My Mother at Sixty-six -Kamla Das

Kamla Das has now passed away but she has left behind her a number of forceful poems coming from her personal experiences surrounding her life that was a rebellious one . She was originally named Madhavikutti , the name she used for her works in Malayalam , her mother tongue . For her works in English she used the name 'Kamla Das . In the last part of her life she had turned a Muslim and died as a Muslim .
Most of her poems spring out of her sexual experiences and though they are more strong poems than this , CBSE would have found them unsuitable for school students and chosen this one .
This poems contains the sentiment of pathos emanating from the pangs of separation and the problems of ageing .
The poet (poetess) is going away from her mother , far as she is going by an aeroplane . On her to the airport , she sees at her mother . The mother is dozing off and her open mouth looks like that of a dead person . She thinks that her mother is now old enough to die and this makes her frightened . She looks now out of her car and sees the energetic children running out of their house and the trees also seem to be running .
At the airport , she hides her fears and smiles and says 'See you ......' . But, at heart she feels the same pain of separation from her mother that a child feels .

How to attempt an artice ? ( C B S E )

In C B S E , there is a word limit for articles in the examinations . You ought to stick to that .
You usually get options . Choose that topic which appears interesting to you but you must also have some ideas and information on it .
The format for the article is very simple . There should be the heading and below the heading
byline ,i.e., the name of the author .
Example :- Pollution and Global Warming
by Rakesh

The article should begin with an arresting introduction , its body should be systematically developed and it should end with an effective conclusion . This necessitates that the article must have at least three paragraphs : the first one introduction , the last one conclusion and the middle one or ones showing the systematic development .

'A Roadside Stand ' by Robert Frost

Robert Frost , an American poet of great repute has written on several aspects of life and his lines "woods are lovely dark and deep ....." have made him emmensely popular . However , even on seemingly mundane issues his poems are not devoid of sentiments or feelings and in his 'A Roadside Stand ' , he seems very much sympathetic unto those who dwell in the rural areas . Here, it is important to note that he had himself been a farmer for sometime and he would have realized that in want of the flow of cash , the rural areas remain perpetually underdeveloped and the standard of living of the villagers remains low.

The poem shows how villagers have made a roadside stand and have put some berries etc. for sale but their trust is shattered as hardly anybody from city stops his car to buy these berries .
If a car stops there , it stops for other reasons .The window of the roadside stand seems to be praying openly for some sales but the traffic on the road seems shamelessly selfish .

Robert Frost seems anxious for the rural areas . Can a magic rod remove their pains overnight ?
Certainly not . Then, how heartless it is that the city dwellers , while passing by the roadside stand,do not stop their cars to buy something and give them some city money to improve their lot ? easternenglish17@gmail.com