Question:
Write the central idea of the poem: 'My Mother at Sixty-six' (Kamala Das)
Write the central idea of the poem: 'My Mother at Sixty-six' (Kamala Das)
Updated On: Sep 24, 2026
Show Solution
Verified By Collegedunia
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Understanding the Poem:
Kamala Das describes a car journey to the airport during which she observes her ageing mother asleep beside her, looking pale and almost corpse-like.
Step 2: Central Idea:
The poem explores the poet's fear of losing her mother to old age and death. The sight of her mother's aged, pale face triggers deep anxiety, which the poet masks by smiling and distracting herself with the youthful, lively scenes outside, only to confront her true feelings of loss and love as she says goodbye at the airport.
Final Answer:
The central idea of 'My Mother at Sixty-six' is the poet's confrontation with her mother's approaching mortality — the fear and pain of ageing and separation, expressed through the image of her mother's pale, sleeping face, contrasted against the poet's forced smile masking her inner anxiety.
Kamala Das describes a car journey to the airport during which she observes her ageing mother asleep beside her, looking pale and almost corpse-like.
Step 2: Central Idea:
The poem explores the poet's fear of losing her mother to old age and death. The sight of her mother's aged, pale face triggers deep anxiety, which the poet masks by smiling and distracting herself with the youthful, lively scenes outside, only to confront her true feelings of loss and love as she says goodbye at the airport.
Final Answer:
The central idea of 'My Mother at Sixty-six' is the poet's confrontation with her mother's approaching mortality — the fear and pain of ageing and separation, expressed through the image of her mother's pale, sleeping face, contrasted against the poet's forced smile masking her inner anxiety.
Was this answer helpful?
0
0
Top UP Board XII English Questions
- Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
It is clear that language is used for more than one purpose. The man who hits his thumb nails with a hammer and utters a string of curses is using language to relieve his feeling and needs no audience but himself. But when a philosopher uses language to clarify his ideas on a subject, he is using it as an instrument of thought. When two women gossip over the fence or two men exchange greetings as they pass in the street, language is being used to strengthen the bonds between the members of society. Language, it seems, is a multipurpose instrument. One function, however, seems to be basic — language enables us to influence people's behaviour and thereby makes human co-operation possible. Some animals co-operate especially the social animals like bees and ants, but human co-operation is more thorough, more detailed, more effective than that found anywhere in the animal kingdom. The human co-operation would be unthinkable without language.
(a) Why does the man, who hits his thumb-nails with a hammer, talk to himself? - Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
It is clear that language is used for more than one purpose. The man who hits his thumb nails with a hammer and utters a string of curses is using language to relieve his feeling and needs no audience but himself. But when a philosopher uses language to clarify his ideas on a subject, he is using it as an instrument of thought. When two women gossip over the fence or two men exchange greetings as they pass in the street, language is being used to strengthen the bonds between the members of society. Language, it seems, is a multipurpose instrument. One function, however, seems to be basic — language enables us to influence people's behaviour and thereby makes human co-operation possible. Some animals co-operate especially the social animals like bees and ants, but human co-operation is more thorough, more detailed, more effective than that found anywhere in the animal kingdom. The human co-operation would be unthinkable without language.
(b) For what purpose does a philosopher use language? - Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
It is clear that language is used for more than one purpose. The man who hits his thumb nails with a hammer and utters a string of curses is using language to relieve his feeling and needs no audience but himself. But when a philosopher uses language to clarify his ideas on a subject, he is using it as an instrument of thought. When two women gossip over the fence or two men exchange greetings as they pass in the street, language is being used to strengthen the bonds between the members of society. Language, it seems, is a multipurpose instrument. One function, however, seems to be basic — language enables us to influence people's behaviour and thereby makes human co-operation possible. Some animals co-operate especially the social animals like bees and ants, but human co-operation is more thorough, more detailed, more effective than that found anywhere in the animal kingdom. The human co-operation would be unthinkable without language.
(c) For what purpose do the two women and two men use language? - Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
It is clear that language is used for more than one purpose. The man who hits his thumb nails with a hammer and utters a string of curses is using language to relieve his feeling and needs no audience but himself. But when a philosopher uses language to clarify his ideas on a subject, he is using it as an instrument of thought. When two women gossip over the fence or two men exchange greetings as they pass in the street, language is being used to strengthen the bonds between the members of society. Language, it seems, is a multipurpose instrument. One function, however, seems to be basic — language enables us to influence people's behaviour and thereby makes human co-operation possible. Some animals co-operate especially the social animals like bees and ants, but human co-operation is more thorough, more detailed, more effective than that found anywhere in the animal kingdom. The human co-operation would be unthinkable without language.
(d) "Is language a multipurpose instrument?" Answer it on the basis of the given paragraph. - Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
It is clear that language is used for more than one purpose. The man who hits his thumb nails with a hammer and utters a string of curses is using language to relieve his feeling and needs no audience but himself. But when a philosopher uses language to clarify his ideas on a subject, he is using it as an instrument of thought. When two women gossip over the fence or two men exchange greetings as they pass in the street, language is being used to strengthen the bonds between the members of society. Language, it seems, is a multipurpose instrument. One function, however, seems to be basic — language enables us to influence people's behaviour and thereby makes human co-operation possible. Some animals co-operate especially the social animals like bees and ants, but human co-operation is more thorough, more detailed, more effective than that found anywhere in the animal kingdom. The human co-operation would be unthinkable without language.
(i) Find out the word from the passage which means 'Speaks'.
(ii) Which word in the passage means 'Powerful' or 'Successful'?
(iii) Which word in the passage is the opposite of 'Aggravate'?
View More Questions
Top UP Board XII Central Idea Questions
- Write the central idea of any one of the following poems:
My Mother at Sixty-six - Write the central idea of any one of the following poems:
A Thing of Beauty - Write the central idea of any one of the following poems:
Keeping Quiet - Write the central idea of the following poems:
My Mother at Sixty-Six - Write the central idea of the following poems:
A Thing of Beauty
View More Questions
Top UP Board XII Questions
- In which one of the following States of India is the density of population the highest?
- Which one of the following States of India has the largest urban population?
- Which one of the following States is not related to the production of mineral oil?
- Which one of the following sea ports is located on the eastern coast of India?
- What is meant by ‘Humanisation of Nature’?
View More Questions