EnglishCBSE Class 12 · Chapter 1

My Mother at Sixty-six Class 12: Explanation, Themes and Board Answers

Updated 14 October 2026 · Fact-checked

My Mother at Sixty-six by Kamala Das, from Flamingo, describes the poet driving her ageing mother to Cochin airport. Seeing her mother's pale, deathlike face, she feels the old childhood fear of losing her, but hides it and only smiles. The board tests it through poetry extracts (Q7), 40-50 word short answers and 120-150 word long answers.

What My Mother at Sixty-six is about

My Mother at Sixty-six by Kamala Das is a short poem, written as a single sentence broken only by commas, which follows one thread of thought interrupted by glimpses of the world outside.

The poet is driving from her parents' home to Cochin with her sixty-six-year-old mother beside her. The mother dozes with her mouth open, her face ashen like that of a corpse, and the poet realises with pain that she is truly old. She looks away at young trees sprinting and merry children spilling out of their homes. At the airport, after the security check, she looks back at her mother, pale as a late winter's moon, and feels her childhood's fear of losing her. But she only says 'see you soon, Amma' and smiles.

What the board asks: a poetry extract with six 1-mark parts (Q7); 40-50 word answers on the pain and ache, the sprinting trees, the merry children, the late winter's moon, and the parting words and smile; and 120-150 word answers on ageing parents, the fear of separation or the poem's contrasts.

Weightage: Section C (Literature) carries 40 of the 80 theory marks; Flamingo is tested through a Flamingo poetry extract (6 x 1), five of six short answers from Flamingo (5 x 2) and one of two long answers (5).Source: CBSE English Core (301) syllabus and sample paper 2026-27

In real board papers: asked in 2 of the 2 board papers we hold (2026 to 2026), on average 5.5 marks per paper. See the questions

My Mother at Sixty-six: explanation

In our own words, in the order of the text. Read the NCERT text itself too: the board quotes from it.

Lines 1-7: The poet is driving from her parents' home to Cochin on a Friday morning, with her mother sitting beside her. The mother has fallen asleep with her mouth open. Her face looks grey and lifeless, like that of a dead body. Seeing this, the poet suddenly realises, with pain, that her mother has really grown old; she is as old as she looks. The comparison with a corpse hints at the poet's fear that her mother may not live much longer.

Lines 7-9: The thought is so painful that the poet pushes it away and looks out of the car window. She sees young trees that seem to be racing past as the car moves, and cheerful children rushing out of their homes. These images of youth, energy and life stand in sharp contrast to the tired, ageing mother inside the car. The poet is trying to distract herself from her sad thoughts.

Lines 9-13: At the airport, after the security check, the poet stands a few yards away and looks at her mother again. Her mother looks colourless and pale, like the moon at the end of winter, which is dim and fading. The poet feels a familiar ache: the fear she had as a child of losing her mother.

Lines 13-14: Yet she does not express her feelings. All she says is 'see you soon, Amma', and all she does is smile and smile. The repeated smile hides her fear and sadness, and reassures her mother. The words 'see you soon' carry the hope of meeting again and the unspoken fear that this may not happen.

The poem is one long sentence, which mirrors the continuous flow of the poet's thoughts and feelings during the drive and the parting.

Themes and message

Ageing and mortality

The poem confronts the reality that parents grow old and will one day die. The poet's comparisons of her mother's face to a corpse and to a late winter's moon express this fear.

From the text: 'her face ashen like that of a corpse'

Fear of separation and loss

The poet's 'childhood's fear' of losing her mother returns as an adult. The parting at the airport becomes a reminder of the final separation.

From the text: 'felt that old familiar ache, my childhood's fear'

Hiding emotions

The poet does not share her pain; she smiles to reassure her mother. The repeated 'smile' shows how hard it is to keep feelings hidden.

From the text: 'all I did was smile and smile and smile'

Contrast between youth and age

Images of sprinting trees and merry children outside contrast with the old, tired mother inside, deepening the sense of the mother's decline.

From the text: 'Young / Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling / out of their homes'

The speaker and the people in the poem

The poet (speaker)

A daughter driving her ageing mother to the airport.

Loving and sensitive
Afraid of losing her mother
Tries to suppress painful thoughts
Hides her emotions behind a smile

She realises 'with pain' that her mother is old, puts the thought away, and finally only smiles.

The mother

The poet's sixty-six-year-old mother.

Old, frail and tired
Pale and colourless

She dozes open-mouthed, ashen like a corpse; 'wan, pale as a late winter's moon'.

Poetic devices

Device	Example	Effect
Simile	'her face ashen like that of a corpse'; 'pale as a late winter's moon'	Shows the mother's lifeless look and the poet's fear of her death.
Contrast	Sprinting trees and merry children vs the dozing, ageing mother.	Highlights youth and life against age and decline.
Personification	'Young / Trees sprinting'	Gives the trees the energy of youth; they seem to run past the car.
Repetition	'smile and smile and smile'	Shows the effort of hiding sadness behind a forced smile.
Single-sentence structure	The whole poem is one sentence punctuated by commas.	Mirrors an unbroken flow of thought and feeling.

Key quotations

Short lines worth knowing by heart: who says them, when, and why they matter.

her face ashen like that of a corpse
Poet: Seeing her mother asleep in the car.
The poet's fear of her mother's death.
pale as a late winter’s moon
Poet: Looking at her mother at the airport.
The mother's fading strength, like a dim moon at winter's end.
that old familiar ache, my childhood’s fear
Poet: At the moment of parting.
The fear of losing her mother returns from childhood.
all I did was smile and smile and smile
Poet: Her farewell.
She hides her pain to keep her mother cheerful.

My Mother at Sixty-six in real life

Each concept, met in an everyday situation. Read the situation, answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Hiding emotions at parting

Suppose you are leaving home for a hostel and your grandfather, who is unwell, comes to see you off at the station.

How might you behave like the poet, and why? Answer in 40-50 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Feel fear for his health.
Hide it with a smile to avoid upsetting him.
Say 'see you soon'.

Answer: Like the poet, I might feel afraid for my grandfather's health but hide it behind a smile and a cheerful 'see you soon', so that he does not worry. The smile protects him, though the fear remains inside me.

Memory hook: A brave smile can hide a heavy heart.

Noticing a parent's ageing

Imagine coming home after a year abroad and noticing that your mother has many more grey hairs and tires easily.

Which moment in the poem does this mirror?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

The poet suddenly sees her mother's age in the car.
Realisation comes with pain.

Answer: It mirrors the poet's sudden, painful realisation in the car that her mother is 'as old as she looked'.

Memory hook: Parents age while we look away.

Duty to the elderly

Suppose an elderly neighbour lives alone because her children work in other cities.

What does the poem suggest such families should do?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

The poet leaves her mother with only a smile.
Elderly parents need time and care.

Answer: The poem suggests that children should express love and give time and care to ageing parents, not just say goodbye.

Memory hook: Visit often; say it now.

Topics in this chapter

Images and Contrasts in My Mother at Sixty-six

How the board asks My Mother at Sixty-six

The question patterns to expect, and the method that works for each.

Question type	How it is asked	Method
Poetry extract (Q7, 6 x 1)	Either half of the poem, with questions on similes, word meanings, the speaker's feelings and the significance of the smile.	Name the device precisely (simile vs metaphor) and link each image to the fear of loss.
Short answer (Q10, 40-50 words)	Pain and ache; sprinting trees; merry children; late winter's moon; parting words and smile.	Explain the image and say what it shows about the mother or the poet's feelings.
Long answer (Q12, 120-150 words)	Theme of ageing parents and children's duty; contrast in the poem; fear of separation.	Use the images in order and extend to the care of the elderly today.

Tricks to remember My Mother at Sixty-six

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

Two similes of age
Corpse (in the car) and late winter's moon (at the airport): both pale, both fading.
Use it when: Device questions.
Inside vs outside
Inside the car: old mother. Outside: young trees, merry children.
Use it when: Contrast questions.
The ending
Said: 'see you soon, Amma'. Did: smile ×3. Felt: childhood's fear.
Use it when: Explaining the last lines.

My Mother at Sixty-six: extract-based questions

Read the extract, answer every part on paper, then open the answers.

Extract 1: In the car

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

(1) · 1 mark · MCQ
Where was the poet driving to?
(a) Kolkata (b) Cochin (c) Chennai (d) Kozhikode
(2) · 1 mark · Very short answer
What was the mother doing during the drive?
(3) · 1 mark · MCQ
Identify the figure of speech in 'her face ashen like that of a corpse'.
(a) Metaphor (b) Simile (c) Personification (d) Alliteration
(4) · 1 mark · Very short answer
The poet then 'realised with / pain / that she was as old as she / looked'. What did the poet realise 'with pain'?
(5) · 1 mark · Very short answer
Why did the poet 'put that thought away'?
(6) · 1 mark · MCQ
The word 'ashen' suggests the mother's face was:
(a) bright (b) grey and lifeless (c) angry (d) wrinkled

Show the answersAnswers

(b) Cochin
She was dozing with her mouth open.
(b) Simile
That her mother was as old as she looked and might not live much longer.
Because the thought of her mother's ageing and death was too painful.
(b) grey and lifeless

Extract 2: At the airport

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,

(1) · 1 mark · Very short answer
Just before this, the poet passes the airport's security check. Where was the poet standing when she looked at her mother again?
(2) · 1 mark · Very short answer
Why is the mother compared to a 'late winter's moon'?
(3) · 1 mark · Very short answer
What was the poet's 'childhood's fear'?
(4) · 1 mark · MCQ
'wan' means:
(a) cheerful (b) colourless and pale (c) angry (d) tall
(5) · 1 mark · MCQ
The stanza ends: 'all I did was smile and smile and smile'. The repetition in 'smile and smile and smile' shows that the poet:
(a) was very happy (b) was hiding her sorrow (c) was joking (d) was tired of her mother
(6) · 1 mark · Very short answer
What do the words 'see you soon, Amma' suggest?

Show the answersAnswers

A few yards away, after the airport's security check.
Like the dim, fading moon at winter's end, she looked pale, weak and near the end of her life.
The fear of losing her mother.
(b) colourless and pale
(b) was hiding her sorrow
Hope of meeting again and reassurance to her mother, while hiding the fear that they might not meet again.

My Mother at Sixty-six: board-level solved questions

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Cover the solution, write your own, then compare step by step.

Example 1: Pain and ache · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level

What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels? Answer in 40-50 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Realisation of mother's old age.
Fear of losing her.
Childhood fear returns.

Answer: The poet feels the pain of realising that her mother has become very old and frail, her face like a corpse's. The ache is her old childhood fear of losing her mother, which returns at the moment of parting, mixed with helplessness at the approach of death.

Example 2: Sprinting trees · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level

Why are the young trees described as 'sprinting'? Answer in 40-50 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Seen from a moving car, they seem to run backwards.
They symbolise youth and energy.
Contrast with mother.

Answer: From the moving car the trees seem to run past swiftly, as in a race. 'Sprinting' also suggests youth, energy and life. The young, lively trees contrast with the old, tired mother beside the poet, sharpening her sense of her mother's decline.

Example 3: Merry children · 2 marks · Short answerHarder board level

Why has the poet brought in the image of merry children 'spilling out of their homes'? Answer in 40-50 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Life, joy, youth.
Contrast with mother's old age.
Poet's attempt to distract herself.

Answer: The cheerful children rushing out of their homes stand for youth, energy and the beginning of life. They contrast with her ageing mother, who is near the end of life. The poet looks at them to push away her painful thought, but the contrast only deepens it.

Example 4: The smile · 2 marks · Short answerHarder board level

What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify? Answer in 40-50 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Hide fear.
Reassure mother.
Hope of meeting again.

Answer: 'See you soon, Amma' and the repeated smile show that the poet hides her fear and sadness to reassure her mother. The words express hope that they will meet again, while the forced, repeated smile reveals how hard it is for her to hold back her pain.

Example 5: Ageing parents · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

'My Mother at Sixty-six' captures the pain of watching a parent grow old. Discuss the poem's treatment of this theme and what it suggests about our duty towards elderly parents. Answer in 120-150 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Images of ageing: corpse, winter moon.
Contrast with youth outside.
Fear and suppressed emotion.
Our duty: time, care, expression of love.

Answer: Kamala Das shows the quiet shock of noticing that a parent has truly grown old. Her mother dozes with her mouth open, her face 'ashen like that of a corpse', and later looks 'pale as a late winter's moon'. Both images suggest a life nearing its end. Outside, sprinting trees and merry children show the energy of youth, making the mother's decline more painful.

The poet feels her childhood fear of losing her mother but hides it behind 'see you soon, Amma' and a repeated smile. She leaves her mother, as many busy children do, carrying the ache with her.

The poem reminds us that elderly parents need more than polite farewells. We should spend time with them, look after their health and tell them openly that we love them. Feelings left unsaid may become regrets when it is too late.

Where the marks are

How a typical answer is marked: the value points the examiner looks for and the marks each earns.

Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children? (40-50 words, 2 marks) (2 marks)

Step	Marks
Children symbolise youth, life and energy.	1
Contrast with the ageing mother / attempt to distract herself; within word limit.	1

Long answer on ageing parents (120-150 words, 5 marks) (5 marks)

Step	Marks
Images and feelings from the poem.	2
Extrapolation: duty towards elderly parents.	1
Organisation.	1
Accuracy.	1

Where students lose marks in My Mother at Sixty-six

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

Mistake: Calling 'pale as a late winter's moon' a metaphor
Do this: It uses 'as', so it is a simile.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Saying the poet is flying away and the mother is dropping her
Do this: The poet is driving from her parents' home to Cochin; at the airport the poet looks back at her mother after the security check.
Usually costs: Accuracy.
Mistake: Interpreting the smile as happiness
Do this: The repeated smile hides sorrow and fear and reassures the mother.
Usually costs: 1-2 marks.
Mistake: Writing the stanza explanation as a summary of events only
Do this: Explain the images and feelings: fear of death, contrast, suppressed emotion.
Usually costs: Depth in long answers.

My Mother at Sixty-six: previous year questions

Asked in 2 of the 2 board papers we hold (2026 to 2026), on average 5.5 marks per paper; 2 questions in all, counting OR alternatives. In 1 of 3 sample papers.

Counted from the real papers on our previous year papers page, not estimated. Average marks are over every board paper we hold, with an OR pair counted once. Chapter tags are ours.

Every My Mother at Sixty-six question, by year

2026

Set 301/1/1: Q12(B) (5 marks)

Set 301/5/1: Q7(a) (6 marks)

For 2024

Sample paper 2023-24: Q7(B) (6 marks)

Practice questions on My Mother at Sixty-six

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
The whole poem 'My Mother at Sixty-six' is written as:
(a) four stanzas (b) a single sentence (c) a sonnet (d) a dialogue
Hint
Commas only.
Answer
(b) a single sentence
Q2 · 1 mark · Very short answerBoard level
How old is the poet's mother?
Hint
Title.
Answer
Sixty-six.
Q3 · 2 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Why has the mother been compared to the 'late winter's moon'? Answer in 40-50 words.
Hint
Dim, fading.
Answer
The moon at the end of winter looks dim, pale and without warmth. Similarly, the old mother looks colourless and weak, her energy fading. Winter's end also suggests the end of a cycle, hinting at the mother's approaching death and the poet's fear of it.
Q4 · 2 marks · Short answerHarder board level
What contrasts does the poet use in the poem, and why? Answer in 40-50 words.
Hint
Inside vs outside the car.
Answer
The poet contrasts her dozing, corpse-like mother inside the car with the sprinting young trees and merry children outside. Youth and energy are set against age and decline, which makes the reality of her mother's ageing and the fear of losing her more striking.
Q5 · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
Imagine you are the poet. Write a diary entry about the drive to Cochin airport and your feelings. Answer in 120-150 words.
Hint
Corpse-like face, trees, airport, smile.
Answer
Today I drove Amma from home to the Cochin airport. On the way she fell asleep beside me, her mouth open, her face grey and still like a corpse. With a sudden pain I understood that she has really grown old. I could not bear the thought, so I looked out at the young trees rushing past and the children running happily out of their houses. They were so full of life, and Amma so tired.
At the airport, after the security check, I turned to look at her. She seemed so pale, like the faint moon at the end of winter, and the old fear I had as a little girl, of losing her, gripped me again. I wanted to say so much, but I only said, 'See you soon, Amma,' and kept smiling. I hope I see her again very soon.
Q6 · 2 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Why does the poet 'put that thought away' and look out of the window? What does this reveal about her? Answer in 40-50 words.
Hint
Escape from a painful truth.
Answer
The thought that her mother is old and close to death is too painful, so the poet distracts herself by looking at the trees and children outside. It reveals her deep love for her mother and her very human wish to escape an unbearable truth.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1.Who wrote 'My Mother at Sixty-six'?Show answer
Kamala Das.
2.Where were the poet and her mother going?Show answer
From her parents' home to Cochin airport.
3.What is the mother's face compared to in the car?Show answer
A corpse (ashen like that of a corpse).
4.What is the mother compared to at the airport?Show answer
A late winter's moon.
5.What does 'wan' mean?Show answer
Colourless, pale.
6.What is the poet's childhood fear?Show answer
The fear of losing her mother.
7.What were her parting words?Show answer
'See you soon, Amma.'

Quick revision checklist

The night before the exam: can you do each of these without looking?

Can you explain the poem line by line?
Can you name and explain both similes?
Can you explain the contrast of trees and children?
Can you explain the significance of the smile?
Can you explain why the poem is a single sentence?
Can you write 120-150 words on ageing parents?

My Mother at Sixty-six: frequently asked questions

What is the theme of My Mother at Sixty-six?

The pain of seeing a parent grow old, the fear of losing her, and the way we hide such feelings.

Why is the poem written as one sentence?

To show a single continuous thread of thought, interrupted by observations of the outside world.

What does 'sprinting' mean in the poem?

Running a short fast race; the trees seem to rush past the moving car.

Why does the poet smile at the end?

To hide her sadness and fear and to reassure her mother at the parting.

Based on: CBSE English Core (301) syllabus 2026-27; NCERT Flamingo, Textbook in English for Class XII (Reprint 2026-27)