At 3!

Destination: Planet Fashion, Jayanagar 4th Block, Bangalore, India

As a routine of a regular walk to Jayanagar (for a cup of coffee), me and another colleague headed to Jayanagar Cotha's Coffee Shop. After a steaming, refreshing cup, we headed to, main part of the journey, Planet Fashion. My colleagues who is leaving to US this weekend, was in need of a apparels.

The hunt was on, but I found a place to sit at the corner of the showroom and after a few minutes on the mobile, I heard someone speaking in Bram-Thamizh and it was a kid's voice! For sometime I sat there listening, intently, to what she was saying. She was talking about selecting some particular colours which her mom was picking for the kid's dad. From another end I heard an old lady, talking in Bram-Thamizh accent. She was pleading to the child to stop roaming and have the food which she was carrying around - "Konthey (Not kozhanthey!), vaadi vanthu saapudu di. Vaadi konthey!" (Child, come here and have your food) This went for sometime. Curious, I stood up and searched hither and thither for the kid. To my surprise I saw a kid, who was barely 3yrs! I was expecting her to be around 5 or 6. To some the figure hardly makes a difference, but for me it makes a lot. Yeah, accepted that today's kids are really smart! And I found the revelation pretty hard to digest!

The kid was on her own - identifying colours, which I learnt only when I was in the middle school! She went on "Amma, appakku ithu vangalama? Intha colour (_____, fill the colour)) romba nanna irukku." (Mom, can we buy this colour for dad?) And her paatti shouts backs asking her to come back for the next turn of intake. Well, she was so hyper active, as every kid could be, she went skating on the mirror like reflecting floors and kept falling intentionally. She was enjoying it. Paatti gets frustrated and yells back "Konthey paathu, kai kall ellam azhukku pannrey, vanthu saappudu diiii!" (Child, be careful, you may fall and make your hands and legs dirty, come and have your food), she continues "Ippo nee varala na, nan itha vera yaar kittayavathu koduthurven. Illa na naney saattuduven!" (If you do not come now, I'll pass this across to someone else, or might have it myself!) Kid, thinks for sometime and stops roaming and innocently says "Paati, enakku athu pidikkala, neeye sattudu." (Grandma, I do not like it, you can have it!) I was about to fall flat on my stomach and start laughing for the mokkai which the kid had, so innocently, returned back to her paati! But refrained myself only for an uncontrollable laugh! That was an ultimate answer, with a superb timing.

After this, she went in search of her mom, who was at the T-Shirt section (quite a nut, I went following as though I was following the lifetime babe!!! ;-), but it just a baby!) Yeah, I followed where-ever she went. And so, off to the T-Shirt section. There she was advising her mom, "Amma intha T-Shirt vaangu ma!" (Mom, buy this T-Shirt!) What's with that sentence? It is a normal one, but not for kid of 3! At 3, I hardly knew a difference between - Sokka, sattai and a 'Shirt'! (Sattai and sokka are tamil equivalent for Shirt (I presume!))

Exposure, grasping-power, and of all - a mind to be moulded! Today's kids are, well I'm dumbstruck with awe. As Vadivelu says: No talkings!

For those non-Tamil speakers: The translation may not be appealing as it would have lost its essence of pun!

Comments

D said…

Ada paavi entha vayasu poningala vidrathaa illai!! paathu da child harassmentla ulla potidaporanga
but waht you are saying is true, the kids nowadays,man they are a package of precocious comments and in the cheek opinions.
I remember it was just a year ago that my little niece walks up to her father in Food World and states ' Daddy I think its time we got a new mommy, she refuses to buy me chocolates. Why don't we divorce her?'

3:15 am

Sundar said…

Adi paavi! I'm not like you di, falling for kezha bolts. That kid was appadiya ____ (lost for words)!

About teh kid you'd mentioned, I just cannot stop laughing! ROFLOL!

3:19 am

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