Why it is important to know about the author? because it helps you to know in what condition the poet or the author has written the work of art and what purpose it servers towards the society.
Topic presentator : MANAS RANJAN BABOO
About the Poet : Kamala Das
Topic presentator : MANAS RANJAN BABOO
About the Poet : Kamala Das
- Kamala Surayya was born on 31st march 1934 and died on 31st may 2009.
- Her pen name was "Madhavikutty" and "Kamala Das"
- She is known for open and honest treatment of female sexuality.
- She marked herself as an "Iconoclast" in her generation
- Her second book of poetry, "The Descendants" was even more explicit, urging women to.....
- "Gift him what makes you woman the scent of long hair,, the musk of sweat between the breasts, The warm shock of menstrual blood, and all your Endless female hungers...." -The looking glass
- the above statement clearly reveals how open minded she was while potraying female sensuality and thoughts.
- at the age of 42 she published a darling autobiography, "my story"(Malayalam)
- she was criticized for very open and honest writing.
- she was even told that writing so openly is like doing a strip tease.
- but she came up with a really interesting answer, "I will first strip my self of clothes and ornaments, then i will peel of my this light brown skin and shatter my bones, then you will see my beautiful soul."
- she is also regarded as mother of modern English poetry.
- she was converted to Islam at the age of 65.
- Till date "my story" is the best selling women autobiography.
- 'My story' is about the trials of her marriage and her painful self awakening as a woman.
- in "composition" she writes, "here is a girl with vast sexual hungers, a bitch after my own heart."
MY MOTHER AT SIXTY SIX(POEM TEXT)
Driving from my parent’s home to Cochin last Friday
morning, I saw my mother, beside me,
doze, open mouthed, her face ashen like that of a
corpse and realized with pain
that she was as old as she looked but soon
put that thought away, and looked out at Young
Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling
out of their homes, 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 and felt that old
familiar ache, my childhood’s fear,
but all I said was, see you soon, Amma,
all I did was smile and smile and smile......
line by line explanation :
The poet here was driving from her parents home to Cochin airport and on the way what ever she experienced after watching her mother for a long time, she has mentioned n her emotional experience in the form of poetry.
Driving.............beside me.....
Here driving is not only driving, it is something more. here driving signifies as the metaphor of journey as experience
saw : here the act of seeing is the stationary movement as against the kinetic act of driving.
beside me : this refers to the time, space and position as indicated in the poem when the poet was inside the car.
doze and open mouthed refers to the torpidity that old age has imposed on her, torpidity means sluggish, lethargic, inactive.
Open mouthed also connotes lack of etiquette and circumstance, echoing that end is just about the corner. "she was as old she looked" means she realizes in a poignant moment that her mother now looked as old as she was. she was sad pitiful, and sorrowful.
with the word ashen, the poet tell us that death is affirmed, that thought of death is coupled with her countenance.
her ashen face reminded her her of a corpse both metaphorically and literally.
the hollowness of life and inevitability of death is surrounded and echoed. what pains her more is that the idea of death, the fear of death.
the irony is that though she was beside her she seems to be already haunted with the thought of being distant to her in terms of age that is sixty six.
Young trees sprinting , the merry children .... it is a juxtapose against the creepy idea of predestined death.
the act of seeing her off at the airport comes across as a metaphor of seeing her to death.
wan, pale refers to dry, faded, colorless and withered face and also dismal and somber feeling.
late winters moon is calm and hazy with a dim luster or lusterless. late winters moon is the symbol of advancing age, winter season comes last in the seasons, so it also denotes the end of life.
old familiar ache and childhood fear means the fear that she had of losing her mother from the very childhood days. fear of separation or the pangs of separation.
see you soon amma....tells her mother positively see you soon amma because separation always precedes reconciliation or reunion.
smile and smile smile........she endures all the pain and hardship without the display of feelings and complaint
SUMMARY
This poem is the outcome of Kamala Das's journey experience with her mother. She started her journey with her mother from her parental home to Cochin airport last Friday morning. Inside the car she saw her mother and she felt as if everything was seized for a moment and there were only two persons in the world i.e. herself and her mother. Her mother dozed(felt drowsy) and she was also open mouthed because of the sluggish, lethargic, inactive condition due to old age. Some other way 'open mouthed' also indicates that for her mother death is about the corner. When one is at the age of sixty six, one doesn't generally care for etiquette, thus she can remain open mouthed, in addition to that at such an age health also doesn't permit for certain things, so automatically their mouth remains open. After watching her mother for a while she started realizing that now her mother appears exactly to her age that is sixty six and she was sad, sorrowful and pitiful. With the word 'ashen' poet is now more serious towards her mother with the solemn thought of losing her and that(approaching death) can be seen on her mother's face. What pains her more is the thought of death. The Irony here is that though her mother was by her side still she was haunted with the thought of being distant to her mother. In order to recover her mental state and to escape from the creepy idea of her mothers death, she looked outside the car. Outside the car she saw children bursting, playing merrily and trees sprinting and she managed to divert her mind for a while. Young trees 'sprinting' doesn't mean that trees were literally running behind the car but it is personified here giving the trees human like features.. Sprinting trees and children here symbolize youth and rejuvenation which might calm her anxiety and suppress her pang of separation from her mother. After driving for a while they finally reached at the airport and the poet again becomes emotional and the childhood fear of losing her mother haunts her again. When she looked at her mother's face at the airport from a distance, it seemed like 'late winter's moon. Late winters moon connotes more than one meaning. Winter is the end of seasons and late winter's moon is hazy/foggy. Thus it suggest the advancement towards death. And as late winter's moon is having little brightness, it also suggest the worsening health condition which might lead to death. Finally she summoned all her strength and said good by to her mother. She tells her mother positively 'see you soon' because separation always precedes reconciliation or reunion. At the end she endures all the pain and hardship without displaying feeling of complain. This poetry has a happy ending and with positive note, with a good deal of optimism poet affirms her mother that everything is alright and they are together. difficult words and meaning
Doze : drowsy
ashen : pale face
Corpse : dead body
sprinting : running
spilling : playing joyfully
wan, pale : dull, sickly
LITERARY DEVICES/POETIC DEVICES
SIMILE : like a late winters moon, her face ashen like, pale as a
PERSONIFICATION : sprinting trees
REPETITION :smile and smile and smile
JUXTAPOSITION : life outside the car and death inside the car.
IMAGES AND SYMBOLS : trees sprinting and merry children (energy, young age, life, growth, optimism)
winters moon : refers to depression, sadness, death, pessimism.
metaphor : ashen face
imagery : young children spilling.
doze and open mouthed refers to the torpidity that old age has imposed on her, torpidity means sluggish, lethargic, inactive.
Open mouthed also connotes lack of etiquette and circumstance, echoing that end is just about the corner. "she was as old she looked" means she realizes in a poignant moment that her mother now looked as old as she was. she was sad pitiful, and sorrowful.
with the word ashen, the poet tell us that death is affirmed, that thought of death is coupled with her countenance.
her ashen face reminded her her of a corpse both metaphorically and literally.
the hollowness of life and inevitability of death is surrounded and echoed. what pains her more is that the idea of death, the fear of death.
the irony is that though she was beside her she seems to be already haunted with the thought of being distant to her in terms of age that is sixty six.
Young trees sprinting , the merry children .... it is a juxtapose against the creepy idea of predestined death.
the act of seeing her off at the airport comes across as a metaphor of seeing her to death.
wan, pale refers to dry, faded, colorless and withered face and also dismal and somber feeling.
late winters moon is calm and hazy with a dim luster or lusterless. late winters moon is the symbol of advancing age, winter season comes last in the seasons, so it also denotes the end of life.
old familiar ache and childhood fear means the fear that she had of losing her mother from the very childhood days. fear of separation or the pangs of separation.
see you soon amma....tells her mother positively see you soon amma because separation always precedes reconciliation or reunion.
smile and smile smile........she endures all the pain and hardship without the display of feelings and complaint
SUMMARY
This poem is the outcome of Kamala Das's journey experience with her mother. She started her journey with her mother from her parental home to Cochin airport last Friday morning. Inside the car she saw her mother and she felt as if everything was seized for a moment and there were only two persons in the world i.e. herself and her mother. Her mother dozed(felt drowsy) and she was also open mouthed because of the sluggish, lethargic, inactive condition due to old age. Some other way 'open mouthed' also indicates that for her mother death is about the corner. When one is at the age of sixty six, one doesn't generally care for etiquette, thus she can remain open mouthed, in addition to that at such an age health also doesn't permit for certain things, so automatically their mouth remains open. After watching her mother for a while she started realizing that now her mother appears exactly to her age that is sixty six and she was sad, sorrowful and pitiful. With the word 'ashen' poet is now more serious towards her mother with the solemn thought of losing her and that(approaching death) can be seen on her mother's face. What pains her more is the thought of death. The Irony here is that though her mother was by her side still she was haunted with the thought of being distant to her mother. In order to recover her mental state and to escape from the creepy idea of her mothers death, she looked outside the car. Outside the car she saw children bursting, playing merrily and trees sprinting and she managed to divert her mind for a while. Young trees 'sprinting' doesn't mean that trees were literally running behind the car but it is personified here giving the trees human like features.. Sprinting trees and children here symbolize youth and rejuvenation which might calm her anxiety and suppress her pang of separation from her mother. After driving for a while they finally reached at the airport and the poet again becomes emotional and the childhood fear of losing her mother haunts her again. When she looked at her mother's face at the airport from a distance, it seemed like 'late winter's moon. Late winters moon connotes more than one meaning. Winter is the end of seasons and late winter's moon is hazy/foggy. Thus it suggest the advancement towards death. And as late winter's moon is having little brightness, it also suggest the worsening health condition which might lead to death. Finally she summoned all her strength and said good by to her mother. She tells her mother positively 'see you soon' because separation always precedes reconciliation or reunion. At the end she endures all the pain and hardship without displaying feeling of complain. This poetry has a happy ending and with positive note, with a good deal of optimism poet affirms her mother that everything is alright and they are together. difficult words and meaning
Doze : drowsy
ashen : pale face
Corpse : dead body
sprinting : running
spilling : playing joyfully
wan, pale : dull, sickly
LITERARY DEVICES/POETIC DEVICES
SIMILE : like a late winters moon, her face ashen like, pale as a
PERSONIFICATION : sprinting trees
REPETITION :smile and smile and smile
JUXTAPOSITION : life outside the car and death inside the car.
IMAGES AND SYMBOLS : trees sprinting and merry children (energy, young age, life, growth, optimism)
winters moon : refers to depression, sadness, death, pessimism.
metaphor : ashen face
imagery : young children spilling.
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