1. Kamala Das
Summer Vacation
Gokhale Education Society’s
S.M.R.K. B.K. A.K Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Nasik-5.
CC English (HL)
T.Y.B.Com. Sem V
Unit 1
Ms. Geetanjali Gitay
Assistant Professor
Dept. of English
2. About the Author :Kamala Das
• Kamala Das (31 March 1934 – 31 May 2009) was an
Indian English poet as well as a leading
Malyalam author from Kerala.
• Her mother was Balamani Amma, a well known poet in Malyalam.
• She wrote many collections of short stories under the name of Madhavi Kutty.
• She is best known in India for her collections of poems in English. Mainly the
collections ‘Summer in Calcutta’, ‘The Descendants’ and ‘The Old Playhouse’.
• Her poetry has won her many awards and has been translated into
Serbo-croat,Swedish, German and Russian.
3. Background of the Story
• The story is set in rural Kerala.
• The house described in the story belongs to “tarawad” of the Nayar caste
of Kerala.
• A “tarawad” is an aristocratic and matrilineal household headed by a woman.
• The term “tarawad” also refers to the family house estate.
• In the story, Muthassi lives alone, helped by the house
steward.
• Ammu will be the last of the tarawad.
• The house is built around a courtyard.
• Ammu narrates the story.
4. Characters in the Story
• Muthassi – the grandmother.
• Ammu – the granddaughter.
• Sankunni Nayar – house steward.
• Achutan – the cook.
• Nani Amma – the woman who comes to visit Muthassi.
• Amini - Nani Amma’s child.
• Velayudha Menon - Ammu’s father.
• Kamalam – Ammu’s mother.
• Women who come to visit Muthassi.
5. Plot Summary
• Ammu has come to Muthassi’s house for her summer vacation.
• Both of them go for a walk in the morning. Ammu sees an old, dried up tree and
asks Muthasssi which tree it is. She tells Ammu that it is a “nyaval” tree. Ammu is
also collecting small coconuts and they are walking through a coconut grove.
• Ammu then enquires about Muthassi’s friend, Devu. Muthassi tells that Devu and
all her friends are dead. Ammu consoles her telling that she will always be there
for Muthassi.
• Thus Muthassi and Ammu have an enganging conversation with each other.
6. Plot Summary
• Muthassi then tells Ammu that she is sixty-eight years old. To which Ammu
asks “ When will you die?”. Ammu for strange reasons, asks this question
again and again.
• Muthassi says that she has sinned and thus has lived longer than all her
relatives.
• Later, some women come to visit Muthassi.
• Purposefully, they ask Muthassi whether Ammu is her daughter’s child and
Whether Velayudha Menon came to drop Ammu. Muthassi replies that he
came up till Trichur from where Muthassi picked her up.
• They then sit there chatting.
• It 4 o’clock in the afternoon and Muthassi takes Ammu to kitchen to see
whether Achutan, the cook has made the coffee and vadas.
• While Muthassi is asking Achutan about this he looks at Ammu with a sly
and knowing grin on his face. Ammu does not like it.
7. Plot Summary
• Muthassi asks Achutan to bring four plates of vadas to tekkini (the room
facing South).
• She tells Ammu to have her snack in the kitchen. After she leaves, Achutan
takes out a bidi and starts smoking. He tells Ammu that he draws his life
energy from smoking bidis and nobody else cares for Ammu more than him.
• He further tells her that he hates the women who come and gossip.
• After eating vadas, and coffee, women leave.
• Later,while resting in the late afternoon Ammu asks Muthassi whether
she will be unhappy after Ammu leaves.
• To which Muthassi says she won’t be because Ammu will come back.
Ammu again has a question but what if Muthassi dies?
• Later, in the afternoon, Nani Amma , who earns living by pounding rice has
come to visit Muthassi with her five year old daughter.
• Muthassi is telling her that she can’t help her.
8. Plot Summary
• Muthassi is sitting in the inner courtyard while talking to Nani Amma.
• She asks Nani Amma to come to Vadakkini ( the North facing room) so
she can give the child something to eat, leftover dosas may be.
• Ammu asks Muthassi not to give her leftover dosas and instead give fresh
snacks. Muthassi agrees.
• While leaving Nani Amma gives the bag full of rice to her child as she is
adjusting her cloths and the bag falls down from the hands of the child.
• Along with rice, the tamarind concealed underneath also spills on the
ground. Ammu knows that Muthassi had given only rice to Nani Amma
that means she had stolen the tamarind. Ammu follows her and tells her
not to come to their house again as she is just a petty thief.
• Nani Amma leaves the bag on the road and says she doesn’t want her rice
or tamarind. While leaving she say ,” We are poor people child and you
are rich.” Ammu feels sad and starts crying.
9. Plot Summary
• Then comes the time for Ammu to return to Calcutta. Ammu, along with
Muthassi and Sankunni Nayar goes to Trichur railway station to catch the
train. Her father would catch the train from Kochi.
• Muthassi asks Sankunni Nair to buy book of Ammu. Ammu suddenly
remembers the nyaval tree. She tell Muthassi that perhaps it will bear fruit
next year and then they can together pluck the fruits.
• As Ammu boards the train, Muthassi talks with Ammu’s father. She tells him
that Ammu’s mother was her only daughter who died. But why he has taken
a oath not to come to her house. He tells her that he does not have the
courage to visit the house alone.
• In the train Ammu asks her father whether Muthassi will die. Her father, with
tears in his eyes, answers that she never will.
10. Observations
• The story explores a beautiful relationship between a grandmother and a
granddaughter.
• Summer vacation is usually a time to enjoy but Ammu’s summer vacation is a
complicated experience.
• Ammu’s fixation with death is because of her mother’s death.She is scared
that like her mother, everyone will die.
• Muthassi , a woman is the head of the family whereas Sankunni Nair,
Achutan are men without power. This is opposite of the general societal norm.
• Muthassi serves the gossiping women fresh snacks and Nani Amma stale food,
she also makes them sit in Tekkini and Vadakkini respectively. This shows the
class and caste discrimination observed by her. Ammu too becomes aware of it
as with her experience with Nani Amma.
• This story shows the challenges faced by a strong woman who is dealing with
her own challenges but is manging to put herself together through the
difficulties.
