Introduction of the Poem
“My Grandmother's House” is a reminiscent poem, written in the form of a dramatic monologue. The speaker here is Kamala Das herself, and she seems to be talking to her husband who, however, says nothing in the poem. Thus, in “form” this poem resembles the dramatic monologues written by Robert Browning. The poem may also be classified as a dramatic lyric.
This poem offers a striking contrast between Kamala Das' childhood days and her present life as a grown - up woman. As a little girl, too young to read, she enjoyed her grandmother's love, while now she gets no love from anybody and therefore feels as if she had lost her way in life. Her sense of loss is intense; and her feeling of deprivation is so great that she seeks love from strangers like a beggar asking for alms at the houses of people whom she does not even know. Thus we have here a poem expressing the author's sense of deprivation and her feeling of utter hopelessness. Kamala Das has written many other poems of the same kind.
Critical Analysis of the Poem:
“My Grandmother's House”, published in 1965 in Summer in Calcutta, expresses the poetess’ nostalgic mood. She remembers passionately her family home in Malabar where she spent some years of her early life in the affectionate and sheltering care of her grandmother. She loved the poetess most. Kamala Das spent some happiest years of her life in her grandmother's company. The old family house and the grandmother are closely identified. She remembers the family house and the grandmother in this admirable lyric.
The poetess has gone to live in a different city, quite far from grandmother's home. But she wistfully remembers the family home where she lived as a girl, and her grandmother who showered love and affection on her. The past cannot be relived. So, the poetess is sad and melancholy. Her heart is choked with the intensity of emotions. Kamala Das vividly recalls her grandmother and the day she died. When she died, even the great house shared the grief. The house comes to life. It is bestowed with individuality. The house symbolises collectively all the members of the family. The poetess was very young at that time. There were a large number of books in the house, which seemed to be repulsive and horrible like snakes. The grandmother's death shocked her. She became cold and pale like the moon. Even “the House withdrew.” This is a highly poetic and suggestive expression which implies that the house was so stunned by her death that it no longer wanted to stay there.
The poetess passionately yearns to go to the great house and to look once again through its windows which are “blind”. The house is now entirely deserted and no one can look through the windows. She longs to sit there by herself and to listen to the dreary music of blowing cold winter minds, which would revive memories of her dear, dead Grandmother. She wants to articulate her intense grief once again.
The “window” image in this poem is very remarkable and suggestive. It suggests a link between the past and the present. It also underlies the languishing desire of the poetess for a sentient peep into her past and resurrection of her dreams and desires. At the end of her visit to the old family home she would like to return to her new home in a distant, far off place, but the sad and painful memories of the bygone days would accompany her. The ellipses (dots) reveal the intensity of her grief. The poetess got love from her grandmother in her girlhood. Now she yearns for love and begs it even from strangers, but fails to get it. She is hungry of love. Unfortunately, nobody fills her heart with the life - nourishing emotion of love. The Grandmother's House is a symbolic retreat for the poetess to a world of innocence, purity, love and simplicity from a world of corruption, sterility exploitation and cunningness. It is a sanctuary of love which is conspicuous by its absence in the harsh world of reality.