My relatives back home keep advising (nagging) me on how and why it is important to teach Tamil to Abi. I myself wanted him to learn the language and he too was trying to speak. But still there was always this little bit of doubt whether he will remember or not because of his surroundings. Much to everyone's delight, the long summer vacation in our village has really helped Abi master the language.
What is most amazing is he can not only speak Tamil so fluently but also translate most of the words to Hindi when required and vice versa! When my father was here, Abi was playing the interpreter between him and other local staff. It was such a pleasure watching him play that role so perfectly! But sitting here, I didnt have an opportunity to put other relatives' doubt at rest.
During this Tamil Nadu visit he has impressed everyone he met by speaking in Tamil. Living out of our State, I rarely get to attend family functions but this time we had an opportunity to attend my cousin's son's marriage. I remember attending the same cousin's wedding with my daughter when she was 3 yrs old - now for his son's wedding I attended with my daughter's son!! Its here that Abi had a chance to meet most of our relatives. The tiny tot instantly impressed everybody with his language skill. In fact, people there have given him a certificate that he not only speaks Tamil well but also speaks it better than his mother.
Of course I too got some appreciation for not letting him forget our roots :)
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