MY MOTHER AT SIXTY-SIX – KAMALA DAS materialistic things and keep us away from eternal happiness.

The
This is a touching poem written by Indian poet Kamla Das who Earth is full of hatred, greed, and negativity. According to the poet,
wrote under the pen name of ‘Madhavikutty’. In this poem, she the gloom and sadness caused by this negativity fade away with
describes her feeling of love and attachment towards her ageing the positive vibes of the beautiful things that surround us. The
mother. Once the poet went to visit her mother. She was on her poet lists out some of the beautiful things that surround us. As the
way back to the airport to return to Cochin. She looked at her saying goes ‘Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder’. He says that
mother who was seated beside her in the car. Her mother had the numerous creations of God like the Sun which gives us energy,
dozed off to sleep and her ageing face – was smoky in colour like the moon’s beauty, the trees which give us shade are the natural
ash. Her mouth was open and she resembled a dead body. The beauties around us. The various animals like the sheep that
poet realized that her mother was old. She felt pain and sympathy surround us make our world lively. The pretty flowers like daffodils
for her. Her mother needed love, affection and care. In order to make the world green and lively. The flowing streams of water cool
come out of the gloom, the poet shifted her glance and looked out and refresh us in the hot summer season. The forests which are
of the car’s window. There she saw young trees pass by. Little full of the pretty musk rose flowers are a beautiful sight to the eye.
children were running out of their houses into the playgrounds. All these are the things of beauty. Also, the stories of the brave
These things were contrary to the ageing face of her mother. They soldiers who laid their lives to protect their people are beautiful
symbolised energy, life and happiness. As they reached the airport and inspiring. These beautiful things are like a fountain of
and the poet was about to leave for the aeroplane, she glanced at immortality bestowed upon us by God. They inspire us to live on
her mother one more time. Her mother appeared weak and pale and maintain our faith in goodness.
just like the moon in the winter season which seems to have lost A ROADSIDE STAND – ROBERT FROST
all its strength. The poet felt the pain and fear of losing her There is a roadside stand at the edge of the road. Those who
mother. She was reminded of her childhood when she used to fear established it certainly did so to earn money. They expected their
losing her mother. As a child she could not bear to be separated prospective customers to stop there and buy things. But the rich
from her mother even for a few moments. Now the loss would be and the refined people drive past without stopping there. The
permanent as her mother was about to die and she would lose her roadside stand offers ordinary things for sale like wild berries and
forever. The poet did not express her feelings. She smiled and said golden gourds. The people who run this stand hope for city-money
“see you soon, Amma” because she wanted that her mother so that they may also prosper. There is a news that their land will
should live and they could meet again. be bought by the government. The so-called good doers and
KEEPING QUIET – PABLO NERUDA greedy people exploit them. Some people who pretend to be
“Keeping Quiet” is a peace poem written by the Chilean poet generous are even worse than flesh eating wild animals. These
Pablo Neruda. The poet asks humanity to count numbers from one greedy people want to mint money by befooling the innocent rural
to twelve – twelve being the number of hours shown in a clock or people. The people who run this roadside stand hope that some
the number of zodiac signs. He requests everyone not to speak car will stop there. They keep their windows open so that some
because languages create barriers between people. The moment customer may oblige them. But some come only to back or turn
when everyone stops moving their body will be very special and around the car or to ask the way where it is bound. The poet will
different as we have never experienced such a moment before. feel greatly relieved if all their pains and troubles are removed at
The poet says that in this period of inactivity the fishermen would one stroke. Death is far better than their miserable living.
not harm the whales, the salt gatherers will not hurt their hands, AUNT JENNIFER’S TIGERS – ADRIENNE RICH
those who are busy destroying the nature will adopt a new The poet expresses the inner feelings of a woman – Aunt Jennifer.
approach towards life, The men who are preparing for wars and The aunt is embroidering a motif comprising of energetic, fearless
victory based on deaths of innocent people will join their enemy tigers moving freely around the bright greenery. She is living a life
and stand in unity with them, doing nothing. No one will harm of submissiveness to her husband’s command. Her acts are
himself or any other person. Everyone will unite and ponder upon dominated by him and she fears him constantly. This pattern of the
his acts and realize the results of his deeds. The poet clarifies his free and fearless tigers reflects her inner desire to live a free and
idea and says further that he does not want that people should fearless life. The tigers are graceful, elegant and bright. Aunt
stand idle. He wants that there should be no war because he does Jennifer’s fingers tremble as she embroiders. She is old but still
not want to see trucks laden with dead bodies of the soldiers. He fears her husband. She does not enjoy the freedom to do anything
is promoting Universal brotherhood and peace. The poet says that as per her wish. She is scared doing the embroidery too and fears
everyone is working continuously, to achieve one’s goals. People his wrath. Since the day she got married, she has been fulfilling
are threatened by death and the fear forces them to work the demands of her husband. The wedding ring on her hand is a
endlessly so that they can achieve everything quickly. In this mad constant reminder that she belongs to her husband. The burden of
rush, they do not realize the repercussions of their acts. He wants the demanding marriage has exhausted her. The torment will not
us to pause and come out of the mad rush. He wants us to be end until her death.
happy about our achievements and celebrate them. He wants us THE THIRD LEVEL - JACK FINNEY
to overcome the fear of death and to relax for a while. We should The story revolves around a 31 years old man named Charley, who
know the results of our deeds and celebrate our achievements. experienced something weird. One day after work coming from
When the people will remain quiet for a while, they will realize the the Subway, he reached the third level of the Grand Central
purpose of their lives. Just like all the creations of nature undergo station, which doesn’t actually exist. He reminisces the entire
a rebirth with the change of seasons, similarly, keeping quiet will experience with his psychiatrist friend Sam. Charley thought he
be a rebirth for the human soul. It will give a new meaning to our experienced time travel and had reached somewhere in the
life. Again, the poet says that he will count till twelve and asks eighteen-nineties, a time before the world saw two of its most
everyone to remain quiet while he leaves. deadliest wars. As soon as he realised what time he is in, he
A THING OF BEAUTY – JOHN KEATS immediately decided to buy two tickets to Galesburg, Illinois; one
A Thing of Beauty– is a poem taken from the poem titled – for himself and the other for his wife. Unfortunately, the currency
“Endymion – a poetic romance” written by the famous poet John used in that century was different. Thus, the next day he withdrew
Keats. The poet says that a beautiful thing is a source of endless all his savings and got them converted even if it meant bearing
joy. It has eternal beauty which never fades away. A beautiful thing losses. He went looking for the third level but failed to find it. It
is like a shady shelter that gives us a sleep full of sweet dreams, worried his wife and the psychiatrist Sam who told him that he is
good health, and relaxation. Our attachments to the Earthly things hallucinating in order to take refuge from reality and miseries of
are like a flowery wreath. They are traps that bind us to the modern world which is full of worry. Charley thus resorts to his
stamp collection in order to distract himself when suddenly one operates upon him, and saves his life. Out of the fear of being
day he finds a letter from his friend Sam who had gone missing accused of sheltering an enemy, he narrates the incident to a
recently. Sam wrote that he always wanted to believe in the idea general in the Japanese military. The general helps Dr Sadao and
of third level and now that he is there himself, he encourages offers to get the man killed by hired killers. However, the killing
Charley and Louisa to never stop looking for it. doesn’t take place, and after waiting for three nights, Dr. Sadao
THE TIGER KING – KALKI thinks of getting rid of the American himself. He arranges a boat
The Tiger King is the story of king Jung Jung Bahadur of for the man to help him reach the nearby island. He provides him
Pratibandapuram, a brave warrior whose death had been necessities like food and clothing to survive till he finds a Korean
predicted when he was born. The chief astrologer had predicted as fishing boat which could rescue him. Dr. Sadao wonders that why
the royal child was born in the hour of the bull, the tiger being its did he save the life of an enemy.
enemy, death would come to the child by a tiger. The brave prince ON THE FACE OF IT - SUSAN HILL
asked all tigers to beware of him. He came to be known as ‘tiger The story begins with a teenage boy entering a garden. His face is
king’. The prince became king at the age of twenty and considering burnt on one side due to an accident when acid fell on half of his
killing a cow in self-defence to be lawful, went on a tiger killing face. He has gone there to hide as he is afraid of facing people. He
spree. He was warned of danger from the hundredth tiger that he fears being teased by others for having such a face. But when he
encountered. As all the tigers in his kingdom had been killed by enters, he finds someone already presents there. He tries to leave
him but still he had to kill more, he married into a state having a the place but he is stopped by the old man, Mr. Lamb, the owner
high population of tigers. When his killings reached ninety-nine, he of the garden. Derry feels guilty for entering the garden without
desperately sought the next hunt. Fearing the king’s harshness, permission. Mr. Lamb welcomes him and tells him not to leave just
the minister planted an old tiger in the forest for him to kill. The because of his presence. Derry wants to leave as he thinks people
king fired at it but the tiger escaped the bullet miraculously. The don’t like his face and moreover, they get afraid of his looks. But
royal hunters feared the king and so did not inform him; rather Mr. Lamb insists he stay there. They enter into a conversation that
they killed the beast themselves. The king was satisfied that he how Derry is not liked by anyone and how he hates people
had evaded death and now celebrated his son’s third birthday. He behaving like this with him. Mr. Lamb tries to console him. He tells
got a wooden toy tiger as a gift for the prince. Although it was him that he has a tin leg and kids make fun of him. Still, he is not
poorly done, the shopkeeper, fearing punishment under the rules depressed and enjoys his life. They both talk about various things
of emergency charged a high price. As both the king and his son and this leads to the revelation of Derry’s fear, depression, and
were playing with the tiger, one of the thin pieces of wood that hatred about his being in such a condition. But Mr. Lamb keeps on
were erupting out of the wooden tiger like feathers pierced the telling him to think of the positive things. Soon they become
king’s right hand. The wound became infectious, spread through friends and Mr. Lamb asks him to help him in plucking the crab
his arm and as he was being operated upon, he died. So, ironically, apples of his garden. Derry tells him that he had come too far from
the hundredth tiger killed the king and eventually took its revenge. his home and hadn’t told anything about this to his mother. Mr.
JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE EARTH - TISHANI DOSHI Lamb tells him to take permission from his mother. Derry finds it
For a south Indian man travelling to Antarctica from Madras, it difficult and this leads to a small quarrel between both of them. At
takes nine time zones, six checkpoints, three water bodies and just last, Derry tells him that he would come back after taking his
as many ecospheres to reach there. Tishani Doshi travelled to the mother’s permission. His mother does not want him to go back
Southern end of the Earth along with an expedition group named but he comes back again to fulfil his promise. Meanwhile, Mr.
‘Students on Ice’ that provides an opportunity to the young minds Lamb climbs the ladder on his own to pluck the crab apples as he
to sensitise towards the realistic version of climatic changes was sure that Derry would not return. He was disabled and it was
happening in the world. According to the founder of the difficult for him to climb. Mr. Lamb falls from his ladder and dies.
organisation, we are the young versions of future policymakers Derry, on the other hand, returns to the garden to help him. When
who can turn the situation around. Antarctica is one of the he enters the garden, he sees Mr. Lamb lying on the ground. Derry
coldest, driest and windiest continents in the world. As far as the tries hard to make him move but did not get any response from
eyes can see, it is completely white and its uninterrupted blue him. Finally, he comes to know that he is dead and starts crying.
horizon gives immense relief. It is shocking to believe that India
and Antarctica were part of the same supercontinent Gondwana,
that got segregated into countries giving rise to the globe we know
today. Antarctica had a warmer climate until then. Despite human
civilisation around the globe, it still remains in it pure form. Being
a south Indian sun worshipping guy, it was unimaginable for the
author to visit the place that constitutes world’s 90 per cent of ice,
a place so quiet that it is only interrupted by snow avalanches. It is
home to a lot of evidences that can give us a glimpse of the past
and at the same time, Antarctica helps us foresee the future. The
place gives an awakening to threatening alarm that global
warming is actually real. Who knows if Antarctica will be warm
again and even if it does, will we be alive to see it?
THE ENEMY – PEARL S. BUCK
The Enemy is a story set in Japan during the second world war. In
this story, an injured American army man washes up on the beach
near the home of a Japanese surgeon, Dr. Sadao Hoki. Although he
has lived in America and follows a modern profession, Dr Sadao’s
family lives a traditional Japanese life. Dr Sadao is in a dilemma to
leave the American man to die, to throw him back into the sea, to
hand him over to the army or to save his life. He reluctantly takes
him home and decides to save his life. The presence of an enemy
disrupts his family life. His wife is against his idea of operating
upon and taking care of the soldier. The servants of the house
oppose the idea and leave their master. Yet, Dr Sadao shelters him,