Flamingo : My Mother at Sizty-stx cou ‘GLOSSARY, + doze : sleep lightly forashort time » « ashen ce very pale; without colour because of illness or fear ‘ « corpse : deadbody + sprinting : running very fast + spilling : (here) rushing out;coming out quickly + wan : colourless + ache : acontinuous feeling of pain TANZAS/FOR'COMPREHENSION: Read the following extracts and answer the questions that flow in one or ewo line. (1) Driving from my parent's home to Cochin last Friday morning, Isaw my mother, beside me, doze, open mouthed, her face ashen like that of acorpseand realised with pain that she was as old as she looked 1a ing the reader, the poe morning when she was on her way to the airport in Coch \ from her parent's home. Her aged moth d She noticed that her mother was sleeping wi | appeared colourless as ifit were of a dead body, ; fe Peltier as bev its realization wasalarming. pot gg tg eg OO SETI (a) Where was the poet coming from? Where was she going? ’ ‘The poet had gone to her parents' home to visit them. She was(b) Literature Companion 12 now going to Cochin from where she had to board an aeroplane for herjourney back home. Who was sitting beside the poetand why? The poet's mother was sitting beside her in the car. The elderly lady was travelling with the poet to Cochin to see her daughter off at the airport. How does the poet describe her mother? The poet describes her mother as old and pale. While she dozed off beside her, the mother looked almost like a corpse, for her face was colourless and seemed to have lost the spark of life. SET II (a) Whois'l'in the above lines? (AI CBSE 2016) 'T'is Kamala Das, the old woman's daughter. (b) What did'T' realise with pain? Or (AICBSE2016) () (d) What worried the poet when she looked at her mother? (Delhi 2015) 'T' realised with pain the fact that her mother was very old and almost lifeless like a corpse. Why was the realisation painful? Or (AI CBSE 2016) Why was there pain in her realisation? (Delhi 2015) The realisation was painful because it indicated the impending and certain death of her beloved mother. Identify and name the figure of speech used in these lines, Or (AI CBSE 2016) What does the phrase ‘ashen like that of acorpse' mean? (AI CBSE 2015C) The figure of speech used in these lines is a 'simile'. The phrase ‘ashen like that of a corpse’ means the mother's face had lost all glow and was lifeless like a corpse.ty Mother at Sixty-six @ butsoon put that thought away, and looked out at young trees sprinting, the merry children spilling out of their homes SS ee ‘The ‘poet further says that. soon she tried to shrug off this vegatve: } ‘ ) thought and looked out at nature, perhaps to seek solace. The trees along the road seemed to be hurrying past the speeding car. They were young in / contrast to her old mother. The movement of trees and the speeding car | were reminders of the fact that time had flown by. The poet also saw some | } (Joyous children who had rushed out of their homes as if something had 5 \ spill over from a crowded vessel. This view probably reminded her of | her | : 1 childhood andoft thetimewhen hermotherwasyoung. PAI tg POLIO OT ON tO SETI (a) Whatthought did she try to drive away? Or Which 'thought' did the poet 'putaway'? The poet tried to ‘put away’ the thought that made her aware of her mother's decaying health and approaching death. (b) Why did the poet start ‘looking out’? What does her gesture suggest? The poet started looking out of the window because she wanted to drive away the pain and agony she experienced on seeing her aged mother. Her gesture suggests resignation to the laws of life and an attempt to overcome her sense of helplessness. (c) Why did the poet put that thought away? (Delhi 2015) The poet put that thought away because it rose in her a sense of guilt for being unable to stop her mother's end and choosing herLiterature Companion 12 232 personal work over the opportunity to stay back with her old mother. (ad) What did the poet see from the window of the car? The poet saw young trees that seemed to be running past her car and cheerful children sprinting out of their homes to play. Both stood in sharp contrast to her mother who was withered with age. SETI (a) Howcanthe trees sprint? (AI CBSE 2015) Or Why are young trees described as sprinting? The trees do not actually sprint but it seems so to the poet because she is inside the car that is running past the trees. This. sprint is symbolic of the youthfulness of trees which is in contrast to the withered, old mother of the poet. (b) What do the images of ‘young trees’ and 'merry children’ symbolise? Trees and children symbolise the spring of life, its strength, vigour and happiness which contrasts with the lifelessness and helplessness that sets in with age. (b) What do young sprinting trees symbolise? They are a symbol of youthfulness filled with energy and vigour. Thei sprinting suggests that the young stage of life but after the airpo: security check, standing afew yards away, I looked againat her, wan, pale asalate winter's moonFlamingo : My Mother at Sixty-six 233 eg NN RE A PEL AB ?-The poet continues to narrate the event and discloses the scene after she { Thad gone through the security check at the airport, She looked back at { } her mother who stood some distance away and looked as dull and lifeless } » as the late winter's moon. This comparison with a negative object indicates } } thatthesceneevokedasense of helplessness in the poet. 4 Feet eR i (a) Wherewas the poet standing? The poet was standing just a few yards away from her mother at the Cochin airport, waiting to board the plane after the security check. (b) Who does'her' refer to here? How did she look like? 'Her' here refers to the poet's mother. She looked pale and colourless owing to her old age. (c) Why did the poet 'look at her again'? (Outside 2015) The poet looked at her mother again to reassure herself about her well being. She was doubtful about being able to see her alive when they would meet the next time. (d) Identify the figure of speech used in these lines. Or . (Outside 2015; Foreign 2015) Explain, "...wan, pale asa late winter's moon...". Or ‘ What does the poet compare his mother's face to and why? The figure of speech used in these lines is a simil ". .wan, pale as a late winter's moon..." is used by the poet to compare her mother's pale face with the winter moon. Just as the a moon loses its brightness in the winters because is hidden by fog and mist, similarly the face of the poet's mother, has also lost its radiance which is misted by age. Here, 'winter! symbolises ‘death’ and the'waning moon! symbolises ‘decay’,234 Literature Companion 12 (4) and felt that old familiar ache, my childhood's fear, butall I said was, see you soon, Amma, allI did was smile and smile and smile... eae SS em sae tml ngaeetma \ The poet admits that she sensed a pain. which she had experienced in her: 4 childhood as well’ whenever the! thought of losing her mother gripped + her. But today she hid her true feelings from her ‘Amma! and bid her 2 courteous farewell assuring to see her soon. She continued to smile to cover | up her apprehensions and pain ast was the only thing that she could give SETI (a) What'familiarache' did the poet feel? Or What does the phrase ‘familiar ache 'mean? (Delhi 2016) The ‘familiar ache' refers to the poet's insecurity that she had felt as a child about getting separated from her mother. Now, the fear of permanent separation from her old mother, owing to the latter's impending death, aroused a similar pain inher. (b) Whatcould have been the poet's 'childhood fears'? Or What was the poet's childhood fear? (Foreign 2015; Outside 2015C; Delhi 2016) The poet's childhood fear was that she would lose her mother or be separated from her for reasons that her child-brain could not comprehend. (c) Did the poetshare her thoughts with her mother? The poet did not share her thoughts of fears and agony with herFlamingo : My Mother at Sixty-six 25 mother. She only bid a formal helpless adieu, with a hollow smile on her face anda vain hope of seeing her soon. SET II (a) What do the first two lines tell us about the poet's feelings for (b) ( her mother? (Delhi 2016) These lines convey the poet's strong attachment with her mother. This feeling of being unable to accept separation from her mother has been with her since childhood. It is still powerful and evokes the same fear that she felt as a child. Why do you think, the poet not share her thoughts with her mother? I think the poet did not share her thoughts with her mother because they were caused by her fear of the unknown. Sharing them with her-mother would have only aroused the fear of impending death in the frail old woman. Why did the poet only 'smile'? Or What does the repeated use of the word 'smile' mean? (Delhi 2016) Or What does her smile signify? (Outside 2015C) The various reasons for the poet's 'smile' could be that she was trying to hide her guilt, anxiety and fear of the unknown. Perhaps she wanted to bid a cheerful farewell to her mother or she was so overcome by emotions that she was ata loss of words.236 Literature Companion 12 HORT ANSWER QUESTIONS (to be answered in about 40 words each) Textual Questions Ql. Whatis the kind of pain and the ache that the poet feels? The poet feels a kind of helpless pain aroused by the thought of unavoidable separation from her mother who is slowly being ravaged by decay and age. Her ache results out of a sense of guilt for not looking after her mother properly. Q2. Whyare the young trees described as'sprinting’? (Delhi 2012; 2010) Young trees seem to be sprinting i.e. rushing past the poet, because she is travelling very fast ina car. The sprinting movement of the trees in their spring bloom stands in contrast to the poet's > "ashen like" old mother weakened and consumed by time. Q3. Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children ‘spilling out of their homes'? The poet has broughtin this image to presenta sharp contrast to the poet's limp and dozing old mother.. The spontaneous overflow of life symbolised by the children coming out of the houses is in contrast with the inactive life of the aged mother. - Why has the mother been compared to the "late winter's moon"? (Delhi 2013; Foreign 2011) ‘other has been compared to the “late winter's moon" to 1e degenerative stage of her life, Winter is a symbol of death and'pale moon: iated with decay. The mother's pale and wrinkly face, tog. like a "late winter's moon", Q5. What do the parting words of the poet and hers: 8 (AI CBSE 2012; 2010;: 2009; 2008)Q7. Qs. Q9. Flamingo : My Mother at Sixty-six 237 The poet's parting words, "See you soon, Amma' are expressive of the dilemma in her mind. Her prolonged smile is superficial and expresses her helplessness while offering hope and reassurance to her mother. This gesture not only hides her anxiety about her mother's frail health but also intends to comfort the old woman. . Whatwere the poet's feelings as she drove to the Kochi airport? (Delhi 2015C) The poet's feelings were about her philosophical observations on the inevitable decay and death of all things that are born. These feelings were triggered by the old, weary and ashen like face of her mother who was travelling with her. What does the poet notice about her mother while travelling in the car? The poet notices that her mother has dozed off: There is an” expression of pain on her wrinkled face caused by worries and anxieties of life. The sight of greyish pale face of the old woman triggers off the poet's fear about her mother's impending death. How did the face of Kamala's mother betray her thoughts? The ashen face of Kamala's mother betrayed her thoughts engulfed by sadness, loneliness, and helplessness that people experience in old age. Her pale and wrinkled face showed that her ‘heart ached due to her acute consciousness about her suffering and gradual degeneration. ” What thoughts does Kamala Das put away while travelling with her mother in the car? Why do you think she puts them away? Kamala Das puts away the negative thoughts about losing her mother to death and a nagging ache for not being able to careGed Literature Companion 12 well enough for her. She tries to drive away these dreadful thoughts because they are depressing. Q10. What does Kamala Das see on looking out of the car window? Unable to bear the pain on her mother's face, Kamala looks out of the car window and sees images of life in the young trees rushing past her like sprinters. She also sees groups of children rushing out of their homes to play. QU1. How does the poet describe the old age of her mother? The poet describes her mother's age as very old and nearing its end. Her aged face seems to the poet like a ‘late winter's moon’ covered by the haze of mist and about to fade away. She looks lifeless like a corpse without vigour and energy. Q12. What is the significance of the images, ‘sprinting trees' and ‘merry children spilling out of their homes' in the poem "My Mother at Sixty-six"? Both sprinting trees and merry children are happy and young. They present a contrast to the mother's pain and old age and the _ poet's worry and fear. They represent youth, vigour and spring whereas the mother is old, decaying, frail, inactive and passive. Q13. What childhood fear do you think Kamala speaks of? Or : What were Kamala Das's fears as a child? Why do they come back when she is going to the airport? (AICBSE 2011) Perhaps, since her childhood Kamala has had a fear that she will either lose her mother or will be separated from her. Now that the mother is sixty-six years old and has a deteriorating health, the poet's fear returns with greater intensity. Q14. How does Kamala Das bid farewell to her mother? Kamala Das bids farewell to her mother with the comfortingFlamingo : My Mother at Sixty-six Qis. Q16. qu. Qi9. 29 words "See you soon, Amma’. She tries to hide her anxiety and worry about her old mother's delicate health behind her prolonged and reassuring smile. What thoughts do you think Kamala Das had at the airport? Atthe airport, Kamala Das was full of worry about her mother's poor health and old age. She even feared not being able to see her during her next visit. Her inability to stay with her mother in her hour of need agonized her. Why could Kamala not express her thoughts to her mother at the airport? Kamala could not express herself because she was overwhelmed with worry and pain at the thought of losing her mother. Moreover, any such expression would have aggravated the mother's condition. So she just said, "See you soon, Amma" and repeatedly smiled bidding a cheerful adieu. Bring out the significance of thetitle "My Mother at Sixty-six". The title is very apt as the subject of the poem is the poet's aged and frail mother. It, at once, establishes the context in which Kamala is writing - the mother's unexpressed pain and the poet's worry about her mother's frail health, old age and perhaps imminent death. What sort of a relationship did the mother and the daughter enjoy, as reflected in the poem "My Mother at Sixty-six The mother and the daughter enjoyed an intimate relationship, where both understood the limitations, commitments and compulsions of each other's life. Despite their frustrations caused by the sense of helplessness to redress the situation, they both tend to keep a brave face. What is the symbolic significance of the security checks at the airport?240 Q20. Literature Companion 12 The security checks represent symbolically the restrictions and limitations upon grown-up men and women who are burdened by the weight of responsibilities and commitments. The checks also stand for the curbs one has to accept in one's life. Do you think the poem reflects on the escapist tendency of the poet? The poem does reflect the escapist tendency of the poet. Burdened by the weight of pain suffered by her mother, she tries to escape from the realities by looking out of the car. Again, she tries to hide the pangs of sufferings by smiling continuously. aaa