My Mother at Sixty Six [AHSEC Class 12 English Notes for 2025 Exam]

About the Poet

Kamala Das was born in Kerala, India. She is recognized as one of India’s leading English poets. Her literary works are original and versatile, known for their indigenous flavour of the soil. She has published many novels, short stories and poems, both in English and Malayalam. She wrote under the name Madhavikutty, in Malayalam. She converted to Islam in 1999. Her writing is bold, frank and unconventional.

Brief Summary of the Poem

This is a short poem without a single full stop. It deals with one single emotion. The poet is concerned that her mother is old and fears separation from her. The poet and her mother are on their way to the airport. It is then that the poet notices that her mother has become frail and old. She bids her mother goodbye at the airport without disclosing her anxieties and concerns.

Analysis of the Poem

Driving from my parent’s

home to Cochin last Friday

morning, I saw my mother,

beside me,

The poet had been visiting her parent’s home. After her visit got over, she was on her way to Cochin airport, on a Friday morning. Her mother was also with her, to see her off. She noticed her mother sitting by her side.

doze, open-mouthed, her face

ashen like that

of a corpse and realised with

Pain

Her mother was sleeping beside her with her mouth wide open. Her face was pale and colourless like that of a dead body. Realization dawns on the poet and leaves her with a feeling of pain.

that she was as old as she

looked but soon

put that thought away, and

The reality that the poet faced was that her mother had aged. She was not only old but also looked old. Age was not just a number but a harsh reality. She quickly stopped thinking about her mother being old and put the thought away.

looked out at Young

Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling

out of their homes,

She diverted her attention by looking outside the window. The trees outside appear to be running. She refers to them as young trees; they must be green and with full foliage for her to say so. She also sees happy children, full of joy, coming out of their homes. The trees and children are full of life and energy as opposed to her mother’s listlessness.

but after the airport’s

security check, standing a few yards

away, I looked again at her, wan,

Pale

They reach the airport, and the poet completes the formalities of the airport's security check before boarding her flight. She is a few yards away from her mother and looks at her again. She finds her pale and weak.

as a late winter’s moon and felt that

old

familiar ache, my childhood’s fear,

She compares her mother to a late winter moon as the moon in winter is not bright enough. Her mother is bereft of her youth and energy. The poet is revisited by a childhood fear of separation from her mother. She fears to lose her mother to the clutches of death.

but all I said was, see you soon,

Amma,

all I did was smile and smile and

smile...........

The poet doesn’t voice any of her fears or concerns. She keeps a smiling face and bids goodbye to her mother.

Also Read: English AHSEC Class 12 Chapterwise Notes

Questions - Answers

Answer the following questions : 1 Marks Each

1. Who is the poet of the poem ‘My Mother at Sixty Six’?

Ans. Kamala Das is the poet of the poem ‘My Mother at Sixty Six’.

2. Where is the poet driving to?

Ans. The poet is driving to Cochin airport, to board her flight.

3. What did the poet Kamala Das notice when her mother sat beside her?

Ans. Looking at her mother sitting beside her, the poet Kamala Das noticed that her mother was dozing with her mouth wide open and her face was pale.

4. Find words from the passage that mean ‘sleep lightly’ and ‘dead body’.

Ans. Sleep lightly: Doze

Dead body: Corpse

5. Why is her mother’s face like that of a corpse?

Ans. Her mother’s face is ashen like that of a corpse because of the effects of old age on her body.

6. What do the words, ‘ashen’, ‘open-mouthed’ and ‘corpse’ signify?

Ans. The words ashen, 'open-mouthed', and 'corpse' signify ageing and decay.

7. Who looked out at 'young trees' from the car window?

Ans. The poet, Kamala Das, looked out at 'young trees' from the car window.

8. Where was Kamala Das born?

Ans. Kamala Das was born in Punnayurkulam, Malabar in Kerala.

9. What are the works of Kamala Das known for?

Ans. The works of Kamala Das are known for their originality, versatility and the indigenous flavour of the soil.

10. In what languages did Kamala Das write?

Ans. Kamala Das wrote in English and Malayalam.

11. Name two important works of Kamala Das.

Ans. Alphabet of Lust, a novel was written in 1977 and Padmavati the Harlot and Other Stories, a collection of short stories written in 1992.

12. What does Kamala Das capture in her works?

Ans. In her work, Kamala Das captures the intricate subtleties of human relationships.

13. What is the poet’s ‘familiar ache'?

Ans. The poet’s ‘familiar ache’ is her childhood fear

Answer the following questions : 2 Marks

1. What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?          (2014)

Ans. The poet is pained to see her mother's dull and colourless face. She is hurt to see that her mother's face looks like that of a dead body. She realized that her mother was at the edge of her life, and her end was near. she is afraid of the fact that she may not see her mother alive next time. Though ageing is a natural process, seeing its effects on her mother makes her sad.

2. How does the poet try to put away the thought of her mother approaching death?

Ans. The poet realised that her mother’s end was near. She finds it difficult to accept the fact of her mother growing old as it brings back to her mind her childhood fear of losing her mother. To put away such thought, the poet looked outside and noticed the sprinting tree and the happy children coming out of their house.

3. Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children spilling out of their homes and the sprinting trees?         (2013, 2016) 

Ans. Sprinting trees and merry children coming out from the doors suggest new life and warm energy. The poet has used this imagery to bring out the contrast between children, who are energetic and full of life, and her mother, who is old, pale and lifeless.

4. Why are the young trees described as ‘sprinting’ and what do they signify?         2017

Ans. The poet was driving a car with her mother. When she looked at the trees, they appeared to be 'sprinting because the car was speeding past in the opposite direction. The 'young trees' represented life in contrast to her mother's approaching death. It signifies a zeal and enthusiasm for life.

5. What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify?         (2015)  2019

Ans. The poet's parting words ‘see you soon Amma' signify hope and assurance, not only to her but to her mother also that they will meet again. Her smiles are a deliberate attempt to hide her real feelings and to overcome the ache and fear inside her heart.

6. What is the ‘Familiar ache’?

                      Or

What is the poet’s childhood fear

Ans. 'Familiar ache 'refers to the poet's childhood fear of losing her mother. As a young child, the poet Kamala Das feared separation from her mother. She was very attached to her mother and completely dependent on her. She was afraid that she would lose her mother. This childhood fear revisits her, as she is bidding goodbye to her mother at the airport.

7. Why has the mother been compared to the late winter’s moon? (2012, 2014, 2015, 2017)

Ans. The poet compares her mother's face to a late winter's moon. Just as a 'late winter's moon' looks colourless and dull because of mist and fog, the poet's mother's face looks pale and lacks shine due to old age. Moreover, winter is the last season, and old age is the last phase of life.

8. What is the ‘merry children' spilling out of their homes symbolic of? (2018)

Ans. As the poet looks out, in addition to sprinting trees, she also sees ‘merry children spilling out of their homes’. It is symbolic of children rushing out of their homes happily. It shows that children are free of cares and worries. Their innocence enables them to attain joy and happiness.

9.Explain the statement: “I saw my mother…………her face ashen like that of a corpse”.      2014

Ans: While driving to Cochin airport, the poet saw her mother dozing. Her face looks pale and ashen-grey like that of a corpse.  There was no shine on her face. The poet realized that her mother was approaching death. This pains the poet's heart

10. What is ‘juxtaposition’ of images? How is it used in the poem?

Ans. Juxtaposition is a literary technique in which two or more ideas, places, characters, and their actions are placed side by side in a narrative or a poem, to develop comparisons and contrasts. In the poem, we have a juxtaposition of the images of sprinting trees and merry children contrasted against the frailty and weakness of the poet's mother, induced by old age.

11. Is the 'airport’s security check’ an image? What does it signify?

Ans. The airport’s security check is an image. It evokes a picture of parting between the poet and her mother. After the security check is over, the poet cannot come out and rejoin her mother. She has to bid her goodbye and proceed on her journey.

13. Where is the poet going and who is with her?

Ans. The poet, Kamala Das, had spent some time at her parent's home, and now she is on her way back. It is a Friday morning and she is going to Cochin airport to board her flight. Her old mother is with her and has accompanied her to see her off at the airport.

Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow:

1." Driving from my parent's                         2012

      Home to Cochin last Friday

      Morning, I saw my mother,

      Beside me,

      Doze open-mouthed, her face

      Ashen like that of a corpse……..”

i. Where was the poet driving to?                                1

 Ans: The poet was driving to Cochin airport.

ii. What did she notice when her mother sat beside her?                     1

Ans: She noticed the mother’s ashen and almost lifeless face distraught with pain.

iii. Find words from the passage that mean ‘sleep lightly’ and ‘dead body’.                   1

 Ans: sleep lightly- Doze; dead body- a corpse.

iv. Why was her mother’s face like that of a corpse?                             1

 Ans: Her mother’s face was pale, dull and completely grey like ash, which made it look a corpse.

2. 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:

i. What did the speaker do after the security check?                  1

Ans: After the security check, the speaker stood a few yards away and looked at her mother again.

ii. Why did the poet compare her mother’s face to a late winter’s moon?                 2

Ans: The poet compares her mother's face to a late winter's moon. Just as a 'late winter's moon' looks colourless and dull because of mist and fog, the poet's mother 's face looks pale and lacks shine due to old age. Moreover, winter is the last season, and old age is the last phase of life.

iii. What was the poet's childhood fear?                  1

Ans: The poet’s childhood fear is that she might lose her mother and never see her again.

3. But soon                                                   2014

Put that thought away and looked out at Young

Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling

Out of their homes

Questions:

i. Who looked out at the young trees?                              1

Ans: The poet looked out at the young trees

ii. Which thought did the speaker put away?                     1

Ans: The poet put away the thought of her mother approaching death.

iii. What do young sprinting trees signify?                         1

Ans: Young sprinting trees signify the energetic action of the youth.

iv. What did the poet see the children doing?                                                  1

Ans: The poet sees the children coming out of their homes and playing.

4.‘…..and felt that old                      2015

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:

i. What was the childhood fear that now troubled the poet?              1

Ans: The poet’s childhood fear is that she might lose her mother and never see her again.

ii. What do the poet’s parting words suggest?              2

 Ans: The parting words ‘see you soon, Amma', gives an assurance to the old lady that they will meet again.

iii. Why did the poet smile and smile?                         1

Ans: The poet smile and smiles to overcome the ache and fear inside her heart.

Read the extracts and answer the following questions:

1. “Driving from my parent’s                          2012

      Home to Cochin last Friday

      Morning, I saw my mother,

      Beside me,

      Doze openmouthed, her face

      Ashen like that of a corpse……..”

Questions:

i.            Where was the poet driving to?               1

ii.           What did she notice when her mother sat beside her?                      1

iii.         Find words from the passage that mean ‘sleep lightly’ and ‘dead body’.        1

iv.          Why was her mother’s face like that of a corpse?                   1

2. But after the airport’s                                   2014

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:

 i.         What did the speaker do after the security check?                  1 

 ii.       Why did the poet compare her mother’s face to a late winter’s moon?        2             

 iii.     What was the poet’s childhood fear?                        1             

3.   ‘…..and felt that old                            2015

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:

i.         What was the childhood fear that now troubled the poet?            1

ii.       What do the poet’s parting words suggest?                                   2

iii.     Why did the poet smile and smile?                                               1

3. But soon                                                   2014

    Put that thought away and looked out at Young

   Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling

   Out of their homes

Questions:

i.       Who looked out at the young trees?                           1

ii.     Which thought did the speaker put away?                  1

iii.   What do young sprinting trees signify?                      1

iv.    What did the poet see the children doing?                  1

2 Marks questions:

1. Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’?     2012 2015 2017 2020

2. Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children ‘spilling out of their homes’? 2013 2016

3. What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?         2014

4. Explain the statement: "I saw my mother…………her face ashen like that of a corpse".      2014

5. What are the ‘merry children spilling out of there homes’ symbolic of?         2018

6.  What do the young sprinting trees signify?           2017 2020

7. What is the significance of the parting words of the speaker and her smile in ‘My Mother at Sixty-six’?          2015, 2019