My Mother at Sixty Six by Kamala Das summarized in Assamese by Mr. Rupjyoti Goswami, PGT (English)
কবিয়ে যোৱা শুক্ৰবাৰে ৰাতিপুৱা তেখেতৰ মাক দেউতাকৰ ঘৰৰ পৰা গাড়ীৰে কোচিন
বিমানবন্দৰলৈ গৈ আছিল আৰু কাষত তেওঁৰ মাক বহি গৈছিল। তেওঁ লক্ষ্য কৰিছিল যে
টোপনিয়াই থকা তেওঁৰ মাকৰ মূখখন মেলখোৱা আৰু মৃত লোকৰ দৰে শেতা বিবৰ্ণ
আছিল। মাকৰ বৃদ্ধাবস্থাক লৈ কবিয়ে খুব দুখ অনুভৱ কৰিছিল। মাকৰ প্ৰতি হোৱা
এই চিন্তা আৰু আশংকাক দূৰ কৰিবলৈ কবিয়ে তেওঁৰ মুখখন ঘূৰাই বাহিৰলৈ চাইছিল।
বাহিৰৰ জগতখন শিশুবিলাকৰ খেলা ধূলা আৰু দৌৰা ঢপৰাত আনন্দদায়ক আৰু মুখৰিত হৈ
পৰিছিল। গছবিলাককো বিপৰীত দিশত দৌৰি যোৱা যেন লাগিছিল। বিমানবন্দৰত
তেওঁলোক নিৰাপত্তাৰক্ষীৰ পৰীক্ষা ৰ সন্মুখীন হয়। কেইগজমান দূৰত থিয় হৈ থকা
কবিয়ে তেওঁৰ বৃদ্ধ মাকলৈ আকৌ চাইছিল। বাৰ্ধক্যৰ চাপ পৰা মাকৰ মূখমন্ডল শেতা
আৰু নিৰ্জীব হৈ পৰিছিল। তেওঁৰ মূখখন শীতকালৰ শেতা জোনটোৰ দৰে লাগিছিল।
শৈশৱ কালৰ পৰাই কবিয়ে তেওঁৰ মাকক হেৰুৱাৰ আংশকাত মাজে মাজে অন্তৰত এক বেদনা
অনুভৱ কৰি আহিছিল। কিন্তু নিজকে সংযত কৰি, স্বাভাৱিক হোৱাৰ অভিনয় কৰি
মাকলৈ চাই মিচিকিয়াই হাহিছিল আৰু খুব সোনকালেই তেওঁক আকৌ দেখা দিম বুলি
আশ্বাস দিছিল।
শব্দাৰ্থ (Word meaning):
1. doze- টোপনি মৰা
2. ashen- ছাইবৰনীয়া
3. corpse- মৃতদেহ
4. Merry- সুখী, আনন্দিত
5. Spill- কোবাকুবিকৈ ওলাই অহা
6. Sprinting- বেগাই দৌৰি যোৱা
7. Wan- বিবৰ্ন, (colourless)
8. familiar- চিনাকি
9. ache- পীড়া, কষ্ট
Questions' answers:
1. Why has the mother been compared to the 'late winter's moon'?
Ans:-
With the advancement of age, the vitality, radiance and strength of the
poetess's mother have diminished rapidly. Hence the simile 'late
winter's moon' is undoubtedly a presage of her approaching death. Winter
is symbolic of lifelessness and dormancy. At the age of sixty six,the
poetess's mother resembles a corpse with an 'ashen' face. So, her
comparison with the pale colour of the moon is quite appropriate.
2. Why has the poet brought in the image of merry children 'spilling out of their hands'?
Ans:-
Childhood marks the beginning of life whereas old age marks its end.
The poet's mother who is sitting beside her is dozing Her ‘ashen' face
looks lifeless and pale like a corpse. She represents ageing decay and
dormancy. On the contrary, children are jubilant and happy. They are
moving out of their homes in large numbers. This is an image of
happiness and spontaneous overflow of life.
3. What kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?
Ans:-
Right from her childhood, the poetess is obsessed with a fear of losing
her mother. This fear gets the upper hand before her departure from her
parents' home when she observes the "ashen" face of her mother and her
corpse like figure. She feels that death may befall her mother at any
time. She is overcome with sorrow at the idea of getting separated from
her mother.
4. Why are the young trees described as "sprinting"?
(or) What do the young sprinting trees signify in the poem, "My Mother at Sixty Six?"
Ans:-
Whenever we travel by a fast moving vehicle, the standing objects seem
to be running fast. The appearance of the fast racing of trees is
described as 'sprinting'. The sprinting of trees symbolizes the rapidly
passing years of human life from childhood to old age. This image
provides a stark contrast to her ageing and dormant mother sleeping in
the car. The poet tries to distract her thoughts from the distressful
idea of losing her mother.
5. What were the poet's feelings at the airport? How did she hide them?
Ans:-
The poet experienced two contrasting feelings at the airport. The ashen
and pale face of her mother was a presage of her approaching death. But
she immediately hid her real feelings from her mother. She composed
herself and tried to look normal. She smiled continuously to assure her
mother that they would meet again soon.
6. Why does the poet 'put that thought away' and looks outside?
Ans:-
The poet is always beleaguered with a thought of losing her mother.
This fear gets the upper hand when she observes her pale and ashen face.
She looks lifeless like a corpse while sleeping in the car. The poet
looks outside to distract her mind from the fear of getting separated
from her mother. The young children and outside world present a picture
of youth and dynamism and she feels temporarily relieved.
7. What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify? HS-2024
(OR) In the last line of the poem 'My Mother at Sixty Six', why does the poet use the word 'smile' repeatedly?
Ans:-
The parting words of the poet give an assurance of life and optimism
to her old, weak and withered mother approaching her death. The mother's
ashen face looks like a corpse. Similarly, the poet's continuous
smiling is an attempt to overcome the ache and fear inside her heart and
to assure the old lady that they will meet again.
8."Driving from my parent's home.....
..........her face ashen like that of a corpse".
(I)Where was the poet driving to?
(ii)What did she notice while her mother sat beside her?
(iii)Why did her mother's face look like that of a corpse?
(iv)Find words from the passage which mean:
(a) felt (b) sleep lightly (c) dead body
Ans:- (i) The poet was driving from her parent's home to the Cochin airport.
(ii) She noticed that her old mother was dozing with her mouth open.
(iii) Due to physical changes and decay associated with old age, her mother's face looked like a corpse.
(iv) (a) realized (b) sleep lightly (c) dead body
9. "but after the airport's security check.................
........all I did was smile and smile and smile...."
(i) How were the young trees sprinting?
(ii) What did she see the children doing?
(iii) What did the poet do after the security check?
(iv) Why did the poet compare her mother's face to a late winter's moon?
(v) What was the poet's childhood fear?
(vi) Find words from the passage which mean:
(a) running fast (b) happy (c) colourless
Ans:- (i) As the car moved on, the young trees growing outside appeared to be running fast.
(ii) She saw the children moving out of their homes in large numbers.
(iii) The poet stood a few yards away and looked at her mother's face again, after the security check.
(iv)
The late winter's moon lacks brightness and strength and therefore it
is symbolic of decay and death. Similarly the poet's mother resembled
the late winter's moon. Her pale and ashen face appeared to be a presage
of her approaching death.
(v) The poet felt that death might befall
her mother at any time. She was obsessed with the fear of getting
separated from her mother from her childhood.
(vi) a. sprinting. b. merry. c. wan.
10." looked but soon
Put that thought away, and
Looked out at young
Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling
Out of their homes".
(I) What did the poet realize? How did she feel?
(ii) What did she do then?
(iii) What did she notice in the world outside?
Ans:- (i) The poet felt that her mother's face appeared to be pale, ashen and lifeless like a co
rose. She felt sad and depressed at the idea of getting separated from her mother forever.
(ii)
She wanted to distract her mind from the shocking thought of losing her
mother. So she looked outside to see the mind soothing sight of
children moving out in large numbers.
(iii) She noticed the young
trees that appeared to be running fast in the opposite direction. She
saw jubilant children running out of their homes.
11."I saw my mother
beside me,
doze, open mouthed, her face
ashen like that of a corpse...........
...........but soon put that thought away."
(a) What worried the poet when she looked at her mother?
(b) Why was there pain in her realization?
(c) Why did she put that thought away?
(d) Identify the figure of speech used in these lines.
Ans:-
(a) The pale and ashen face of the poet's old mother worried the poetess
while she was driving from her parent's home to Cochin. The old and
withered mother was dozing with open mouth when she sat beside her. Her
ageing decay was symbolic of her approaching death.
(b) The poet was very fond of her mother. Her sensitive heart was pained at the idea of getting separated from her mother.
(c) The
poetess could not bear the sight of the pale, ashen and corpse-like
face of her mother. So, she put that painful thought away to distract
her mind.
(d) simile.
12."old
familiar ache, my childhood's fear
..............................................
all I did was smile and smile and smile"
(a) What does the phrase "familiar ache” mean?
(b) What was the poet's childhood fear?
(c) What do the first two lines tell us about the poet's feelings for her mother?
(d) What does the repeated use of the word, 'smile' mean?
Ans:-
(a) The phrase "familiar ache” means the pain, anguish and suffering
associated with old age and death. It also refers to the pain and
bereavement caused by the death of near and dear ones.
(b) The poet was very soft and sensitive as a daughter and she had a childhood fear of losing her mother.
(c)
The first two lines tell that the poet was very anxious about the
ageing decay of her mother. She was not in a mood to lose her mother.
(d)
The repeated use of the word "smile" is an attempt to hide her anxiety
and sorrow caused by her mother's 'ashen face'. She says this out of
pure frustration.
13. "But soon
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 Kamala looked out at the young trees.
(ii) Which thought did the speaker put away? 1
Ans:- The poet put away the thought of losing her mother due to oldage.
(iii) What do young sprinting tree signify? ** 1
Ans:- The young sprinting trees signify the youthfulness. It is a contrast to her mother who looks pale.
(iv) What did the speaker see the children doing? 1
Ans:- The speaker saw the children coming out of their house and playing happily.
Syllabus of HS Second year English (Prose)
Syllabus of HS Second year English (Poetry)
Syllabus of HS Second year English (Supplementary Reader : Vistas)
2. The Enemy
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