My Mother at Sixty-Six (Kamala Das) — NCERT Solutions

Given / Context: The poet Kamala Das is driving her mother to the Cochin airport. She notices her mother's pale, ashen face and is overcome by emotion.

Answer:

The pain and ache that the poet feels is the age-old, childhood fear of losing her mother — the fear of separation and, more deeply, the fear of her mother's death. The word 'familiar' tells us this is not a new feeling; it is a dread she has carried since childhood. As a child she must have been anxious about being separated from her mother; now, as an adult, she confronts the same fear but in a far more serious form — the realisation that her ageing, frail mother may not live much longer. The sight of her mother's wan, pale face (compared to a 'late winter's moon') rekindles that deep-seated ache of potential, irreversible loss.

Given / Context: As the car moves from her mother's home to the airport, the poet looks outside and sees trees flashing past.

Concept: The description is a result of kinetic imagery and relative motion — when one is inside a moving vehicle, stationary objects outside appear to rush past in the opposite direction.

Answer:

The young trees are described as 'sprinting' because the car is moving fast, making the trees appear to rush past the window in the opposite direction. However, the image carries a deeper symbolic meaning: the young, green, fast-moving trees are a contrast to the poet's old, still, and fading mother sitting beside her. The trees represent youth, energy, and vitality, while the mother represents old age and the slow approach of death. The juxtaposition highlights the painful difference between the vigour of youth and the frailty of old age.

Given / Context: After observing her mother's pale face, the poet looks outside and sees happy children coming out of their homes.

Answer:

The image of merry children 'spilling out of their homes' is brought in to create a sharp contrast with the poet's mother. The children symbolise joy, life, energy, and new beginnings, whereas the mother represents old age, stillness, and the nearness of death. The word 'spilling' suggests an overflow of life and exuberance that cannot be contained — the very opposite of the mother's wan, withdrawn state. By placing these two images side by side, the poet intensifies the sense of loss and the inevitability of ageing and death. The outside world is full of life and movement, while the poet's inner world is shadowed by grief and fear.