My Mother at Sixty-Six Pe @- late] tom Dyels)Index About the poet Central idea Lecel=iit} Summary Key points Vocabulary Poetic devicesAbout the Poet Kamala Das also known as Kamala Surayya was born on ME leona ker MOY ol] 9y- 1A C1 RS RE Le L n a poet and littérateur and at the same time a leading Malayalam author. Her popularity in Kerala is based chiefly on her short stories and autobiography written under name Madhavikutty, while her oeuvre in English, written under the name Kamala Das, is noted for the poems and explicit autobiography. Peto) ii Me)MM A ale SOL n-ne) 11 el lust (1977), a collection of short stories Padmavati the Harlot and Other Stories (1992), in addition to five boooks of poetry. She is a sensitive writer who captures the complex subtleties of human relationships in lyrical idiom, My Mother at Sixty-six is and example.Kamala Das has received may awards for her literacy contribution, including: (few of Aaa} Nominated and shortlisted for q Nobel Prize for Literature in r’, ahd) < Award of Asian PEN anthology — 1964 Kerala Sahitya Academy Award — 1969 Sahitya Academy Award — 1985 Honorary D.Litt by University of Calicut — 2006 On 31 May 2009, aged 75, she died at a hospital in Pune.Central Idea QAging is an important phase of human life. A person enter his childhood, experiences youth when he is full of energy and dreams to have luxury of life. Finally, he approaches his old age and encounters death. Relationship between people becomes stronger at every aspect of life and they can’t bear separation due to aging.UIn this poem, the poet relates a personal experience. She brings out a common paradox of human relationships and portrays a sensational separation of a mother and a daughter. She has been able to capture almost all the emotions which a daughter is filled with, on bidding farewell to her beloved mother. Sometimes we do feel deep sympathy for someone but we fail to express it in a proper manner.Poem 4 Driving from my parent's home to Cochin last Friday ee SLL ALLL ol (e[ Mt) doze, open mouthed, her face ashen like that of a corpse and realized 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4 out of their homes, but after the airport's security check, standing a few yards away, | looked again at her, wan, WoFe] (2) As a late winter’s moon and felt that old familiar ache, my childhood'’s fear, but al | said was, see you soon, PAU FU eee TAL YL M10 VELL METALSummary ln this poem, Kamala Das explores the theme of ageing and death and isolation through a narration involving her mother. While driving from her parent's home to Cochin, she notices her mother sitting beside her dozing, her face pale like a dead body and her thoughts far away. This reminds her painfully that her mother is old and could pass away leaving her alone.(Putting that thought aside she looked out at the young trees speeding by and children running out of their homes happily to play. These remind her probably of youth and life, her own younger days and her mother when she was young. (But after the security check at the airport, looking back at her mother standing a few yards away, she finds her looking pale like the winter moon. She feels that familiar pain and childhood fear of the thought of losing her mother and of being lonely just as she had been when she was young because she was different from other children. She could only keep smiling and tell her ‘see you soon’ knowing full well that she might not see her.Key Points Poetess travelling in Cochin airport with her mother in a car. Looks at the wan, pale face of her dozing mother. Old fear of loosing her mother returns. Sprinting trees and merry children provide the contrast and relief. After the security check the old familiar ache as . Tries to hide her emotions by smiling. . Bids good bye to her mother with a hope to see LT Ter- 11aVocabulary Wan — colorless, pallid Late winter’s moon — Dim moon shrouded by clouds Spilling — Run out Ashen — Grey (old age) Ache — Pain Sprinting — Short fast race, runningPoetic Devices Simile: 1) wan, pale as a late winter's moon 2) her face ashen like that of a corpse Metaphor: 1) the merry children spilling out of their homes Personification: 1) young trees sprinting Repetition: 4) | did was smile and smile and smile.