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NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Flamingo Chapter 1 Poem: My Mother at Sixty-Six

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Class 12 English Chapter 1 - My Mother at Sixty-Six: Question and Answer (FREE PDF Download)

Class 12 students can access all the NCERT solutions for English Flamingo Poem 1, My Mother at Sixty Six by Kamala Das. Poetry is a complex subject that requires in-depth analysis and thinking ability. Many students usually find it hard to crack the hidden meaning behind this English poem. Students can download the FREE PDF created by Vedantu's NCERT subject experts for a complete and comprehensive understanding of the chapter, which is put into simple and easy terms to understand while still retaining the theme, tone, and message of the poem.

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Table of Content
1. Class 12 English Chapter 1 - My Mother at Sixty-Six: Question and Answer (FREE PDF Download)
2. Glance on NCERT Class 12 Chapter 1 - My Mother at Sixty-Six
3. Access NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Poem - My Mother at Sixty-Six
4. Before You Read:
    4.1Think it Out
5. Benefits of Studying NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Flamingo - My Mother at Sixty-Six 
6. Conclusion
7. Related Links for Class 12 English Flamingo Chapter 1 - My Mother at Sixty-Six (Poem)
8. Chapter-wise Links: NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Flamingo (Prose)
9. Chapter-wise NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English (Flamingo - Poem)
10. Important Related Links for CBSE Class 12 English
FAQs


Glance on NCERT Class 12 Chapter 1 - My Mother at Sixty-Six

  • The Class 12 English Flamingo textbook offers a wide array of poetry. These poems are often extracted from renowned and well-known authors and can sometimes be presented in language that might not be very easy to understand.

  • My Mother at Sixty-Six is a poem by Kamala Das that highlights the relationship and love between the author and her mother as she leaves her hometown.

  • She describes using various figures of speech, her mother’s dull and old look, almost as though she is a corpse.

  • While driving to the airport, she looks out the window to see trees and children playing. She is instantly reminded about her younger self and how her mother used to be young and beautiful.

  • Now, the author’s mother has grown quite old and will soon take her last breath as she grows older and older.

  • The poem highlights the circle of life, how people are born, followed by their adolescence and early years when they dream, and eventually grow old and die.


Access the NCERT Solutions to English Class 12 Chapter 1, My Mother at Sixty Six Questions and Answers here on Vedantu.

Access NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Poem - My Mother at Sixty-Six

Before You Read:

1. Ageing is a Natural Process; Have You Ever Thought About What Our Elderly Parents Expect from Us?

Ans: Old age is often considered parallel to loneliness. They lack the company of people of their age as well as young individuals along with the physical inabilities that old age has. They often end up developing pessimistic approaches towards life which can be shunned only if we provide them with love, care, importance, and empathy. Small moments of happiness will encourage them to live their lives enthusiastically.


Think it Out

1. What is the Kind of Pain and Ache That the Poet Feels?

Ans: While leaving her parent's home the poet's eyes fell on her mother's pallid face. For the poet, the 'ashen' face of her mother, which was also deprived of all its vitality and color, bore resemblance to a corpse. She realized that over the past decades her mother had grown old and was nearing her death. Such thoughts make her nostalgic and she starts recollecting fragments of her childhood memories from the underlying fear of losing her. The idea of staying away from her mother deeply distressed her. Even the smile on her face was an expression of her helplessness, which was inevitable.


2. Why are the Young Trees Described as 'Sprinting'?

Ans: While driving to the airport the poet was worried about her mother. She was worried that she was getting older and approaching her end. She looks out from the window of the cab, to distract herself from the thoughts, at the young trees which almost appear to be sprinting. Viewing the trees from the moving cab created an illusion of them almost running past them. The sprinting of the trees symbolizes the pace at which time passes. We start as infants and in no time, with happy and bitter memories harbored in our hearts, we reach old age. This image, which shows activity and strength, is contrasted with that of her old and weak mother who seems dormant and is sleeping in the car. The 'young' trees represent life in contrast to her mother's approaching death.


3. Why has the Poet Brought in the Image of the Merry Children 'Spilling Out of Their Homes?

Ans: The poem brings forth the contrasting image of life and death in various instances. The merry children symbolize liveliness, happiness, beauty, and vigor, characteristics we tend to lose during old age. The children are enjoying their youthful age playing outdoors while the mother is inside the taxi, fast asleep because of tiredness. She is nearing her death and has become weak and withered. The poet has juxtaposed the two and has made the sharp contrast between them evident. Childhood is the beginning of our life journey on earth while old age is the end chapter of it.


4. Why has the Mother Been Compared to the 'Late Winter's Moon'?

Ans: With age, we as human beings tend to lose all the vitality and youthfulness that we had during youthful age. The simile ‘late winter moon’ indicates the approaching death and old age of the mother. With age, her face is filled with freckles, marks, and wrinkles and looks like the surface of the moon. Winter is the last season of the year and is characteristic of dormancy, laziness, and lifelessness, like old age. All these natural elements resemble her mother who has lost all her strength and beauty and looks 'wan' and 'pale' to the poet. The poet’s mother is gradually progressing to her end after being in the last stage of her journey on earth.


5. What Do the Parting Words of the Poet and Her Smile Signify?

Ans: The poet's parting words, "see you soon, Amma," states her heart’s keen desire and wish to see her mother again when she returns. She wants her to live more but her physical state says otherwise. This also signifies the regret she has in her heart for leaving her mother alone at such a delicate time in her life. Her inability to be physically present for her pinches her heart and she suppressed it with her smile. We all are helpless before nature. It expresses her love and concern for her mother along with the underlying pain and struggles that she was undergoing while coming to terms with this bitter realization.


Benefits of Studying NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Flamingo - My Mother at Sixty-Six 

Check out the salient features of the NCERT Solutions of My Mother at Sixty Six (Flamingo CBSE Class 12):


  • The solutions provided in the study material resolve the problems students face while studying NCERT English Poem, My Mother at Sixty Six. Many students perceive the poem as difficult and difficult to understand. Vedantu offers solutions, summaries and more in easy and simple-to-read language, which helps the students easily grasp the chapter.

  • Students preparing for the 12th board exam can score well after referring to the NCERT solutions Class 12 English Flamingo Chapter 1 poem.

  • The NCERT Solutions consist of all the very important questions from the examination point of view. 

  • The questions can be studied, and the answers can be referred to know how to answer during the exams. 

  • NCERT questions and answers are the guidebooks for the CBSE exam; thus, students can appropriately prepare from these notes. 

  • NCERT Solutions of this chapter will help the students practice more and more questions from this chapter, which will eventually help them score great marks on their English exams. 

  • NCERT Solutions will help the students to know which are the most important questions from this chapter. 

  • The solutions are provided by top professionals and subject matter experts here at Vedantu who have years of experience in dealing with the NCERT and CBSE syllabus.

  • NCERT Solutions for Class 12 My Mother at Sixty Six Question Answers are FREE to download in PDF format. This means you can study anywhere and anytime.


Conclusion

The NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Chapter 1 - My Mother at Sixty Six Question Answers offers comprehensive and complete answers to all the textbook NCERT questions. The solutions are offered and written by top experts at Vedantu who have years of experience dealing with the NCERT syllabus, ensuring the solutions' accuracy.


Related Links for Class 12 English Flamingo Chapter 1 - My Mother at Sixty-Six (Poem)

S.No.

Important Links for Class 12 English Flamingo Chapter 1 - My Mother at Sixty-Six (Poem)

1

Chapter 1 - My Mother at Sixty-Six (Poem) Notes

2

Chapter 1 - My Mother at Sixty-Six (Poem) Important Questions


Chapter-wise Links: NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Flamingo (Prose)



Chapter-wise NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English (Flamingo - Poem)



Important Related Links for CBSE Class 12 English

FAQs on NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Flamingo Chapter 1 Poem: My Mother at Sixty-Six

1. What kind of pain was the poet feeling while departing?

When the poet was leaving home, seeing her mother's pallid face filled her with a lot of pain. According to the poet, the 'ashen' face of her mother. It was similar to a corpse in the poet's view that makes it painful for her. Thus, she realises that her mother grew old and is getting near to death. Further, such painful thoughts make her remember the fear and the grief she felt of not having her mother around in childhood. Her smile also was a sign of how powerless she was to handle the inevitable reality. All these views increased her sadness of going away from her mother.

2. Describe the comparison made between the mother's face and 'the Late Winter's Moon'.

In the poem, the poet compared her mother's face with the late winter's moon as her face was losing its radiance. Here, the mother is seen as the late winter's moon because the moon turns dim, dull, and gloomy during this time of the year. Similarly, the mother's face is looking withered. The pale face of the mother signifies the ebbing of life, according to the poet. Hence, the moon actually is giving an impression of the nearing end.

3. Please elaborate on the main theme of the poem, My Mother at Sixty Six.

My Mother at Sixty Six by Kamala Das is a sentimental piece of poetry written in a single sentence. Depicting her love, the attachment, along with the pain of separation from her ageing mother, the poem beautifully paints her emotions using powerful imagery and metaphors. My Mother at Sixty Six is the best possible elaboration of the bond between a mother and her daughter. A better elaboration could be obtained on the Vedantu website as well as Vedantu mobile app. These resources provided by Vedantu are free of cost.

4. What is the significance of the poet’s parting words to her mother?

Kamala Das' parting words to her mother in the poem My Mother at Sixty Six, signify assurance. Her smile provides readers with a strong contrast with the fear she found familiar in her childhood. Her wordings and gestures are an intentional effort to conceal her true feelings. In reality, she is desperately trying to get over her fear regarding her mother’s fragile health going downhill, which may even up separating them from one another.

5. Explain the contrast in the image of merry children in the poem My Mother at Sixty Six? 

The idea of merry children in the poem My Mother at Sixty Six is actually a symbol for the youth of life, the energy, vibrance and jolly outlook. This image is the direct opposite of the frail and ageing description of the poet's mother. At the same time, it is also important to understand the path of growing old, a phenomenon usually related to decay. There is a spontaneous flow of life as shown by the children, much in contrast to the passive life of the poet's mother.

6. What helped Kamala Das put away the thought of her mother’s old age? 

The poet looked out through the window of the car in order to temporarily let go of the pain and sorrow she experienced just by looking at the greying face of her ageing mother. Outside, the world was overflowing with life and hustle. The image of young trees sprinting and frolicking children running out of the houses to play diverted her mind from the saddening thoughts of separation from her mother.

7. What are the poet's childhood fears? How do they resurface as she goes to the airport? 

Every child fears losing their parents and suffers insecurity. Similarly, perhaps the poet Kamala Das also had the fear of losing her mother suddenly or getting separated from her in some way or another.


As she goes to the airport, Das realises that her mother has gotten old, her healthy face has turned grey, and the poet’s childhood fear of separation and loss surfaces again.

8. Where can I Download the FREE PDF for English Class 12 Chapter 1, My Mother at Sixty Six questions and answers?

You can access the FREE PDF Download for English Class 12 Chapter 1 at Vedantu. You can use this to study anywhere and anytime on the go.

9. Are the solutions to My Mother at Sixty Six Questions and Answers accurate?

These solutions are vetted and curated by top professionals in the field who hold years of experience in dealing with the NCERT Syllabus. This ensures the accuracy of these solutions. Rest assured, these solutions are the road to success in your examinations.