Noted by P.B.
New updated notes:
Very Short Answer
Questions: (1 mark each)
1.Who is the poet of the poem ‘my mother at sixty-six’?
Answer: Kamala Das is the poet of the poem ‘my mother at
sixty-six’.
2.Where is the poet Kamala das driving to?
Answer:
The poet Kamala das is driving from her parent’s home to Cochin Airport in the last
Friday morning.
3. What did the poet Kamala das notice when her mother sat beside her?
Answer:
When her mother sat beside her, the poet Kamala das noticed her mother at doze
and open mouthed. Along with, she noticed her face ashen like that of a corpse.
4.Find words from the passage that mean ‘sleep lightly’ and ‘dead body’.
Answer: sleep lightly - doze
dead body - corpse.
5.Why her mother’s face like that of a corpse?
Answer:
Her mother’s face was like that of a corpse because she was as old as she
looked.
6.What do the words, ‘ashen’, ‘open mouthed’, and ‘corpse’ signify?
Answer: The words, ‘ashen’, ‘open mouthed’, and ‘corpse’ signify the
poetess’ mother. It refers her mother that as old as she looked.
7.Who looked out at ‘young trees’ from the car window?
Answer: The poetess, Kamala Das looked out at ‘young trees’ from the car
window.
8.Where was Kamala das born?
Answer: Kamala Das (1934) was born in Malabar, Kerala.
9.What are the works of Kamala das known for?
Answer:
The works of Kamala das is recognised as one of India’s foremost poets. Her
works are known for their originality, versatility and the indigenous flavour
of the soil.
10.In what language did Kamala das write?
Answer:
Kamala Das has published many novels and short stories in English and Malayalam
Language under the name ‘Madhavikutty’.
11.Name two important works of Kamala das.
Answer:
Two important works of Kamala das are “Alphabet of Lust” (1977) and a
collection of short stories “Padmavati the Harlot and Other Stories” (1992),
12.What does Kamala das capture in her works?
Answer:
Kamala Das captures the complex subtleties of human relationships in lyrical
idiom, My Mother at Sixty-six is an example.
13.What is the poet’s Familiar ache’?
Answer: The poet’s Familiar ache’ is her childhood’s fear that she would
loss or miss her mother.
14. …..Pale
Looked again at her, wan,
Old
As a late winter’s moon and felt that
familiar ache, my childhood’s fear,
Amma,
But all I said was,
see you soon,
All I did was smile and “smile and
Smile…”
(i)How
does the poet describe her mother’s pale face ?
Ans:
The poet describes her mother’s pale face that it is wan, pale, looking ill and
old like a late winter’s moon.
(ii)What
did she recall at that moment?
Ans: At
that moment, She/the poetess recalled her familiar ache, her childhood’s fear.
(iii) What
did she tell her mother then?
ans:
She said to her mother then , “See you soon, Amma”.
Or: By addressing Amma, she promised her mother to see her
soon.
d)Why
did she only smile ?
ans:
She only smiled as/because, her heart was filled with sadness and no word came
out at that moment. Also, she did not want to express her sorrows to her
mother.
home to Cochin last Friday
morning, I saw my mother,
beside me
doze,
open mouthed her face
ashen
like that of a corpse………….”
a)Where
was the poet driving to ?
Ans:
The poet was driving from her parent’s home to Cochin airport.
b) What
did she notice when her mother sat beside her?
Ans: When
her mother sat beside her then she noticed that she was dozing/ sleeping
lightly. Her mouth was open and her face looked ashen/pale like a corpse/dead
body.
c)Find
words from the passage that mean ‘sleep lightly’ and ‘dead body’.
Ans:
sleep lightly--- doze, and dead body—corpse
d)Why
was her mother’s face like that of a corpse ?
Ans:
Her mother’s face was ashen, pale, dull and totally colourless, so it was like
that of a corpse.
16. “But
soon
put
that thought away and
looked out at the young
trees
sprinting the merry children spilling
Out of
their homes”
(i)Who
looked out at young trees ?
Answer:
The poet, Kamala Das looked out at young trees.
(ii)
Which thought did the speaker put away?
Answer:
The speaker put away the thought of her mother that she was as old as she
looked.
(iii)What
do young sprinting trees signify?
Anwer:
The young sprinting trees signify the liveliness, activity and the action of
youth.
(iv)What
did the poet see the children doing ?
Answer:
The poet saw that the merry children were
spilling out of their homes.
17. ‘but after the airports
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 u soon, Amma,
All I did was smile and smile and smile…..”?
(i)What
did the speaker do after the security check?
Answer:
After the security check, the speaker stood a few yards away and looked again
at her mother.
(ii) Why
did the poet compare her mother’s face to a late winter’s moon?
Answer:
The late winter’s moon looks hazy, obscure, lacking shine and strength. As same
as this, the poetess’ mother looks wan and pale alike. So, the poet compares
her mother’s face to a late winter’s moon.
(iii)What
is the poet’s childhood fear?
Answer:
The poet’s childhood fear is that she would lose her mother and never seeing
her again.
Short Answer Questions: Type-A: (2 mark each)
1.Where is the poet going and who is with her?
Answer:
The poet is going from her parent’s home
to Cochin Airport. Her mother is with her.
2.Which thought does the speaker put away?
Answer:
The poetess mother is as old as she looked and her face is ashen like a corpse.
The speaker puts away by this thought and pain.
3.What do the young spiriting trees signify?
Or Why are young trees described as sprinting.
Answer:
The young spiriting trees signify the activeness and liveliness of the
environment. The poet describes the young trees as sprinting to contrast between
her mother and the other active things.
4. What are the ‘merry children spilling out of their homes’ symbolic
of?
Or: 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’ are symbolic of
the activeness and liveliness of the environment. The poet has brought in the
image of the ‘merry children spilling out of their homes’ to signify the
contrast between her mother and the other active things like merry children.
5.What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?
Answer:
The poet feels the pain that her mother’s face is ashen like a corpse/dead body
and she is as old as she looks. For her mother, the poet feels her old familiar
ache; her childhood fear is that she would lose her mother and never seeing her
again.
6.Explain the statement, ‘I saw my mother….her face ashen like that of a
corpse’.
Answer: By this phrase, the poetess, Kamala Das explains a moment in her
car when she saw her mother’s face. She mentions here that her mother’s face is
ashen like a corpse or dead body.
7.Why are the young trees described as ‘spiriting’?
Answer: The young trees are described as ‘spiriting’ to signify the
activeness and liveliness of the environment. The poet uses the young sprinting
trees to contrast between her mother and the other active things.
8.Why does the poet compare her mother’s face to ‘a late winter’s moon’?
Or: Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’?
Answer: The poet compares her mother’s face to ‘a late winter’s moon’
because her mother’s face is wan and pale. It looks ashen like a corpse or dead
body and totally colorless like ‘a late winter’s moon’.
9.What is the poet’s childhood fear?
Answer: The poet’s childhood’s fear is her familiar ache’ that she would
loss or miss her mother. Because, at the moment, her mother’s face looks like a
corpse or dead body.
10.Why does her childhood fear surface at this stage?
Answer:
Her childhood fear surfaces at this stage because her mother is as old as she
looks. Also, she thinks or fears that her mother is going to die shortly.
11.What is ‘juxtaposition’ of images? How is it used in the poem?
Answer: The juxtaposition of images is used in the poem very clearly by
Kamala Das. When she looks her mother’s ashen like face then she symbolises the
image of corpse or dead body. When she realises the pain of her mother that she
is as old as she looks then she symbolises the image of young sprinting trees
and merry children. Again, when she observes at the security check at her
mother’s wan and pale face then she symbolises the image of late winter’s moon.
12.Is the ‘airport’s security check’ an image? What does it signify?
Answer: Yes, the
airport’s security check’ is an image. It is specially signifies the
observation of her mother’s wan and pale face that like a late winter’s moon.
13.What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify?
Answer: The parting words of the poet “See you soon, Amma” signify an
assurance of life and a promise of meeting again shortly. Along with this, her
smile signifies the overcome of the ache and childhood fear that inside her
heart.
14.Describe the face of the poet’s mother. Why is it compared to a
corpse?
Answer: The face of the poet’s mother is ashen like a corpse. It looks
wan and pale as a late winter’s moon.
It is compared to
a corpse because the poet’s mother’s face is ashen, pale, dull and totally
colourless like a corpse or dead body.
15.What does the poet see happening outside while she was driving?
Answer: The poet sees the young trees sprinting and the merry children
spilling out of their homes that happening outside while she was driving.
Short Answer Questions: Type-B:
(2 mark each)
1.What does the speaker do after the security check? What does the
notice?
Answer:
After the airport’s security check, the speaker looks at her mother. She
notices at her mother’s wan and pale face which is like a late winter’s moon.
2.How does the poet’s mother look like? What kind of image has the poet
used to signify her ageing condition?
Answer:
The poet’s mother looks like a late winter’s moon. The poet uses the images of
a corpse, young trees sprinting, the merry children and a late winter’s moon.
3.What does the poet see happening as she drives along?
Answer: When the poet drives along, then the poet sees her mother who
dozes with open mouthed. She also observes her mother’s ashen face like a
corpse or dead body.
4.Why does the poet feel her old familiar ache and what is her childhood
fear?
Answer:
When the poet observes her mother then she notices her mother’s wan and pale
face like a late winter’s moon. So, the poet feels her old familiar ache of
losing her shortly.
Her childhood fear is that she
would loss her mother shortly. Also, she pains that she is going to die very
soon.
5.Explain the flowing:
i) I saw my mother
beside me,
doze, open mouthed, her face
ashen like that
of a corpse…….
Answer: In this phrase, the poetess, Kamala Das explains a moment
driving towards the Cochin Airport. At that moment, the poetess saw her mother
who sat beside her and she dozed with open mouthed. Also, she observes her
mother’s ashen like face which looks like a corpse.
ii)…. and realized with pain
that she thought away, and looked but soon
put that thought away, and looked out at
young
trees sprinting, the merry
children spilling
out of their homes…….
Answer: In this phrase, the poetess, Kamala Das explains a moment
driving towards the Cochin Airport. At that moment, the poetess saw her mother
who was as old as she looked and like a corpse. On thinking this, she thought
away and looked at the young trees and the merry children out of their homes
which are contrasted with her mother.
iii) …. I locked again at her, wan, pale
as a late winter’s moon and
felt that old
familiar ache, my childhood’s
fear
Answer: By this phrase, the poetess mentions the moment when she looked
at her mother again. She noticed at her mother’s wan and pale face that was
looked like a late winter’s moon. At that moment, she felt her old familiar
ache and her childhood’s fear of losing her mother.
iv) but all I said was, see you soon,
Amma,
all I did was smile and smile
and smile…….
Answer: In this phrase, the poetess, Kamala Das explains the last moment
of leaving her mother. At that moment, she felt her old familiar ache and her
childhood’s fear of losing her mother. She parted her mother with smiling and promising
to meet again soon.
Short Answer Questions: Type-C:
(2 mark each)
1.Describe the contrast of the scene inside the car with the activities going
on outside.
Describe the use of image that
the poet employs to strike the contrast.
Answer: Inside the car, the poetess’s mother signifies a motionless
image and the activities going on outside of the young sprinting trees and the
merry children are symbolises of activeness and liveliness.
The poet employs
the images of the young sprinting trees and the merry children to strike the
contrast.
2.With fear and ache inside her heart and words of assurance on lips and
smile on the face, the poet presents two opposite and contrasting experience.
What are these experiences? Why does the poet put on a smile?
Answer: With fear and ache inside her heart is experienced the pain of
her mother and of losing her. On the other hand, words of assurance on lips and
smile on the face are just presented to convert her mind and an excuse from her
fear and ache.
The poet puts on
a smile to cover the pain, fear and ache in her mind. Also. She does not want
to show the fear and ache to her mother.
God blessing you all................