MY MOTHER AT SIXTY SIX, CBSE ENGLISH CORE (301), GRADE XII

 

CBSE GRADE XII, ENGLISH CORE (301)

MY MOTHER AT SIXTY-SIX

BY. KAMALA DAS

EXTRACT BASED ANSWERS AND SHORT ANSWERS

mkchandran.blogspot.com

 

Read the stanzas given below and answer the questions that follow:
1. Driving from my parents’ home to Cochin last Friday morning,

I saw my mother, beside me doze, open mouthed,

Her face ashen like that of a corpse

And realized with pain

That she thought away and looked but soon…..……..
Questions
(a)Where was the poet driving to?

Ans: The poet was driving to Cochin Air Port, from where she would go to Calcutta and meet her husband who was working there.
(b)What did the poet notice about her mother?

Ans: The poet noticed that her mother was dozing, open mouthed. She also noticed that she was very tired and wan.
(c)Why was her mother’s face looked like that of a corpse?

Ans: Her mother was very old and tired. Her face seemed to be ashen like that of a dead body because she was wan and pale

(d)”That she thought away” means what?
Ans:  It means ‘she was about to die’

 

2 She looked but soon
put that thought away, and
looked out at Young Trees sprinting,

the merry children spilling
out of their homes,
Questions
(a)What did the poet realize? How did she feel?
Ans: The poet realized that her mother might die soon. She felt sad and pain.

(b) What did she do then?

Ans: She looked out through the window of the car in order to take away the attention from her mother. She felt sad that her mother's health was very bad.
(c)What did she notice in the world outside?

Ans: Outside the car there was life and happiness. She saw young trees were sprinting and merry children were spilling out of their homes.
(d) Why were the young trees sprinting?

Ans: Young trees were not running but she felt it so because of the speed of the car. It is a personification. The poet states here, the difference between the young and the old.

3 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
Questions
(a)What did the poet do after the security check?

Ans: After the security check, the poet stood a few yards away in the airport and watched her mother who was standing outside of the airport.

(b)Why did the poet compare her mother’s face to a late winter’s moon?

Ans: The late winter’s moon is a pale moon having without brightness. Her mother’s face is compared to the late winter’s moon as her face was wan and pale.
(c)What was her childhood fear?

Ans: she feared that her mother would depart her by and large and without her mother’s acquaintance she wouldn’t survive.

(d)How did the parting words of the poet and her smile present a contrast to her real feelings?
Ans:The poet didn’t want to express her sadness to her mother. She thought that her mother would not bear it. So, the poet pretended happiness and smiled. She wanted to encourage her mother that nothing would happen to her till she would come back from Calcutta.

Short answers

1.What kind of pain does the poet feel?

Ans: The poet feels that her mother has gone very old and has become very wan like that of a corpse. The poet is also caught her old familiar childhood's fear that her mother will depart her one day or other.

 

2. Why are the young trees described as 'sprinting'?

Ans: The young trees seem to be running in the opposite direction of the car. Here, trees are personified. It indicates that there are vitality and life outside the car. That’s why they are sprinting. But inside the car, there is stillness as her mother seems to be ashen like of a corpse.

3. What do you mean “the merry children spilling out of their homes”?

Ans: The poet depicts a comparison between life and death. Outside the car there is life, but inside there is dull and clumsy. Her mother is dozing with open mouthed like that of a dead body. The happy children are playing with full of joy; to them life is beautiful.

 

4. Why is the mother compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’?

Ans:  The late winter’s moon is a dull one which will disappear shortly. It will not cast any pleasant light. The poet compares her mother with the late winter’s moon as both of them are nearing to their death bed.

 

5. What are the parting words of the poet and why does she smile?

Ans: The parting words of the poet are “See you soon, Amma”. It indicates her love towards her mother. She encourages her mother to be brave and assures her that nothing will happen to her. They will meet again soon.