MY GRANDMOTHER'S HOUSE
KAMALA SURAIYYA
Madhavikutty
LETS READ THE POEM
There is a house now far away 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?
“My Grandmother's House” Summary
The speaker begins by remembering a long-lost house in which she felt loved. The speaker's grandmother (who lived there) died, and after her death, the house fell silent. Snakes slithered between the books. At this time, the speaker was still a child and couldn't read yet. When her grandmother died, the speaker felt as if her blood had turned as cold as the moon. The speaker often dreams of going back to the house and squinting through its empty windows or listening to the cold, lifeless air. She imagines that, in a moment of deep anguish, she might scoop up some of the house's gloom in her arms and take it home to keep in her bedroom, where it would lie around like a moping dog. Addressing a loved one she calls her "darling," the speaker says they couldn't possibly believe she once lived in a house where she was happy, proud, and cared for. She says she has wandered off course now; she spends her time trying to gather crumbs of love from strangers.
Answer the following
1. “My Grandmother's House” has been composed by .................
2. The speaker of "My Grandmother's House" is proud of ...............
3. When did the speaker of "My Grandmother's House" live with her grandmother?
4. She noticed a ………. behind the door of the bedroom
5. "My Grandmother’s House" is an …..….. poem by Kamala Das.
6. The house went into silence due to the death of the ..................
Write True or False
The women of the house is alive.
The snakes were seen in the house.
The speaker read the book with great interest.
The speaker wishes to peep through the window.
ANSWERS
Answer the following
Kamala Suraiyya
Her grandmother’s house
During her childhood
Dog
Auto biographical poem
Grandmother
Write True or False
False
True
False
True
