Summary of my mother at sixty six
Answers
One last Friday morning, the poetess was driving from her parents’ home to the Cochin airport. Her mother was sitting beside her in the car. She suddenly had a look at her mother. She found that her mother was dozing with her open mouth. Her face was as pale as that of a corpse. The poet painfully realized that her mother is not going to live long. This painful thought haunted her. But soon she tried to put it off by looking out of the car window. She saw the young trees running past them. She looked at the merry children coming out of their homes. As she saw life and vitality in the outside world, the painful thought passed away from her mind.
After reaching the airport, she went through the security check. Her mother was standing outside a few yards away. After the security check, she looked at her mother again. Her face was pale white like a late winter’s moon. She felt the old familiar ache of childhood in her heart which is usually felt by a child due to the fear of separation from his/ her mother. But she contained herself and kept on smiling in order to conceal her emotions. She spoke no word to her mother. All that she said was, “See you soon, Amma” and bade good bye to her mother with a hope to see her again.
Summary of 'My Mother at Sixty-six' by 'Kamla Das' - Class 12 English:
The poetess Kamla Das was driving from her parent's home to Cochin when she saw her mother beside her, whose mouth was wide open and her face was very pale, like a corpse.
Kamla Das had feared as a child that she'll lose her mother one day and today, she feared the same, again, as she realized that her mother was as old as she looked.
She then looks out through the car's windows at the young and sprinting trees and the merry children who are playing outsdide their homes. This is a stark contrast to her mother's old age. 'Sprinting' here refers to the passage of time, which now seemed to be very quick.
When she reached the airport and was done with the security check, she looked again at her mother. She compared her mother's face to a late winter's moon because in winters, the moon loses its shine and radience behind mist and fog, just like her mother lost her radiance as she grew older and older.
The poetess was feeling a familiar ache. It was her childhood fear that she will lose her mother to death and she was experiencing the same feelings now as well.
All she could say was "See you soon Amma..." and then she smiled and smiled and smiled.
Here, smile refers to three things- her realisation that her mother is becoming old and she might not see her next time when she comes back, her effort to keep a brave front, and her hope to see her mother next time when she returns.