2. About the poetess
Kamala Surraiyya (1934-
2009) was born in Malabar,
Kerala. Popularly known by
her one-time pen name
Madhavikutty and married
name Kamala Das, she was
an Indian English poetess
as well as a leading Malayalam author. She
was much influenced by her poetess-mother,
Balamani Amma, and this is certainly evident
in the poem ‘My Mother at Sixty-six’.
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Vikram Singh Nagore
3. •Constraints of old age
•Bond between the mother
and the daughter
•Aspirations and helplessness
of the youth
•Different stages of life
•Change: the eternal law
•Nature : a relief and refuge
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Vikram Singh Nagore
4. Driving from my parent’s home to
Cochin last Friday morning,
Kamala Das had gone to her parent’s home.
She was then going to Cochin Airport from where
she had to board an airplane for her journey back
home.
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Vikram Singh Nagore
5. I saw my mother, beside me, doze, open mouthed,
her face ashen like that of a corpse and realised
with pain that she was as old as she looked
The poetess describes her
mother as old and pale.
She looked almost like
a corpse, her face was
colourless and seemed to
have lost the fervour of life.
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Vikram Singh Nagore
6. But soon put that thought away, and looked out at
Young Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling
out of their homes,
To drive away the pain and
agony, Kamala Das looked
out of the window at the trees,
symbolizing life and growth.
Children are symbolic of youth,
vitality, vigour, life and growth.
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Vikram Singh Nagore
7. 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
The poetess’s mother was aged
and hence looked pale and
colourless like a late winter’s
moon.
Winter’s moon lacks lustre and
brightness, similarly mother’s
face has lost radiance and is now
misted by age.
The winter’s moon that appears
at the end of the year also
symbolizes the ebbing state of
the mother’s life.
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Vikram Singh Nagore
8. And felt that old familiar ache,
my childhood’s fear,
‘Familiar ache’ refers to the ache of helplessness;
the pain of separation that arises at the thought
of mother’s death.
Childhood fear refers to the fear of losing her
mother, getting separated from her or that death
would consume her mother.
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Vikram Singh Nagore
9. But all I said was, see you soon, Amma,
all I did was smile and smile and smile…
Kamala Das bids a formal adieu to
her mother with the hope of seeing
her soon.
She smiles only to hide her anxiety
and fear of the unknown.
She also wants to bid a cheerful
farewell to her mother before she
boards the flight.
The poetess tries to put up a brave
front in order to hide her true
feelings of pain at seeing her old
and weak mother.
Her smile also reflects her optimism.
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Vikram Singh Nagore
10. The poem thus begins and ends with a despondent
realization of the poetess that her mother has
become aged and is inching closer to death.
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Vikram Singh Nagore
