Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow : Mother, I am…
2024
Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow :
Mother, I am the one
you sent away
when the doctor told you
I would be
a girl – In the end they had to
give me an injection to kill me.
Before I died I heard
the traffic rushing outside, the monsoon
slush, the wind sulking through
your beloved Mumbai –
I could have clutched the neon blue
no one wanted –
No one wanted
To touch me – except later in the
autopsy room
when they knew my mouth would not
search
for anything – and my head could be
measured
and bent cut apart.
I looked like a sliced pomegranate.
The fruit you never touched.
Mother, I am the one you sent away
When the doctor told you
I would be a girl – your second girl.
Afterwards, as soon as you could
you put on your grass – green sari –
the orange stems of the parijatak
blossoms
glistened in your hair –
Afterwards
everyone smiled.
But now I ask you
to look for me, mother,
look for me because
I won't come to you in your dreams,
Look for me, mother, look
because I won't become a flower
I won't turn into a butterfly
And I am not a part of anyone's song.
Look, mother,
look for the place where you have
sent me.
Look for the unspeakable.
for the place that can never be described.
Look for me, mother, because
this is what you have done.
Look for me, mother, because
this is not 'God's will'.
Look for me, mother
because I smell of formaldehyde –
I smell of formaldehyde
and still, I wish you would look
for me, mother.
Q. Fill in the blank with the correct option :
According to the speaker the mother disliked .......... .
- A.
oranges
- B.
parijatak blossoms
- C.
pomegranates
- D.
the grass-green sari
Attempted by 7 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Detailed Solution
In the poem provided , the speaker uses the metaphor of a "sliced pomegranate" to describe how she felt after the autopsy ("and my head could be measured / and bent cut apart. / I looked like a sliced pomegranate"). Immediately following this, the speaker writes, "The fruit you never touched." This phrasing indicates that the mother avoided or disliked pomegranates, which parallels the mother's rejection and dehumanization of the speaker (her unborn child).