Q.What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify?

Kamala Das reaches back to a fear almost every child has known: the fear of being parted from one's mother, of one day finding her gone. For a child the mother is the whole world — protector and source of security — and the thought of her absence is unbearable. This is the 'childhood's fear' the poet names.

In the poem she is driving to the Cochin airport with her mother beside her. Looking at her mother dozing, her face pale and 'ashen like that of a corpse', she is suddenly jolted into realising how old and frail her mother has become. That sight revives the very fear she carried as a little girl — but now it is no longer a vague, imagined dread. Her mother truly is ageing, and the separation the child once feared is now a real and approaching possibility. …

The poem 'My Mother at Sixty-six' by Kamala Das explores the complex emotions of a daughter witnessing her mother's aging and confronting the fear of separation. The phrase 'she realised with pain' marks a pivotal moment of stark recognition for the poet. As she drives her mother to the Cochin airport, she glances at her mother, who is dozing beside her.

What the poet observes is deeply disturbing: her mother's face is 'ashen like that of a corpse', 'open-mouthed', and 'dozing'. This vivid imagery immediately brings to the poet's mind the stark reality of old age and the proximity of death. The mother's frail, pale appearance, resembling a lifeless body, triggers a powerful emotional response in the poet.

The 'pain' she realises is not a physical ache, but a profound emotional anguish stemming from several interconnected fears:

• Fear of Loss: The most prominent fear is that of losing her mother. The sight of her mother's aged and weakened state makes the poet acutely aware that her mother is nearing the end of her life. This realization brings a deep sense of impending loss and separation.
• Childhood Fear: This fear is often described as a 'familiar ache' or 'childhood fear'. It harks back to the primal anxiety a child feels at the thought of being separated from or losing a parent. Even as an adult, this deep-seated fear resurfaces with overwhelming intensity.
• Helplessness: There is also a sense of helplessness. The poet understands that time is an unstoppable force, and she cannot prevent her mother from aging or eventually succumbing to death. This inability to alter the course of nature contributes to her pain. …

In My Mother at Sixty-Six, Kamala Das looks at her elderly mother dozing in the car and is reminded of a fear she has carried since childhood: the dread that her mother might be taken from her. As a child this was the simple terror of separation; seeing her mother now so pale and worn brings the same familiar ache rushing back, because the visible signs of age make the possibility of loss feel real and close. …