My version

I was travelling with my little sister and ammA in an auto. After rounds of word building and clapping games, ammA said that we both should not bother her for a few minutes. I thought it was a fair request and thought that I have to be a responsible elder sister and keep my little sister engaged. I decided to narrate a story that I know to her.

pAdukA - nAn prahalAdan kadhai sollaren onnakku ( I am going to tell prahalAda story to you)

madhurA - ok

pAdukA - oru paiyan irundhaan. avanukku oru "bad" appA (There was a boy who had a bad father)

Avanukku "narayana ommachi" dhaan friend-a vennum. AnA avanoda appA kku adhu pidikalai ( He wanted Lord Narayana to be his friend. But his father did not like it)

madhurA - adhunaala (so what?)

pAdukA - prahalAdan oda appa avanai punish panna. avannai fire la potta, malai lerndhu thallina, thanni la potta. AnnA avanoda friend "narayana oomachi" avanai ellathu lerndhu kaapathina (Prahalada's father punished him by throwing into fire, pushing him from a mountain and ocean. But his friend Lord Narayana saved him from everything)

madhurA - pAdukA, onnoda friend onna ippadi save pannuvAlA? (Will your friend save you like this?)

pAdukA (thinking for a bit) - ennoda friends kku ippadi shakthi illai and ava evvalovu nalla friend  illai "narayana oomachi" madhiri ( My friends are not as strong and they are not such good friends like Narayana oomachi)

pAdukA - First of all, ennoda appA bad-a irundhadhaane. yennoda appA romba good, so ennaku problem-a illai ( I will have all these problems only when my appA is bad. But my appA is very good:)

Google knows it all

Whenever my sister and I put our parents in a spot with a difficult question, they find out the answer by googling it. Well, I knew that they do not know it all a long time back. I have made it clear to them that they can look up Google and answer me :) I love the voice activated search on my father's phone. My belief in Google has been increasing with every answer it provided. But I think I took this belief a little too far. This is why

Incident 1

Relative 1(pointing at her son) - pAdukA, avana annA nnu koopadu (pAdukA, call him annA)
Relative 2 - ila, avan chittappa (He is chitappa)
Relative (after thinking for a while) - pAdukA mama nnu kupadanum nnu ninaikaren ( I think pAdukA should call him  uncle)

Discussion as to what the relationship is continued for 10 minutes. I thought I had to intervene and put an end to this. The solution is so simple :)

pAdukA - Google la kekalaamey. adhu sollum na enna kupadanum nnu (Why don't we ask Google. It will tell us what I should call !!)


Incident 2

pAdukA - Ramayanam, Mahabharatam, Prahalaada kadhai laam nejam-a? (Are Ramayanam, Mahabharatam and Prahalaada's story true?)

ammA - Idhu ellaam romba kaalam munnaadi nadandadhu. naan paarkalai. adhanaala ennakku idhalaam nejamma nnu theriyaadhu. idhu lerndhu nalla vishayam dhaan katthukanum (All of this happened long long time ago. I have not seen it, so I do not know if it is true. We have to learn and follow the morals behind the stories)

pAdukA (referring to the voice response on phone used by her appA often) - phone la irukkale avaala kellu ma. avaa naraiya padichirkaa. avaalukku naraiya theriyum onna vida (Ask the person on the phone ammA. That person has read a lot and knows much more than you do )

ammA - !!! ( Am I not more real to you?)

A big decision

My little sister had peeled off stickers from a book and has stuck it all over the house. I found that she had stuck one on my mother's cell phone to. I thought that it was very thoughtful of my sis to have done that. My ammA did not realize that. So I thought I should tell her.

pAdukA - M romba sweet ammA (ammA M is very sweet)
ammA - yen? (why?)
pAdukA -  nee avalai maraka kudAdhu nnu sticker ottirkA onnoda phone la. (She has stuck a sticker on your phone so that you will not forget her)
ammA - nAn yen avvalai marakanum (Why will I forget her?)
pAdukA - avo kalyAnam pannindu poittapparam (After she gets married)
ammA (sad) - enna vittutu yen poonum (why should she leave me?)
pAdukA - kalyAnam apporam avo family oda iruppa avo Athula (She will live with her family in her house)
ammA - appo nAn (then what happens to me?)
pAduka - nee onnoda family oda iruppa (you will stay with your family)
I could not see my ammA so sad, so I made a decision
pAdukA - nAn kalyAnam pannindu onnoda ye irukken yennoda family oda (I will stay with you after marriage with my family)
pAdukA - happy ammA?
ammA (my little one already thinks about distant future!) - yes happy pattu :) (I am happy sweetie) 

My interpretation

I have been seeing a commercial on TV many times now. I think I understand it well but the meaning is just funny. So I thought I will confirm with my ammA what I understand from the advertisement.

In case you are wondering which advertisement I am talking about vogue empower - start with the boys ad.

Watching the ad being played on T.V.

pAdukA - So mean ma

ammA - yen pAdukA (why pAdukA?)

pAdukA - enna ¨ boys don't cry nnu sollinde irukka. appo girls azhuvaala? (why do do they say ¨boys don't cry¨. Then do girls cry ?)

pAdukA - Girls dhaan azhamaata (Only girls do not cry)

ammA - correct pAdukA. Girls don't cry.

pAdukA (watching the ad) - paaru ma inda girl azhala. anda boy adihchaalum (This girl does not cry even after this boy beats her)

pAdukA - naan correct-a sonnen, girls azhamaattaa (I told you correctly. Girls don't cry)

ammA smiling - correct

pAdukA (reading from the screen) - Let's start with the boys. enna ma start pannanum (ammA, what do we start?)

ammA does not respond. pAdukA continues to think aloud about what she saw and interpreted

pAdukA - nAn nenaikaren boys don't cry nnu sollara ila ammA. adhaan let's start with boys sollara. (I think since they kept saying ¨boys don't cry¨, I think they are saying ¨let's start with the boys¨)

ammA - olaraadha pAdukA (pAdukA, do not blabber)

pAdukA (irritated) - no, ammA. boy's seria azha matta, adhaan let's start teaching them to cry nnu sollara (Boys do not cry properly, that's why they are saying that we should start teaching them to cry proprerly)

ammA - !

Studying grammar

Reading my grammar book is a source of great entertainment. My ammA was amused that I roll in laughter reading my grammar book.

ammA - padI nnu sonna, sirichindrukka? (Why are you laughing when I have asked you to read?)

pAdukA - silly slliy-a potturukku. (This book has silly things)

ammA (going through the book) - inda lesson edha patthi? (What is this lesson about?)

pAdukA (no listening to ammA, lost in her own world keeps giggling)

ammA - past tense pAdukA !

pAdukA - so silly ! 

ammA - ennadhu silly pAdukA ? (what is silly?)

pAdukA - Snoopy nnu oru nAi patthi :) (It is about a dog called Snoopy). He licked Raju's face. (giggles). He chewed grandfather's slippers (more giggling) He opened the door for father (rolls in laughter)

ammA - ennathukku serikara (why are you laughing?)

pAdukA - eppadi oru naai rendu kaal-la ninnnu kadava tharakkum? Picture paar. (How can a dog stand on two legs and open the door? See the picture)

pAdukA - namba kooda oru naai vangi idhumaadhari tricks sollikudukanam. adhu dhaan appa office lerndhu varache kadavu tharakkum (We should also buy a dog and teach tricks. He will open the door for appA when he comes from office.)

ammA - !!! When will she learn grammar? !!

Liar liar pants on fire

I am at a stage in my life where I am testing my limits and capability of lying. I have confessions to make. So here it is :-

I did not finish my lunch one day. Once again.. Don't judge me. This is my confession! Yet again I managed to eat just 2 spoons of my lunch and snacks. I had already planned what I am going to tell ammA as my excuse just because I did not want to eat my lunch after coming home.

ammA - yen sApadalai (Why did you not eat?)
pAdukA - yAro en box-la thuppittA (Someone spit into my box)
ammA - Nee enna panna appo? (What did you do then?)
pAdukA - nan bathroom ponen kai alamba (I went to the bathroom to wash my hands)
ammA - appo onakku eppadi theriyum (Then how do you know?)
pAdukA - friend sonna (A friend told me)
ammA - nee enna avalai panna. avo yen thuppanum ( What did you do? Why would she spit into your food)
pAdukA - nAn edhuvum pannalai? ( I did not do anything to her)
ammA - onnoda school diary-a thaa. nAn teacher kku note ezhuda poren (Bring your school diary. I am going to write a note to your teacher)
pAdukA - no ammA. She said sorry.
ammA - yen? ¨sorry¨ porAdhu. nee teacher kitta yen sollala? (Sorry is not enough. Why did you not tell your teacher?)
pAdukA - sonnen. Teacher sonna ¨sorry¨ sonna it is ok nnu (Yes, I told and teacher told that if she said sorry it is ok)
ammA - no not enough. anda ponnu peru sollu. nAn note ezhudha poren (Tell me the name of the girl who spit. I am going to write a note)
pAdukA - no ammA. Teacher already punished her.
ammA - no, diary konduvA (No, bring your diary)
pAdukA - no no
ammA - yedhu ellAm poi? (what are all lies?)
pAdukA - lunch pidikalai. athukku vandhu sApada vendam. (I did not like the lunch and I did not want to eat it after coming home.)
ammA - adhukku poi sollinde irupayA? Nee thappu panna unmaya solli ¨punishment¨ vAngiko. poi sonna onna nAnnum appAvum eppovomey pesamAttom. (So, will you keep lying? If you do a mistake, then say the truth and get the punishment you deserve.)
pAdukA - ok ammA. inimey ippadi pannave mAtten (I will never do like this again!)

Hmm.. I have been wondering when my ammA knew I was lying. What was the give away?

But I can tell you this, the lecture that followed this conversation was a long long one and every small thing became a teaching point for my parents during the week. Lying.... is definitely a bad idea....especially if you have parents like mine who will never let go and probe deep making you build on the lie and make it sound ridiculous :(

My musings - Helen Keller

My parents are trying to make it a habit for me to read a book periodically. So, I read a children's book on Helen Keller. The first time I read it, it seemed like an unusual book to me. There were no cartoons or silly animals in the story. I was confused and did not understand the book. I asked my ammA to read to me and explain it. It was not a fun story. How can something not be jolly and rosy?! I tried my best to ask questions to get the jolly side of Helen Keller's story but found none. The next couple of days I read the story over and over trying to wrap my brain around her story.

"Helen Keller cannot see or hear?!" "Even after she grew up?! How is that possible?!"

"She learnt languages, studied and authored books?!"

I was curious to know how not seeing and hearing feel like. I tried closing my eyes and ears and doing things. I asked ammA to show me alphabets with her hands just like Helen Keller learnt from her teacher. It IS tough. How did she live like this....?

I wanted to know more about Helen Keller and her life. I spent 45 minutes of a bus ride discussing about Helen Keller with ammA. I saw her pictures and wanted to know the other books  I can read about her. I want to read the books she has written. I try being her closing my eyes and ears to feel the world she felt. I came to know of Braille. 

It is so interesting and I don't know the feeling I get when I read her story. I have never felt this way. My parents say that the feeling is "inspiring". 

Helen Keller is my star and hero.