EnglishCBSE Class 9 · Chapter 4

I Cannot Remember My Mother Class 9: Explanation and Questions

Updated 15 October 2026 · Fact-checked

I Cannot Remember My Mother by Rabindranath Tagore, the poem in Kaveri Unit 4, is spoken by someone who lost his mother too young to remember her face. Yet he feels her presence through a hummed tune, the scent of shiuli flowers and the stillness of the sky. Memory lives in the senses, not in pictures.

What I Cannot Remember My Mother is about

I Cannot Remember My Mother is a short, tender poem by Rabindranath Tagore, printed in Unit 4 of Kaveri, a unit on family and memory. It has three stanzas, each beginning with the refrain 'I cannot remember my mother'. In each, the speaker admits he cannot recall her, and then describes a moment in which she seems present: a tune hovering over his playthings (sound), the scent of shiuli flowers and the temple's morning service (smell), and the stillness of the distant blue sky (sight). The poem has no rhyme scheme; its music comes from repetition and gentle rhythm.

The textbook asks students to identify the senses in each stanza, the alliteration, onomatopoeia, imagery, tone, the effect of the title and refrain, and the symbols. In the R1 paper, a poetry extract (Q11, 5 marks), a 2-mark short answer (40-50 words) or a 5-mark long answer (120-150 words) may come from it.

Weightage: Class 9 English is a school examination of 80 marks, but CBSE prescribes the paper design. Section C (Literature, 30 marks) in R1: one prose/drama extract and one poetry extract (5 marks each), five of six short answers (40-50 words, 2 marks each) and two long answers (about 120-150 words, 5 marks each). R2 has three extracts, five of seven short answers and one long answer.Source: CBSE English Language syllabus, Class IX 2026-27, Question Paper Design R1 and R2

I Cannot Remember My Mother: explanation

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

Stanza 1: the tune (hearing). The speaker says he cannot remember his mother. But sometimes, in the middle of his play, a tune seems to 'hover' over his toys: the tune of a song she used to hum while rocking his cradle. He does not remember her face, but some part of him remembers her voice. The setting is indoors, at play.

Stanza 2: the scent (smell). Again he says he cannot remember her. But in the early autumn morning, when the smell of shiuli flowers (coral jasmine) floats in the air, the scent of the morning service in the temple comes to him as the scent of his mother. Flowers, worship and mother blend into one fragrance. The setting is outdoors.

Stanza 3: the gaze (sight). He repeats that he cannot remember her. But when he looks out of his bedroom window into 'the blue of the distant sky', he feels that the stillness of his mother's gaze on his face has spread all over the sky. Her loving, calm look now seems as vast and constant as the sky. The setting moves from the room to the sky.

Central idea: A child who lost his mother too early to remember her still feels her presence through sound, smell and sight. Love leaves traces deeper than conscious memory. The poem moves from small things (toys, a cradle song) to the vast sky, suggesting that the mother's presence surrounds the speaker everywhere.

Themes and message

Memory through the senses

The speaker has no clear picture of his mother, yet each stanza recalls her through a sense: a hummed tune, a fragrance, a still gaze. The poem suggests that some memories live in the senses and feelings rather than in images.

From the text: 'a tune seems to hover over my playthings' and 'comes to me as the scent of my mother'

A mother's love as an abiding presence

Though she is absent, her presence is everywhere: in play, in autumn mornings, in the sky. The last stanza widens her gaze to fill the whole sky, a sign that her love surrounds and protects him.

From the text: 'the stillness of / my mother's gaze on my face / has spread all over the sky.'

Loss and longing

The refrain 'I cannot remember my mother' admits a painful gap. The repeated admission creates a quiet sadness and longing. Yet each stanza turns this sadness into comfort through a sensory memory.

From the text: The refrain at the start of all three stanzas.

Nature, worship and the mother

The shiuli flowers, the autumn morning, the temple service and the sky link the mother with nature and the sacred. The mother becomes part of the natural and spiritual world around the child.

From the text: 'the smell of the shiuli flowers floats in the air' and 'the scent of the morning service in the temple'

The speaker and the people in the poem

The speaker

A child (or adult looking back) who lost his mother very young.

Sensitive: notices tunes, scents and the sky
Honest: admits he cannot remember her
Longing and tender: feels her presence everywhere
Imaginative: sees her gaze spread across the sky

'I cannot remember my mother'; 'I send / my eyes into the blue of the distant sky'.

The mother (remembered through senses)

The absent mother, present in sound, scent and sight.

Loving and nurturing: hummed while rocking the cradle
Calm and protective: her still gaze
Linked with purity and worship: shiuli and temple

'hum while rocking my cradle'; 'the stillness of / my mother's gaze'.

Poetic devices

Device	Example	Effect
Refrain	'I cannot remember my mother' (opening line of each stanza)	Stresses the loss and gives structure; each stanza then contradicts it by showing a sensory memory.
Sensory imagery	Auditory: 'the tune of some song'; olfactory: 'the smell of the shiuli flowers'; visual: 'the blue of the distant sky'	Each stanza appeals to a different sense, showing how memory survives through the body and feelings.
Onomatopoeia	'hum'	The word sounds like the gentle tune, bringing the lullaby alive.
Alliteration	'my mother'; 'some song'; 'send / my eyes'	Soft repeated sounds create a gentle, musical tone.
Symbolism	Tune, shiuli flowers, temple service, sky	Each stands for the mother's presence: her voice, purity, sacredness and vast, steady love.
Hyperbole and personification	her gaze 'has spread all over the sky'; a tune that 'seems to hover'	Gives the mother's love a vastness and the tune a life of its own.
Free verse	No rhyme scheme; lines of varying length	Sounds like quiet, natural reflection; its music comes from repetition and rhythm.

Key quotations

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

I cannot remember my mother
Speaker: The refrain at the start of each stanza.
States the loss that the rest of each stanza softens.
a tune seems to hover over my playthings
Speaker: Stanza 1, during play.
Her lullaby lingers as a felt presence.
the scent of the morning service in the temple
Speaker: Stanza 2, on an autumn morning.
Links the mother with worship and sacred fragrance.
has spread all over the sky
Speaker: The last line.
Her gaze becomes as vast and constant as the sky.

I Cannot Remember My Mother 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.

Sensory memory

Suppose the smell of a particular incense suddenly makes you feel close to a grandparent who passed away.

How does the poem explain this experience? Answer in 40-50 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Stanza 2: scent brings the mother.
Smell triggers emotional memory.
Love stored in the senses.

Answer: In the poem, the scent of shiuli flowers and the temple service 'comes to me as the scent of my mother'. Like the speaker, I feel my grandparent through smell. The poem shows that the senses can carry love and memory even when clear pictures fade.

Memory hook: A scent can open a door to someone you love.

Presence in absence

Imagine your mother is working abroad for a year, and you miss her during your exams.

How could the poem's last stanza comfort you? Answer in 40-50 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Her gaze 'has spread all over the sky'.
Same sky over both of you.
Love is not limited by distance.

Answer: The poet feels his mother's gaze 'spread all over the sky'. When I miss my mother, I can remember that the same sky stretches over both of us. Her love is with me even across the distance, so I can study calmly.

Memory hook: One sky, one love.

Lullabies and early bonds

Suppose your aunt hums the same tune every night to her baby.

According to the poem, why might this matter for the child years later? Answer in 40-50 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Tune hummed while rocking the cradle.
It hovers in the speaker's mind years later.
Builds lasting emotional security.

Answer: The poet still senses the tune his mother hummed while rocking his cradle. My aunt's lullaby may stay with her child in the same way, giving comfort and a sense of being loved long after the child forgets the actual moments.

Memory hook: Lullabies outlive memories.

Topics in this chapter

I Cannot Remember My Mother: Sound, Scent, Sight and the Refrain

How the school exam asks I Cannot Remember My Mother

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

Question type	How it is asked	Method
Poetry extract (Q11 in R1, 5 marks)	Stanza 1 or stanza 3 with parts on: when the speaker remembers his mother; what the hovering tune does (activates memories); true/false ('only occasionally'); how he feels her presence; what the sky symbolises; the emotion of 'stillness' (serenity); tone.	Note the word 'only sometimes'. For symbol questions, say the sky is a symbolic extension of her presence, not literal.
Short answer (Q12, 2 marks, 40-50 words)	The emotional impact of the refrain; the link between the mother and the shiuli flowers or the humming tune; the role of nature; the mother-child relationship.	Name the sense and the memory, then its emotional effect.
Long answer (Q13/Q14, 5 marks, 120-150 words)	How the poem uses the senses to recreate a lost mother; comparison with Vitamin-M on memory and family.	Go stanza by stanza (sound, smell, sight), then the refrain and the movement from toys to sky.
Writing task linked to the unit	A diary entry about a school trip that appealed to all your senses.	Day, date, time; first person; sensory details; emotions; reflection.

Tricks to remember I Cannot Remember My Mother

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

Hear, Smell, See
H-S-S: Hum (stanza 1), Shiuli (stanza 2), Sky (stanza 3).
Use it when: Recall the senses and order of stanzas.
Small to vast
Playthings → temple air → whole sky.
Use it when: Explain the poem's widening movement.
Shiuli = Parijat = Harsingar = coral jasmine
Four names, one night-blooming flower.
Use it when: Vocabulary and context questions.

I Cannot Remember My Mother: extract-based questions

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

Extract 1: The hovering tune

I cannot remember my mother
only sometimes in the midst of my play
a tune seems to hover over my playthings,
the tune of some song that she used to
hum while rocking my cradle.

(1) · 1 mark · MCQ
The poet is reminded of his mother during his:
(a) prayers
(b) play
(c) studies
(d) sleep
(2) · 1 mark · MCQ
The line 'a tune seems to hover over my playthings' mainly:
(a) enhances the joy of play
(b) disrupts the playtime
(c) activates memories of the mother
(d) shows carefree childhood
(3) · 1 mark · Very short answer
True or false: The poet experiences the tune only occasionally. Quote the word that shows it.
(4) · 1 mark · Very short answer
Pick out an example of onomatopoeia from the extract.
(5) · 1 mark · Short answer
How does the poet feel his mother's presence though she is not there?

Show the answersAnswers

(b) play
(c) activates memories of the mother
True; 'sometimes'.
'hum'
Through the lullaby she hummed while rocking his cradle, which still seems to linger around him.

Extract 2: Her gaze and the sky

I cannot remember my mother
only when from my bedroom window I send
my eyes into the blue of the distant sky,
I feel that the stillness of
my mother’s gaze on my face
has spread all over the sky.

(1) · 1 mark · MCQ
The poet suggests that:
(a) his mother's gaze is physically in the sky
(b) the sky is a symbolic extension of his mother's presence
(c) the sky is angry
(d) the stillness is unrelated to his mother
(2) · 1 mark · MCQ
The emotion linked with the 'stillness' of her gaze is:
(a) grief
(b) anticipation
(c) nostalgia
(d) serenity
(3) · 1 mark · Very short answer
Which sense does this stanza appeal to?
(4) · 1 mark · Short answer
What is the purpose of likening the mother's gaze to the sky?
(5) · 1 mark · Very short answer
What does 'I send / my eyes' mean?

Show the answersAnswers

(b) the sky is a symbolic extension of his mother's presence
(d) serenity
Sight (visual).
To show that her calm, loving presence is vast, constant and all around him, like the sky.
He looks far out, gazing deeply into the distance.

I Cannot Remember My Mother: exam-level solved questions

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

Example 1: The refrain · 2 marks · Short answerExam level

What is the emotional impact of the refrain 'I cannot remember my mother'? Answer in 40-50 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Repeated admission of loss: sadness, longing.
Each stanza then shows a memory through the senses.
Sadness turns into comfort.

Answer: The refrain repeats the painful truth that the speaker has no clear memory of his mother, creating sadness and longing. But each stanza then reveals her presence through a tune, a scent or the sky, so the refrain's sadness slowly turns into comfort and reassurance.

Example 2: Shiuli flowers · 2 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

Interpret the connection between the poet's mother and the shiuli flowers. Answer in 40-50 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Autumn morning fragrance.
Mixes with the temple service.
Scent becomes her scent: purity, devotion.

Answer: On early autumn mornings, the fragrance of shiuli flowers mixes with the scent of the temple's morning service, and to the poet it becomes the scent of his mother. The flowers suggest her purity, gentleness and devotion, keeping her alive through his sense of smell.

Example 3: Nature and memory · 2 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

What role does nature play in the poet's memory of his mother? Answer in 40-50 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Shiuli flowers, autumn morning, sky.
Nature carries her presence.
Moves from small to vast.

Answer: Nature keeps the mother alive for the poet. The shiuli flowers of autumn bring her scent, and the distant blue sky holds the stillness of her gaze. Nature becomes a vessel of her love, spreading it from small moments to the whole sky.

Example 4: Senses recreate a lost mother · 5 marks · Long answerHarder exam level

How does Tagore use the senses to recreate the presence of a mother the speaker cannot remember? Answer in about 120-150 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Refrain: no conscious memory.
Stanza 1: sound (lullaby).
Stanza 2: smell (shiuli, temple).
Stanza 3: sight (sky, gaze).
Movement small to vast; conclusion.

Answer: Each stanza of Tagore's poem begins with the admission 'I cannot remember my mother', yet each recreates her through a different sense. In the first, the speaker hears a tune that seems to 'hover' over his playthings, the song she hummed while rocking his cradle. In the second, on an autumn morning, the smell of shiuli flowers and the temple's morning service 'comes to me as the scent of my mother'. In the third, looking from his window, he sees the 'blue of the distant sky' and feels the stillness of her gaze spread all over it. The images move from small toys to the vast sky, so her presence seems to grow until it surrounds him. Tagore suggests that love is remembered by the heart and senses, even when the mind has no picture.

Example 5: Two texts on memory · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

Compare how memory is presented in 'Vitamin-M' and 'I Cannot Remember My Mother'. Answer in about 120-150 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Vitamin-M: humour; doubts about an old man's memory, proved wrong.
Poem: tender; a child without memory of his mother.
Memory as facts vs. memory as feeling.
Both: family bonds outlast memory lapses.
Conclusion.

Answer: Both texts in Unit 4 explore memory within families, but in very different moods. 'Vitamin-M' is humorous. Ravi's mother thinks her father needs a memory vitamin, yet Grandpa remembers chess games and his birthday, while she forgets it. Memory there is about facts and dates, and the story mocks easy assumptions about the elderly. 'I Cannot Remember My Mother' is tender and serious. The speaker has no factual memory of his mother at all, yet he feels her through a hummed tune, the scent of shiuli and the stillness of the sky. Memory here is a feeling that lives in the senses. Together they suggest that what truly lasts in a family is love: Ravi's hug for his sleeping grandfather and the poet's sense of his mother's gaze.

Example 6: A sense-memory of your own · 2 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

Suppose you write a fourth stanza to the poem using the sense of touch. Write three or four lines in Tagore's style and explain them in 40-50 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Begin with the refrain.
A touch memory (soft shawl, cool hand).
Explain the link to love.

Answer: 'I cannot remember my mother / only when the winter wind is sharp / my grandmother's old shawl around me / feels like her arms.' The shawl's softness gives the comfort of a mother's embrace, as Tagore's tune and scent do, showing memory through touch.

Where the marks are

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

Interpret the connection between the poet's mother and the humming tune. Answer in 40-50 words. (2 marks)

Step	Marks
Content: she hummed it while rocking his cradle; it still seems to hover over his playthings; her love survives as sound.	1
Expression.	1

How does the poet use the senses to evoke his mother? (120-150 words) (5 marks)

Step	Marks
Content: refrain and stanza 1 (sound).	1
Content: stanza 2 (smell) and stanza 3 (sight).	1
Content: movement small to vast; conclusion.	1
Expression.	1
Accuracy.	1

Where students lose marks in I Cannot Remember My Mother

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

Mistake: Saying the speaker remembers his mother's face
Over-reading the last stanza.
Wrong working
He remembers his mother looking at him from the sky.
Right working
He cannot remember her, but feels the stillness of her gaze spread over the sky.
Do this: Keep the refrain in mind: he has no clear memory.
Usually costs: Content marks.
Mistake: Mixing up the senses
Not reading stanza by stanza.
Wrong working
Stanza 2 is about hearing the temple bells.
Right working
Stanza 2 is about smell: shiuli and the scent of the morning service.
Do this: Learn H-S-S.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Claiming a rhyme scheme
Assuming all poems rhyme.
Wrong working
Rhyme scheme ABAB.
Right working
Free verse; no rhyme scheme.
Do this: Check line endings.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Taking 'spread all over the sky' literally
Missing symbolism.
Wrong working
His mother's gaze is physically in the sky.
Right working
The sky is a symbolic extension of her calm, loving presence.
Do this: Say 'symbolises' or 'suggests'.
Usually costs: 1 mark.

Practice questions on I Cannot Remember My Mother

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 · MCQExam level
In which season does the speaker smell the shiuli flowers?
(a) spring
(b) summer
(c) early autumn
(d) winter
Hint
Stanza 2.
Answer
(c) early autumn
Q2 · 1 mark · Very short answerExam level
Complete the table: Stanza 1 – sense ____; Stanza 2 – sense ____; Stanza 3 – sense ____.
Hint
Tune, scent, sky.
Answer
auditory (hearing); olfactory (smell); visual (sight)
Q3 · 2 marks · Short answerExam level
What does the humming tune tell us about the mother? Answer in 40-50 words.
Hint
Cradle.
Answer
Value points: hummed while rocking the cradle; loving, nurturing; the tune survives in his mind; shows deep early bond.
Model answer: The mother used to hum a song while rocking his cradle, showing she was loving and nurturing. That the tune still seems to hover over his playthings shows how deeply her care touched him, even though he cannot remember her face.
Q4 · 1 mark · Very short answerHarder exam level
Identify two examples of alliteration from the poem.
Hint
Repeated m and s sounds.
Answer
'my mother'; 'some song'
Q5 · 2 marks · Short answerHarder exam level
What impact does the title have on the mood of the poem? Answer in 40-50 words.
Hint
Loss, then comfort.
Answer
Value points: title states loss directly; sets a sad, nostalgic mood; prepares the reader for longing; the poem then reveals a deeper, sensory memory; mood becomes tender and serene.
Model answer: The title states the speaker's loss directly, setting a sad and nostalgic mood. It makes us expect emptiness, but the poem then reveals that he does 'remember' her through sound, scent and sight. So the mood moves from sorrow to tender comfort.
Q6 · 2 marks · Short answerHarder exam level
What can be inferred about the poet's view of the mother-child relationship? Answer in 40-50 words.
Hint
Does it end with death?
Answer
Value points: bond deeper than conscious memory; survives death and absence; mother's love surrounds the child like the sky; formed in infancy (cradle, gaze on face).
Model answer: The poet sees the bond as deeper than memory. Formed in infancy through lullabies and a loving gaze, it survives death and absence. The mother's love seems to surround the child everywhere, like the sky, guiding and comforting him.
Q7 · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
'We remember people more through feelings than through facts.' Discuss with reference to the poem and your own experience. Answer in about 120-150 words.
Hint
Senses, feelings, an example from life.
Answer
Value points: stand; speaker has no factual memory but sensory/emotional memory; tune, scent, gaze; feelings triggered by senses; personal example (smell of a dish, a song); conclusion.
Model answer: I agree. The speaker in Tagore's poem cannot recall a single fact about his mother, yet he feels her through a tune 'that she used to hum', the 'scent of the morning service' mixed with shiuli flowers, and the stillness of the sky. These are not facts but feelings that the senses awaken. My own experience is similar. I hardly remember details of my great-grandmother's house, but whenever I smell cardamom tea, I feel her warmth and hear her laugh. Facts fade with time, but the emotions linked to sounds, smells and sights stay with us. That is why a song or a fragrance can bring back a person more powerfully than a photograph. The poem shows that love is stored in the heart.
Q8 · 2 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
Suppose a friend who lost a parent early says, 'I have nothing to remember them by.' Using the poem, write a comforting reply in 40-50 words.
Hint
Senses and small moments.
Answer
Value points: gentle tone; poem's speaker also cannot remember; finds the mother in a tune, a scent, the sky; suggest noticing such moments; love remains.
Model answer: Tagore's speaker also says, 'I cannot remember my mother', yet he feels her in a hummed tune, a flower's scent and the sky. Perhaps your parent lives in small things too, a song or a smell. Their love is still around you.
Q9 · 5 marks · Long answerExam level
Writing task: Write a diary entry (about 120 words) about a school trip to a scenic place that appealed to all your senses.
Hint
Day, date, time; first person; senses; emotions; reflection.
Answer
Value points: day, date and time at the top; first person; details for sight, sound, smell, touch and taste; feelings; one or two significant moments; reflective conclusion. 'Dear diary' is optional.

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 the poem?Show answer
Rabindranath Tagore.
2.How many stanzas does it have?Show answer
Three.
3.What did the mother hum the tune while doing?Show answer
Rocking his cradle.
4.Which flowers are mentioned?Show answer
Shiuli flowers.
5.What scent comes as the scent of his mother?Show answer
The scent of the morning service in the temple.
6.From where does the poet look at the sky?Show answer
His bedroom window.
7.What has spread all over the sky?Show answer
The stillness of his mother's gaze.
8.What is the refrain?Show answer
'I cannot remember my mother'.

Quick revision checklist

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

Can you name the sense in each stanza with a quotation?
Can you explain the effect of the refrain?
Can you explain the symbols: tune, shiuli, temple, sky?
Can you describe the movement from small to vast?
Can you state the tone and how it changes?
Can you compare the poem with Vitamin-M on memory?

I Cannot Remember My Mother: frequently asked questions

Who wrote I Cannot Remember My Mother?

Rabindranath Tagore. It is the poem of Unit 4 in the Class 9 English textbook Kaveri.

What is the refrain of the poem and why is it used?

'I cannot remember my mother'. It opens each stanza, stressing the speaker's loss; each stanza then shows that he still feels her presence, so the refrain becomes both sad and comforting.

Which senses does the poet use in each stanza?

Stanza 1: hearing (the tune she hummed). Stanza 2: smell (shiuli flowers and the temple service). Stanza 3: sight (the still blue sky and her gaze).

What are shiuli flowers?

Shiuli is coral jasmine, also called Parijat or Harsingar. Its fragrant flowers bloom at night and are linked with autumn and worship.

Does the poem have a rhyme scheme?

No. It is in free verse. Its music comes from the refrain, alliteration and a gentle rhythm.

What is the tone of the poem?

Nostalgic and tender, with a quiet sadness that turns into comfort and serenity by the end.

Based on: CBSE English Language syllabus, Class IX 2026-27 (R1 and R2); NCERT Kaveri, Textbook of English for Grade 9 (First Edition 2026), Unit 4: I Cannot Remember My Mother