Class | Subject | Book | Chapter | Session | Questions covered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
XII | English | Flamingo (NCERT) | 11 – My Mother at Sixty-six | 2026-27 | 5 of 5 |
Chapter at a glance
Aspect | Key point |
|---|---|
Poet | Kamala Das (1934–2009), Malabar, Kerala; wrote in English and Malayalam (as ‘Madhavikutty’) |
Situation | Driving from her parents’ home to Cochin airport, the poet notices her sixty-six-year-old mother dozing beside her, pale and corpse-like |
Theme | Ageing, fear of losing a parent, the parent–child bond, inability to express deep feelings |
Key images | face “ashen like that of a corpse”; “Young Trees sprinting”; “merry children spilling out of their homes”; “pale as a late winter’s moon” |
Form | One single sentence punctuated by commas — a single thread of thought interwoven with observations of the world outside; free verse |
Think it out
Question P1
What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?
Answer
The poet feels the pain of realising that her mother has grown old and is nearing death — her dozing face looks “ashen like that of a corpse”. At the airport, seeing her mother “wan, pale”, she feels “that old familiar ache, my childhood’s fear” — the fear of losing her mother and being separated from her, which she has felt since childhood. It is also the helplessness of a child who cannot stop her parent’s ageing.
The pain of realising that her mother has become old and may die soon, and the “old familiar ache” — her childhood fear of losing her mother and being separated from her.
Question P2
Why are the young trees described as ‘sprinting’?
Answer
Seen from the moving car, the trees appear to be running fast in the opposite direction. The image of “Young Trees sprinting” stands for youth, energy and life, in sharp contrast to the old, dozing, corpse-like mother. The poet turns to it to drive away the painful thought of her mother’s ageing.
From the moving car they seem to run past; “sprinting” young trees symbolise youth, energy and vitality, contrasting with her ageing, inactive mother.
Question P3
Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children ‘spilling out of their homes’?
Answer
The merry children spilling out of their homes represent youth, joy, energy and the beginning of life. The poet uses this image to contrast them with her mother, who is old, tired and near the end of life. It also shows how the poet tries to escape the painful thought by looking out at the lively world.
It contrasts the energy, joy and youth of the children with the mother’s old age and decay, and shows the poet trying to distract herself from her painful thoughts.
Question P4
Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’?
Answer
A late winter’s moon is pale, dim and hazy, lacking brightness, and is about to set. The mother, at sixty-six, looks similarly wan, pale and lifeless; her strength has faded and she is nearing the end of her life, like the moon before it sets and like winter, which marks the end of the year.
Like a late winter’s moon — pale, faded and about to set — the mother is wan, weak and nearing the end of her life.
Question P5
What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify?
Answer
The poet says only, “see you soon, Amma”, and smiles “and smile and smile”. The words express hope and reassurance that she will meet her mother again. The repeated smile hides her fear and pain; she does not want her mother to see her worry. It shows the inability to express deep emotions, and her effort to remain positive and brave at the moment of parting.
They express hope and reassurance of meeting again, while the forced, repeated smile hides her fear and sorrow about her mother’s ageing so that her mother does not feel sad.
Topic checklist
- ☒ The poet’s pain and fear (P1)
- ☒ Contrasting images of youth and age (P2–P4)
- ☒ The parting (P5)