Kamala Das.

(ii) How did the mother look?
Ans: The mother looked pale and wan, like a late winter moon. Her face appeared colourless and worn, suggesting that she was in the later phase of her life.

(iii) What did the poet feel?
Ans: The poet felt a familiar ache and deep sorrow. The sight of her mother's pallor brought back an old fear and left her saddened and worried.

(iv) What was the poet's childhood fear?
Ans: The poet's childhood fear was that she would lose her mother or be separated from her permanently.

Q12: Why are the youngsters described as springing?
Ans: The youngsters are described as springing to convey the vitality and freshness of youth. Their energetic movement symbolises the season of life and hope, which contrasts strongly with the poet's mother's ashen, ageing appearance and the poet's anxiety about mortality.

Q13: What was Kamala Das's childhood fear?
Ans: Kamala Das's childhood fear was that she would lose her mother to death and thus be separated from her forever. This fear is a recurring emotional thread in the poem.

Q14: What familiar ache and childhood fear did Kamala Das feel?
Ans: The familiar ache was the deep sorrow and anxiety about her mother's ageing and possible death. The childhood fear that resurfaced was the fear of losing her mother and never seeing her again; this fear is triggered by her mother's frail state.

Q15: What did Kamala Das think when she looked at her mother?
Ans: When Kamala Das looked at her mother dozing with her mouth open, she thought how old and worn her mother had become. Her mother's pale, colourless face made the poet realise the effects of time; she appeared haggard and the sight stirred sorrow and fear in the poet's mind.