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I Cannot Remember My Mother – Rabindranath Tagore

Q: What is I Cannot Remember My Mother u2013 Rabindranath Tagore about in NCERT Class 9 Kaveri?

I Cannot Remember My Mother u2013 Rabindranath Tagore is from NCERT Class 9 English Kaveri (NEP 2020 textbook) covering literary and language concepts with vocabulary, devices, and CBSE-aligned exercises.

Q: What vocabulary is in I Cannot Remember My Mother u2013 Rabindranath Tagore?

Key words from I Cannot Remember My Mother u2013 Rabindranath Tagore are highlighted with contextual meanings, parts of speech, and usage examples in interactive vocabulary modals.

Q: What literary devices are used in I Cannot Remember My Mother u2013 Rabindranath Tagore?

I Cannot Remember My Mother u2013 Rabindranath Tagore uses imagery, symbolism, metaphor, and figurative language identified with coloured tags throughout the lesson.

Q: How does I Cannot Remember My Mother u2013 Rabindranath Tagore help CBSE Class 9 exam preparation?

I Cannot Remember My Mother u2013 Rabindranath Tagore includes CBSE-format extract questions, 100-120 word long answer practice, and grammar exercises following Bloom's L1-L6.

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Before You Read — I Cannot Remember My Mother

Unit 4 — Poem | by Rabindranath Tagore

Vocabulary Matching: Match each word from the pre-reading list with its meaning before reading the poem.

hover — linger or remain near a place

hum — sing a tune with lips closed

cradle — a small bed for a baby, often with rockers

shiuli — a type of flower (coral jasmine / Parijat)

morning service — rituals conducted in a temple at dawn

gaze — look steadily for a long time

Connect to Experience: Think of an object, song, smell, or scene that instantly brings a memory of someone you love to mind. What is it, and why does it trigger that memory?

Prediction: The poem is titled "I Cannot Remember My Mother." Who do you think the poet might be? Why might someone be unable to remember their mother?

Rabindranath Tagore's mother, Sarada Devi, died when he was only about thirteen years old. This poem was written much later in life as an adult's gentle, sorrowful, yet beautiful attempt to reconstruct the memory of a mother he barely knew through sensory fragments — a tune, a scent, a gaze.

Sensory Warm-Up: The poem uses three senses to recall the mother. Before reading, predict which senses Tagore uses.

Stanza 1: Auditory (hearing) — a humming tune over playthings.
Stanza 2: Olfactory (smell) — the fragrance of shiuli flowers linked to temple morning services.
Stanza 3: Visual (sight) — the stillness of his mother's gaze, spread across the sky.

Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941)

Rabindranath Tagore was India's greatest poet, writer, composer, and philosopher — the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature (1913). Born in Kolkata into a distinguished Bengali family, he wrote over 2,000 songs (the genre now called Rabindra Sangeet), poetry, novels, short stories, essays, and plays in both Bengali and English. His epic poem collection Gitanjali (Song Offerings) won him the Nobel Prize. He founded Visva-Bharati University at Shantiniketan. His mother passed away when he was young, giving poems like this one a deep personal resonance.

Bengali Poet Nobel Laureate 1913 Gitanjali Visva-Bharati 1861–1941

The Poem — Fully Annotated

Refrain Imagery Symbolism Alliteration Personification Onomatopoeia Metaphor

I Cannot Remember My Mother

— Rabindranath Tagore

Stanza 1

I cannot remember my mother Refrain only sometimes in the midst of my play a tune seems to hover over my playthings, Personification Imagery the tune of some song that she used to hum while rocking my cradle. Onomatopoeia

Stanza 2

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

Stanza 3

I cannot remember my mother Refrain only when from my bedroom window I send my eyes into the blue of the distant sky, Imagery I feel that the stillness of my mother's gaze on my face Alliteration has spread all over the sky. Metaphor Symbolism

Stanza-by-Stanza Paraphrase and Analysis

Stanza 1 — The Auditory Memory (Sound)

Setting: Indoor — a child at play.

Paraphrase: The poet admits he cannot consciously recall his mother's face or voice. Yet at rare, unguarded moments during childhood play, a mysterious tune seems to drift over his toys — as if floating in the air around them. He recognises it as the melody his mother used to hum softly while rocking his cradle when he was a baby.

Key Idea: Memory here is not visual but auditory. The tune "hovers" — it does not arrive sharply, but lingers and drifts, suggesting how fragile and elusive early childhood memory is. The word "seems" emphasises the uncertainty of the recollection.

Literary Devices: Personification — a tune hovers (tunes cannot float independently); Onomatopoeia — "hum" mimics the soft sound of humming; Imagery — visual picture of a child surrounded by playthings with a tune drifting over them.

Stanza 2 — The Olfactory Memory (Smell)

Setting: Outdoor — early autumn morning, near a garden or temple.

Paraphrase: Again, the poet cannot remember his mother directly. But in the early hours of an autumn morning, when the fragrance of shiuli flowers (Parijat/coral jasmine) drifts through the air, he is transported. The scent of these flowers — associated with the temple's morning worship — becomes, in his mind, inseparable from the scent of his mother herself. She worshipped regularly, and the fragrance clings to the memory of her.

Key Idea: Olfactory memory — smell — is often the most powerful trigger of buried emotion. Scientists call it the "Proustian memory effect." The mother is connected to devotion, ritual, and fragrance — suggesting she was a deeply spiritual presence in the household.

Literary Devices: Metaphor — the temple's scent IS the mother's scent; Symbolism — shiuli flowers symbolise the mother's spiritual, gentle, and ephemeral nature (they bloom only at night and fall at dawn); Imagery — the floating fragrance of flowers.

Stanza 3 — The Visual Memory (Sight)

Setting: Indoor/Transitional — the poet at his bedroom window, looking up at the sky.

Paraphrase: Once more, the poet cannot directly remember his mother. But when he gazes from his bedroom window at the vast blue of the sky, he feels the spreading, all-encompassing stillness of his mother's gaze — the way she used to look lovingly at his face — has somehow diffused itself across the entire sky. The sky becomes a boundless symbol of her presence and love.

Key Idea: The mother's gaze is equated with the sky's infinite expanse — suggesting her love was vast, all-surrounding, and eternal. This is the most transcendent and philosophical stanza of the three.

Literary Devices: Metaphor — the sky IS the mother's gaze; Symbolism — the sky symbolises boundless maternal love; Imagery — the blue of the distant sky, the stillness of the gaze; Alliteration — "stillness" and "spread" (soft 's' sounds creating calm).

Theme Web — I Cannot Remember My Mother

Click a theme node to explore its connection to the poem.

Loss and Longing: The refrain "I cannot remember my mother" is not a complaint but a lament — a gentle, repeated acknowledgement of irreparable loss. Tagore lost his mother early and the poem is a quiet elegy. The word "only sometimes" suggests that even the fragments of memory are rare and fleeting, which deepens the sense of longing.

Sensory Memory: Each stanza activates a different sense: hearing (Stanza 1 — the humming tune), smell (Stanza 2 — shiuli flowers and temple incense), and sight (Stanza 3 — the gaze and the sky). Tagore suggests that we cannot always recall people consciously, but our senses hold memories the mind cannot directly access.

Nature as Metaphor: Tagore uses elements of nature — shiuli flowers, the blue sky — not as mere decoration but as vehicles of deep meaning. The shiuli, which blooms at night and falls at dawn, symbolises something precious, brief, and spiritually pure. The sky, infinite and still, symbolises maternal love that outlasts even memory.

Childhood Innocence: The poem inhabits the world of a very young child — playthings, a cradle, a bedroom window. By placing the memories in this innocent, early setting, Tagore makes the mother's absence more poignant. The child is not yet equipped to understand the meaning of loss; he only feels something hovering, drifting, spreading — beyond his reach.

Eternal Love: The final image — the mother's gaze spread across the entire sky — transforms personal loss into something cosmic and eternal. The mother's love is not gone; it has simply become invisible and all-encompassing, like the sky itself. This transcendent ending lifts the poem from personal elegy to a universal statement about the enduring nature of a mother's love.

Vocabulary from the Poem

hover

verb

To linger or remain suspended in one place; to drift near without settling

"a tune seems to hover over my playthings"

hum

verb / noun

To make a continuous low sound with lips closed; to sing softly without words

"the tune of some song that she used to hum while rocking my cradle"

cradle

noun

A small bed for a baby, often with rockers; metaphorically, the place of origin or nurturing

"while rocking my cradle" — the infant's earliest environment

shiuli

noun (proper)

Coral jasmine (Nyctanthes arbor-tristis); also called Parijat or Harsingar; blooms at night and falls at dawn; associated with temples and worship

"the smell of the shiuli flowers floats in the air"

stillness

noun

The quality of being completely calm, quiet, and motionless; absence of movement or sound

"I feel that the stillness of my mother's gaze on my face has spread all over the sky."

gaze

noun / verb

A steady, intent look; to look steadily and intently at someone or something

The mother's gentle, loving gaze is the poem's final and most enduring image.

refrain

noun (literary device)

A line or group of lines repeated at regular intervals in a poem; creates rhythm and emotional emphasis

"I cannot remember my mother" — repeated as the opening of each stanza.

midst

noun

The middle part or point of something; surrounded by or in the middle of

"only sometimes in the midst of my play" — while absorbed in play

Check Your Understanding — Fill in the Blanks

Stanza 1: (1) The poet remembers his mother while he _______. (2) The poet remembers the _______ but not the _______.

(1) plays / is in the midst of play. (2) tune / words of the song. Setting: Indoor.

Stanza 2: (1) The poet remembers his mother in the _______ season. (2) The poet remembers his mother by the smell of _______.

(1) early autumn. (2) shiuli flowers (connected to the morning service at the temple). Setting: Outdoor.

Stanza 3: The poet feels that his mother _______ at him from the _______.

gazed / sky. The poet feels the stillness of his mother's gaze has spread across the blue expanse of the sky. Setting: Indoor (bedroom window looking outward).

Sensory References: Give one example from each stanza of the three senses used.

Stanza 1 (Auditory): "the tune of some song that she used to hum" — the sense of hearing.
Stanza 2 (Olfactory): "the smell of the shiuli flowers floats in the air" — the sense of smell.
Stanza 3 (Visual): "I send my eyes into the blue of the distant sky" — the sense of sight.

Literature CBQ — Extract-Based Questions

Extract 1

I cannot remember my mother
only sometimes in the midst of my play
a tune seems to hover over my playthings,

L1 — Recall

(i) Complete the following sentence: The poet is reminded of his mother during his ___________.

...playtime / the midst of his play. The poet is not actively trying to remember; the memory arrives unbidden during a moment of absorbed, innocent childhood activity.

L2 — Understand

(ii) What is the primary emotion conveyed by the line "a tune seems to hover over my playthings"?

A. It enhances the joy of play.
B. It disrupts the playtime atmosphere.
C. It activates memories of the mother.
D. It symbolises the carefree nature of childhood.

C. It activates memories of the mother. The hovering tune is specifically identified as his mother's lullaby — it is a memory-trigger, drifting in from his earliest childhood. The word "hover" suggests something that lingers rather than announces itself, exactly as distant memory does.

L4 — Analyse

(iii) What role does the hovering tune play during the speaker's playtime? Why is "hover" a particularly effective word choice?

The tune serves as a bridge between the child's present world (play) and his vanished past (the mother). "Hover" is effective because it suggests the tune does not arrive sharply or completely — it floats nearby, just within reach of consciousness, like a half-remembered dream. It also personifies the tune, giving it a gentle, ghostly presence that matches the poem's elegiac mood.

L1 — Recall

(iv) True or False: The poet experiences the tune lingering over playthings only occasionally during playtime.

True. The word "only sometimes" confirms that this auditory memory does not occur constantly — it is a rare, fleeting intrusion of the past into the present.

L5 — Evaluate

(v) How could the poet feel his mother's presence even though she is not physically there?

The poet's earliest sensory experiences — the sound of his mother's voice humming, the smell of flowers she associated with worship, her loving gaze — were absorbed so deeply during infancy that they left permanent imprints on his senses. Even after her death, these imprints are reactivated by similar sensory stimuli: a familiar tune, a flower's fragrance, the vastness of the sky. Her presence is felt not through the mind but through the body's memory — a more primal and enduring form of remembrance.

Extract 2

I feel that the stillness of
my mother's gaze on my face
has spread all over the sky.

L2 — Understand

(i) What does the poet suggest about the stillness of his mother's gaze spreading over the sky?

A. The mother's gaze is physically present in the sky.
B. The sky is a symbolic extension of the mother's presence.
C. The sky mirrors the mother's emotions.
D. The stillness is fleeting and unrelated to the mother.

B. The sky is a symbolic extension of the mother's presence. Tagore uses the infinite sky as a metaphor for the boundless, all-encompassing nature of his mother's love — a love that has not disappeared but has expanded beyond physical form into the universe itself.

L4 — Analyse

(ii) What emotion does the poet associate with the "stillness" of his mother's gaze?

A. A sense of grief
B. A sense of anticipation
C. A sense of nostalgia
D. A sense of serenity

D. A sense of serenity. The "stillness" of the gaze and the vast, quiet sky together create an atmosphere of peace and calm, not grief or agitation. The memory is poignant but not painful — it is infused with the feeling of being held in a loving, tranquil presence.

L5 — Evaluate

(iii) What is the purpose of likening the mother's gaze to the sky? What does this reveal about how the poet perceives her?

By equating the mother's gaze with the sky, Tagore elevates her from a personal, private memory to a universal, cosmic presence. The sky has no boundaries — it surrounds the earth, holds it gently, and is always present. The poet suggests that his mother's love, though her physical form is gone, has similarly become everywhere and eternal. It reveals that he perceives her not with grief but with awe — as something immeasurably greater than his small, individual loss.

L6 — Create

(iv) Write a diary entry (60–80 words) in the voice of the adult poet Rabindranath Tagore, reflecting on why he wrote this poem.

Sample Response:
I wrote this poem not out of grief but out of wonder. I was so young when my mother passed that the mind holds nothing clear — no face, no words, no distinct moment. Yet she is here, always: in an autumn fragrance, in a half-heard tune, in the quiet of a sky that seems to hold my face as she once held it. I did not lose her entirely. She became the world.

Critical Reflection — Appreciation Questions

Two examples of alliteration from the poem are (i) ________ and (ii) ________.

(i) "sometimes" and "song" / "smell" and "shiuli" — the repeated 's' sounds in Stanza 2 create a soft, whispered quality.
(ii) "stillness… spread" — the 'st' and 's' sounds in Stanza 3 create a sense of calm and silence perfectly matching the mood.

An example of onomatopoeia in the poem is ________________.

"hum" — the word sounds like the gentle, low-pitched sound it describes. When a mother hums to her baby, the sound is soft, rounded, and continuous — all qualities captured in this single word.

The poem uses imagery extensively. Explain with examples from all three stanzas.

Stanza 1 (Auditory Imagery): "a tune seems to hover over my playthings" — we can almost hear a soft lullaby drifting in the air as a child plays.
Stanza 2 (Olfactory Imagery): "the smell of the shiuli flowers floats in the air" — we can imagine the sweet, cool fragrance of these small white flowers at dawn.
Stanza 3 (Visual Imagery): "I send my eyes into the blue of the distant sky" — a vivid picture of a person at a window, gazing up at an immense blue expanse.

Although the poem does not have a rhyme scheme, it is enjoyable because ______________.

...it has a deeply musical rhythm created by the repetition of the refrain, the gentle flow of its long, unhurried lines, and the progression through three sensory memories that builds to the poem's transcendent final image. The language is simple yet rich with meaning, making it accessible while remaining profoundly moving.

What is the tone of the poet? Why do you say so?

The tone is wistful, tender, and serene. "Wistful" because the poet yearns for a memory he cannot fully grasp; "tender" because his few fragments of memory (a tune, a fragrance, a gaze) are cherished with great gentleness; "serene" because by the final stanza the poem has moved beyond grief into a state of quiet wonder. There is no bitterness or despair — only a soft, sustained ache, held with great beauty.

The poet uses "I cannot remember my mother" as a refrain. Why?

The refrain serves multiple purposes: (1) Structural — it organises the poem into three equal parts, one for each sense. (2) Emotional — each repetition deepens the sense of loss while also making us more aware that what follows the refrain is precious — a rare fragment of recovered memory. (3) Ironic — though he says he "cannot" remember, each stanza immediately follows with proof that he can remember — through smell, sound, and sight. The refrain thus becomes a kind of gentle self-contradiction.

Identify the symbols used in the poem to indicate the memory of the mother's presence.

The hovering tune: Symbolises the fragility and elusiveness of early memory — something heard but not quite grasped, like the edge of a dream.
Shiuli flowers: Symbolise the mother's spiritual, gentle, and ephemeral nature — these flowers bloom in darkness and fall at dawn, suggesting beauty that does not last.
The sky: The most powerful symbol — it represents the mother's all-encompassing, eternal love; her gaze has not disappeared but has become the universe itself.

Writing Task — Diary Entry

Writing Task | Word Limit: 120–150 words | Format: Personal Diary Entry

Diary Entry Format

Day, Date, Time (e.g., Sunday, 26 April 2026, Evening)
First person (I, my) throughout
Sensory details — what you saw, heard, smelled, felt
Emotional reflection — what the experience meant to you
Concluding thought — a personal insight or question
Note: You may begin with "Dear Diary" (like Anne Frank) or simply begin with the date (like Samuel Pepys) — both are valid formats.

Prompt: Imagine you had been on a school trip to a scenic place that appealed to all your senses. Write a diary entry describing the place and why it was a memorable experience.

Key things to include:

Begin with day, date, and time
Use only first person (I, my)
Capture sensory details (smell, sound, sight, touch)
Express emotions authentically
Focus on one or two significant moments
Conclude with a reflection

Sunday, 27 April 2026, Evening

Dear Diary,
Today we visited Kabini Forest Lodge and I cannot find the right words — only images that keep returning. The moment I stepped out of the vehicle, the air hit me: damp, earthy, carrying the faint sweetness of flowering trees I could not name. We walked in silence through the tall grass and I felt the forest press around us, humming with invisible life. A kingfisher flashed blue-orange over the water. Somewhere above us, a bird I will never identify sent three clear notes into the stillness, and then stopped — as if listening for an answer. I thought, strangely, of Tagore's poem. Some places are simply too large for words. I only know I want to return.
— Aanya

Frequently Asked Questions

What is I Cannot Remember My Mother – Rabindranath Tagore about in NCERT Class 9 Kaveri?

I Cannot Remember My Mother – Rabindranath Tagore is from NCERT Class 9 English Kaveri (NEP 2020 textbook) covering literary and language concepts with vocabulary, devices, and CBSE-aligned exercises.

What vocabulary is in I Cannot Remember My Mother – Rabindranath Tagore?

Key words from I Cannot Remember My Mother – Rabindranath Tagore are highlighted with contextual meanings, parts of speech, and usage examples in interactive vocabulary modals.

What literary devices are used in I Cannot Remember My Mother – Rabindranath Tagore?

I Cannot Remember My Mother – Rabindranath Tagore uses imagery, symbolism, metaphor, and figurative language identified with coloured tags throughout the lesson.

What exercises are included for I Cannot Remember My Mother – Rabindranath Tagore?

Exercises include extract-based comprehension questions, grammar workshops, vocabulary activities, and writing tasks with model answers.

How does I Cannot Remember My Mother – Rabindranath Tagore help CBSE Class 9 exam preparation?

I Cannot Remember My Mother – Rabindranath Tagore includes CBSE-format extract questions, 100-120 word long answer practice, and grammar exercises following Bloom's L1-L6.

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