1. I CANNOT REMEMBER MY MOTHER
- Rabindranath Tagore

2. Rabindranath Tagore He composed India’s national anthem.
He received noble prize for literature in 1913 for his collection of poems called ‘Gitanjali’
Tagore wrote primarily in Bengali, but translated many of his works into English himself.

3. Tagore’s Writing
Tagore’s writing is highly imagistic, deeply religious and imbued with his love of nature and his homeland.
His works are classics, renowned for their lyrical beauty and spiritual poignancy.
His poems are actually song texts as he composed a melody for them.
The musical aspect of poems is at times lost in translation.

4. “The world speaks to me in colours, my soul answers in music”
-Rabindranath Tagore

5. Before reading
Tagore’s Childhood
Rabindranath Tagore was born in Calcutta in a wealthy and prominent Brahman family. His father was Maharishi Debendranath Tagore. His mother Sarada Devi, died when he was very young - her body carried through a gate to a place where it was burned and it was the moment when he realized that she will never comeback. Tagore started to compose poems at the age of eight.

6. Shiuli flowers
A common small white flower which appears around Puja season (September-October), known as Chamomile in English.

7. POEM

8. 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.

10. I cannot remember my mother
but when in the early autumn morning
the smell of shiuli flowers floats in the air
the scent of the morning service in the temple
comes to me as the scent of my mother.

12. 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.

13. Enjoying the POEM

14. I cannot remember my mother only sometimes in the midst of my play
Read and answer
I cannot remember my mother
only sometimes in the midst of my play
a tune seems to hover over my playthings,
What is the poet doing when he remembers his mother?
Ans. The poet was playing with his playthings while he
remembers his mother.

15. I cannot remember my mother only sometimes in the midst of my play
a tune seems to hover over my playthings,
What reminds him of her?
Ans. The sight of his playthings reminds the poet of a tune hummed by his mother. This tune reminds him of her.

16. I cannot remember my mother only sometimes in the midst of my play
a tune seems to hover over my playthings,
When did his mother hum that song?
Ans. His mother hummed that song when she rocked his cradle.

17. when in the early autumn morning
the smell of shiuli flowers floats in the air
the scent of the morning service in the temple
comes to me as the scent of my mother.
What happens in the autumn which reminds the poet of his mother?
Ans. Shiuli flowers bloom in autumn. Their fragrance reminds the poet of his mother.

18. when in the early autumn morning
the smell of shiuli flowers floats in the air
the scent of the morning service in the temple
comes to me as the scent of my mother.
What do you think the poet’s mother did with the shiuli flowers?
Ans. She offered them in a prayer in the morning service in the temple or wore them in her hair.

19. when in the early autumn morning
the smell of shiuli flowers floats in the air
the scent of the morning service in the temple
comes to me as the scent of my mother.
What do you think would constitute “the scent of the morning service in the temple”?
Ans. The fragrance of shiuli flowers and of the incense burnt in the temple.

20. Why do you think the poet does not remember his mother?
Ans. The poet probably lost his mother when he was rather young, so he cannot recall her face.

21. Why does the poet say ‘I feel that the stillness of my mother’s gaze on my face has spread all over the sky?
Ans. On a clear day, when the sky is peaceful and serene, the poet feels the presence of his mother and imagines that she is gazing down lovingly at him.

22. Which of the following activity does not remind the poet of his mother?
Humming a song
Praying in the temple
Looking at the image of his mother
Gazing at the sky

23. Where did the poet look at?
I cannot remember my mother only when from my bedroom window I send my eyes into the blue of the distant sky,
Where did the poet look at?
Blue sky
Bedroom window
Blue
Sky

24. Which smell reminds the poet of his mother?
when in the early autumn morning the smell of shiuli flowers floats in the air the scent of the morning service in the temple comes to me as the scent of my mother.
Which smell reminds the poet of his mother?
Smell of shiuli flowers
Smell of autumn leaves
Smell of morning service in the temple
Both (a) and (c)

25. Poetic Devices in the poem
Poetry is a powerful way of expressing feelings and ideas.
Poets use a variety of devices to convey these feelings and ideas

26. IMAGERY
Imagery or use of description to create an image in the mind of reader is the poetic device used in this poem.
Imagery gives sensory impressions and lends vividness to the poem.
In this poem the poet creates beautiful images related to sight, sound and smell.

27. Images related to smell
Imagery in the Poem
Visual images
Aural images
Images related to smell
The child’s playthings
The tune of some song that the mother used to hum while rocking the child’s cradle
The smell of shiuli flowers
Mother rocking his cradle
The scent of morning service in the temple
The blue of the distant sky
The scent of his mother