Driving from my parent’s by Kamala Das — Analysis & Translation

Original Poem

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 realised 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......

Translation (English)

Driving from my parent's house to Cochin last Friday morning, I saw my mother next to me, sleeping with her mouth open, her face pale like a dead person's and realized with sadness that she was as old as she looked, but soon put that thought away and looked out at young trees running by, the happy children coming out of their homes. But after the airport’s security check, standing a few yards away, I looked again at her, weak, pale like a late winter’s moon and felt that old familiar pain, my childhood’s fear, but all I said was, see you soon, Amma, all I did was smile and smile and smile......

About the Poet

Kamala Das (20th century)

Kamala Surayya, also known as Kamala Das, was an Indian poet and author known for her work in both English and Malayalam. Her writing is celebrated for its originality and candid exploration of female sexuality. She was a prominent columnist and an iconoclast in her generation.

Historical Context

Literary Form: Free verse
When Written: Late 20th century
Background: The poem reflects Kamala Das's personal experiences and emotions regarding aging and the inevitable separation from loved ones. It captures the universal fear of losing a parent and the passage of time.

Sources: https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/lefl111.pdf, https://www.learncbse.in/ncert-solutions-for-class-12-flamingo-english-my-mother-at-sixty-six/, https://poemotopia.com/kamala-das/my-mother-at-sixty-six/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamala_Surayya

Detailed Explanation

The poem 'My Mother at Sixty-six' by Kamala Das captures a poignant moment of realization and reflection as the poet observes her aging mother during a car ride to Cochin. The poem begins with a vivid image of the poet's mother dozing with her mouth open, her face ashen and corpse-like, which evokes a painful awareness of her mother's frailty and mortality. This realization is momentarily set aside as the poet distracts herself by observing the lively world outside, symbolized by young trees and merry children. However, the inevitable confrontation with her mother's vulnerability returns when she sees her again at the airport, appearing wan and pale like a late winter's moon. This imagery underscores the poet's deep-seated fear of losing her mother, a fear rooted in childhood. Despite the emotional turmoil, the poet chooses to mask her feelings with a smile, offering a hopeful farewell. The poem beautifully encapsulates themes of aging, familial love, and the universal fear of separation, using vivid imagery and a reflective tone.

Themes

Literary Devices

Word Dictionary

Word	Meaning	Translation	Transliteration
ashen	pale	very pale, like ashes	aash-en
corpse	dead body	a body of a dead person	korps
realised	understood	became aware of	ree-uh-lized
sprinting	running fast	moving quickly	sprint-ing
wan	pale	looking sick or tired	won
pale	light in color	lacking color	pail
ache	pain	a continuous pain	eik
familiar	well-known	something known from before	fuh-mil-yur
Amma	mother	a term for mother	uhm-mah

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