READING - My Grandmother's House (CLASS 12) – Kamala Das

SOLVED WORKSHEET 30

My Grandmother's House – Kamala Das

There is a house now far away where once
I received love……. That woman died,
The house withdrew into silence, snakes moved
Among books, I was then too young
To read, and my blood turned cold like the moon
How often I think of going
There, to peer through blind eyes of windows or
Just listen to the frozen air,
Or in wild despair, pick an armful of
Darkness to bring it here to lie
Behind my bedroom door like a brooding
Dog…you cannot believe, darling,
Can you, that I lived in such a house and
Was proud, and loved…. I who have lost
My way and beg now at strangers' doors to
Receive love, at least in small change?

1. Which feeling does the poetess miss in her married life?
The poetess misses the sense of security and protection.
2. Why has the poetess become a beggar for love?
She has become a beggar for love who knocks helplessly at strangers’ doors to receive it at least in a small measure.
3. How is the present life of the poetess?
Her present life is sans love, sans pride is emphatically conveyed by her begging for love at ‘strangers’ doors
4. Which expressions reinforce the idea of desperation?
The expression is ‘blind eyes of windows’ and ‘the frozen air’
5. What is the central idea of the poem?
The central idea of the poem “my grandmother’s house” is a longing for the past ,poets happy days with her grandmother. “my grandmother’s house ” is an expression for the poetess ,longing for the grandmother’s house where she was proud and loved. So the central idea of the poem “my grandmother’s house” is longing for love and the failure to achieve love runs throughout the poem.
6. Explain the nostalgia of the poet in this poem?
The speaker’s grandmother’s house is a place full of memories for her. Her grandmother had died some years before, and she is nostalgic about the house because she had spent many happy times there. The speaker is also nostalgic about the house and the time she spent there because it is now full of memories of her grandmother for her.