Introduction: Explanation of the Chapter—“My Mother at Sixty-six”
This poem is written by Kamala Das, a very well-known Indian poet from Kerala. She is famous for writing about human emotions in a very real and simple way. Her writing is full of feelings and truth. She has written many stories and novels too, both in English and Malayalam, using the name Madhavikutty. One of her best qualities is that she writes from her heart—especially about family and relationships.
In this poem, she talks about something that many of us feel but don’t always say out loud—the pain of watching our parents grow old. It’s a very emotional and personal poem. The poet shares what she felt during a journey with her old mother. She saw her mother sleeping, her face looking lifeless and pale, like a dead body. This made her feel afraid, just like a small child feels scared of losing someone they love.
But instead of crying or showing her pain, the poet smiles again and again. She hides her sadness behind that smile. This shows how much we try to stay strong even when we are breaking inside. The poem tells us that growing old is natural, but seeing it happen to someone we love—like our parents—can be very painful.
About the Author—Kamala Das (1934–2009)
Kamala Das was one of the boldest, most honest voices in Indian literature. She was born in Malabar, Kerala, in 1934, and spent most of her childhood in a traditional Indian family. But her mind and heart were far ahead of her time.
She wrote in both English and Malayalam, using the name Kamala Das for her English works and Madhavikutty for her Malayalam writings. She was not only a poet, but also a novelist, short story writer, and essayist.
Kamala Das’s writing is known for:
• Emotional honesty – she expressed her personal feelings without fear.
• Simplicity – her words were clear and powerful, not full of complicated grammar.
• Indian flavour – even though she wrote in English, her stories, poems, and characters were deeply Indian in spirit.
She was fearless in talking about love, pain, identity, loneliness, and womanhood. At a time when Indian women were expected to stay silent about personal emotions, Kamala Das broke the rules and spoke her truth.
Some of her most famous English works include:
• Poetry collections like Summer in Calcutta (1965), The Descendants (1967), and The Old Playhouse and Other Poems (1973).
• The novel Alphabet of Lust (1977)
• The autobiography My Story (1976), which shocked many people because of its honesty.
She also received many awards for her writing and was even nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Later in life, she converted to Islam and changed her name to Kamala Surayya, but she remained true to her voice as a writer.
Kamala Das passed away in 2009, but her poetry still lives on. Her poem “My Mother at Sixty-six” shows her special style—simple words, deep feelings, and a quiet sadness that touches the heart.
Poem Explanation – “My Mother at Sixty-six” by Kamala Das
The poem begins with the poet driving from her parent’s home to Cochin airport. It was a Friday morning. Her old mother was sitting beside her in the car, and she was sleeping with her mouth open. The poet looked at her mother’s face — it looked pale, lifeless, and grey, just like a dead body. That sight made the poet feel sad and afraid, because suddenly she realised her mother had really grown old.
But the poet didn’t want to feel this pain, so she quickly looked outside the car window. There she saw young trees moving quickly past, and happy children running out of their homes. These images of life, youth, and energy made her feel better for a moment. It helped her forget about her mother’s old age — at least for a while.
Later, at the airport, after the security check, the poet looked at her mother once again. Her mother was standing at a short distance, and again she looked wan and pale, like the moon on a late winter night — weak, dull, and full of age.
At that moment, the same old fear came back into the poet’s heart — the fear she had as a child, the fear of losing her mother. But instead of crying or showing her emotions, the poet said only a few soft words: “See you soon, Amma.” She didn’t show her pain. She just smiled and smiled and smiled — hiding her tears behind those quiet smiles.
Important Points:
• The poet uses very simple and direct images: mother’s pale face, sprinting trees, laughing children, and the winter moon.
• The whole poem is just one long sentence, flowing like a single thought — full of emotions, memories, and fears.
• It talks about aging, love, and the silent sorrow of saying goodbye to someone you love deeply.
• Her smile at the end is not joy — it’s a way to hide pain and stay strong.
Poetic Devices in “My Mother at Sixty-six”
- Simile
Comparison using like or as.
🔹 “Her face ashen like that of a corpse.”
🔹 “As a late winter’s moon”
These lines compare the mother’s face to a dead body and a pale moon, showing her old age and weakness. - Metaphor
A metaphor is when something is directly called something else — without using like or as.
🔹 The “late winter’s moon” is not just a simile — it also acts like a metaphor.
The poet calls her mother the “winter’s moon” — not just like it, but she becomes it in feeling and image. The moon here stands for fading life, coldness, and paleness, just like an old person near the end of life.
So it works as both a simile and a metaphor, depending on how we see it. - Imagery
Strong pictures through words.
🔹 “Young trees sprinting”
🔹 “Merry children spilling out”
These create a picture of movement and life, opposite to the stillness of the mother. - Repetition
Same words used again for effect.
🔹 “Smile and smile and smile…”
It shows how the poet tries to hide her pain with forced smiles. - Contrast
Differences are shown between two ideas.
🔹 Old mother vs. young trees
🔹 Pale face vs. lively children
This shows the poet’s inner pain. - Enjambment
Lines flow without full stops.
🔹 The whole poem is one sentence, separated only by commas.
It shows a continuous stream of thought, full of emotion.
Poetic Devices—Explained as a Story
When Kamala Das sat in that car beside her mother, she wasn’t just a daughter — she became a poet with a heavy heart. She didn’t shout her pain or write dramatic lines. Instead, she quietly picked soft poetic tools to show us her feelings.
She looked at her mother’s pale, sleeping face — so still, so lifeless. It reminded her of a dead body. But she didn’t say that directly. She used a simile, saying her face was “like that of a corpse.” This one line showed the truth of old age without needing many words.
But her thoughts were too heavy. She couldn’t bear looking at her mother’s aging face. So she turned to the world outside. Through the car window, she saw trees running fast — not really running, of course, but the car made it look like that. She described them as “sprinting”—this” was imagery, a poetic way to create a moving picture. It gave a strong contrast: outside, everything was alive and fast, but inside the car, her mother was still and fading.
Then came the sound of children, “spilling out of their homes.” Another image — full of joy and motion. The poet placed this picture next to her mother’s stillness to show life vs. aging. This is called contrast, and she used it naturally, like memories overlapping each other.
When they reached the airport, the pain returned. She looked at her mother once more. This time, her mother seemed like the moon in late winter — pale, distant, and cold. She wrote “as a late winter’s moon.” Here, she used another simile, but if we look deeper, it’s also a metaphor. Her mother became the winter moon — something beautiful but fading.
Even the structure of the poem was special. Kamala Das didn’t stop her emotions with full stops. The entire poem is one long sentence, flowing like a single breath — like a thought she didn’t want to interrupt. This is called enjambment — where one line runs into the next without stopping.
And in the end, when she says “smile and smile and smile…”, it’s not just a goodbye. She repeats the word to hide the ache behind a fake smile. This is repetition, and it shows how she was forcing herself to act strong when her heart was breaking.
In short:
Kamala Das didn’t use poetic devices to decorate her poem.
She used them to feel — to carry her emotions gently into our hearts.
• Her similes bring out pain.
• Her imagery creates scenes of movement and stillness.
• Her contrast shows life and aging.
• Her enjambment keeps the thoughts flowing.
• Her repetition hides sorrow in a smile.
• And her metaphors are quiet but powerful.
