I Cannot Remember My Mother poem explores the deep emotional bond between a mother and her child and shows how memories can remain alive even when a person cannot clearly remember the past. In this post, I have detailed down all the explanations of the poem so it can help students in understand meaning of the chapter and all of its details properly.
I Cannot Remember My Mother Stanzawise Explanation Class 9 English
Stanza 1
I cannot remember my mother
only sometimes in the midst of my play
a tune seems to hover over my playthings,
the tune of some song that she used to
hum while rocking my cradle.
Explanation
The poet says that he cannot clearly remember his mother. However, while playing with his toys, sometimes he hears a tune in his imagination. This tune reminds him of a song that his mother used to hum while rocking his cradle.
Although the poet cannot remember his mother directly, the humming tune becomes a link to his childhood and his mother. The tune makes him feel her presence even though she is no longer with him.
The memory is connected with the poet’s sense of hearing. Thus, an auditory image is created in the stanza.
हिंदी में
कवि कहता है कि उसे अपनी माँ की स्पष्ट याद नहीं है। लेकिन कभी-कभी जब वह अपने खिलौनों से खेल रहा होता है, तब उसे एक धुन अपने आसपास सुनाई देती हुई महसूस होती है।
यह धुन उसे उस गीत की याद दिलाती है जिसे उसकी माँ उसे पालने में झुलाते समय गुनगुनाया करती थी।
इस प्रकार कवि अपनी माँ को सीधे याद नहीं कर पाता लेकिन माँ की गुनगुनाहट के माध्यम से उसकी उपस्थिति को महसूस करता है। यह बचपन की एक कोमल और भावुक स्मृति है।
यहाँ hearing यानी श्रवण इंद्रिय के माध्यम से माँ की याद आती है इसलिए auditory imagery का प्रयोग हुआ है।
| Hard Word | English Meaning | Hindi Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| remember | to recall something from the past | याद करना / स्मरण करना |
| midst | the middle of something | बीच में / मध्य में |
| play | an activity done for enjoyment | खेल |
| tune | a sequence of musical sounds | धुन |
| hover | to remain or stay near a place | आसपास मंडराना / बने रहना |
| playthings | things or toys used for playing | खिलौने |
| song | a piece of music with words | गीत |
| hum | to sing a tune with closed lips | मुँह बंद करके गुनगुनाना |
| rocking | moving gently backwards and forwards | धीरे-धीरे झुलाना |
| cradle | a small bed for a baby | बच्चे का पालना |
Poetic Features
- Refrain
“I cannot remember my mother” is repeated at the beginning of every stanza. This repetition is called a refrain. - Auditory Imagery
The words “a tune,” “song,” “hum” appeal to our sense of hearing. - Symbolism
The humming tune symbolises the mother’s loving presence and the poet’s childhood memory of her. - Emotional effect
The stanza creates a feeling of nostalgia and loss because the poet cannot clearly remember his mother but can still sense her presence.
Stanza 2
I cannot remember my mother
but when in the early autumn morning
the smell of the shiuli flowers floats in the air
the scent of the morning service in the temple
comes to me as the scent of my mother.
Explanation
In the second stanza, the poet says that he cannot remember his mother directly. However, during an early autumn morning, the fragrance of shiuli flowers fills the air.
This fragrance reminds him of the scent of the morning service in the temple, and this temple fragrance reminds him of his mother.
Here, the memory of his mother is awakened through the sense of smell. The poet connects the pure fragrance of the flowers and the sacred atmosphere of the temple with his mother’s presence.
हिंदी में
दूसरे stanza में कवि कहता है कि उसे अपनी माँ की सीधी याद नहीं है। लेकिन शरद ऋतु की सुबह जब shiuli flowers की खुशबू हवा में फैलती है, तब उसे अपनी माँ की याद आने लगती है।
मंदिर में होने वाली morning service की सुगंध भी उसे अपनी माँ की सुगंध जैसी महसूस होती है।
इस प्रकार फूलों की खुशबू और मंदिर की पवित्र सुगंध कवि के मन में उसकी माँ की स्मृति को जगा देती है।
यहाँ smell यानी घ्राण इंद्रिय के माध्यम से माँ की याद आती है। इसलिए यहाँ olfactory imagery प्रमुख है।
| Hard Word | English Meaning | Hindi Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| remember | to recall something from the past | याद करना / स्मरण करना |
| early | near the beginning of a period | प्रारंभिक / आरंभ का |
| autumn | the season between summer and winter | शरद ऋतु |
| morning | the early part of the day | सुबह / प्रातःकाल |
| smell | the quality that can be noticed by the nose | गंध / महक |
| shiuli | a fragrant flower, also known as Parijat or Harsingar | सुगंधित शिउली / हरसिंगार का फूल |
| flowers | the colourful parts of a plant that produce seeds | फूल |
| floats | moves gently through the air | हवा में तैरना / फैलना |
| air | the mixture of gases surrounding the earth | वायु / हवा |
| scent | a pleasant smell or fragrance | सुगंध / खुशबू |
| service | a religious ceremony or ritual | धार्मिक पूजा / अनुष्ठान |
| temple | a place of worship | मंदिर |
Poetic Features
- Olfactory Imagery
Words such as “smell,” “scent,” “flowers” appeal to the sense of smell. - Alliteration
“shiuli flowers” contains repetition of the initial ‘f’ sound in flowers and nearby phrasing in the poem is used in the textbook’s appreciation exercise as an alliteration-focused example. The textbook asks students to identify two examples of alliteration. - Symbolism
The shiuli flowers and temple fragrance become symbols through which the poet feels his mother’s presence. - Nature as a memory trigger
Nature does not merely form the background. The fragrance of the flowers brings the poet emotionally closer to his mother.
Stanza 3
I cannot remember my mother
only when from my bedroom window I send
my eyes into the blue of the distant sky,
I feel that the stillness of
my mother’s gaze on my face
has spread all over the sky.
Explanation
In the final stanza, the poet looks out of his bedroom window towards the distant blue sky.
As he looks at the calm and vast sky, he feels that the stillness of his mother’s loving gaze has spread throughout the sky.
The poet does not literally mean that his mother’s eyes are present in the sky. Rather, the sky becomes a symbolic extension of his mother’s presence. The peacefulness of the sky reminds him of the calm and loving way his mother used to look at him.
This stanza mainly uses visual imagery because the poet creates a picture of the blue distant sky before our eyes.
हिंदी में
तीसरे stanza में कवि अपने bedroom की खिड़की से दूर दिखाई देने वाले नीले आकाश को देखता है।
आकाश की शांति और स्थिरता को देखकर उसे ऐसा महसूस होता है कि उसकी माँ की शांत और प्रेमपूर्ण दृष्टि पूरे आकाश में फैल गई है।
कवि यह नहीं कह रहा है कि वास्तव में उसकी माँ की आँखें आकाश में मौजूद हैं। बल्कि आकाश माँ की उपस्थिति का प्रतीक बन जाता है।
जब कवि आकाश को देखता है, तो उसे माँ की शांत और स्नेहपूर्ण निगाह याद आती है। इस stanza में मुख्य रूप से visual imagery का प्रयोग हुआ है।
| Hard Word | English Meaning | Hindi Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| remember | to recall something from the past | याद करना / स्मरण करना |
| bedroom | a room used for sleeping | शयनकक्ष / सोने का कमरा |
| window | an opening in a wall through which one can see outside | खिड़की |
| send my eyes | to look or direct one’s sight towards something | अपनी दृष्टि डालना / देखना |
| blue | the colour of the clear sky | नीला |
| distant | far away | दूर / सुदूर |
| sky | the space seen above the earth | आकाश / आसमान |
| stillness | a state of complete calm and quiet | शांति / निश्चलता |
| gaze | to look steadily for a long time | स्थिर होकर देखना / टकटकी लगाकर देखना |
| face | the front part of the head | चेहरा / मुख |
| spread | to extend over a wider area | फैल जाना / विस्तृत होना |
Poetic Features
- Visual Imagery
The “blue of the distant sky” creates a clear visual picture. - Symbolism
The sky symbolises the widespread presence and memory of the mother. - Metaphorical expression
The mother’s gaze is described as having “spread all over the sky.” This expresses the poet’s emotional experience rather than a literal event. - Refrain
Again, the stanza begins with “I cannot remember my mother.”