English summer

Today, when Mira called me, the first thing she told me was that she was happy. And she told me that in English. The grandparents are making an effort to speak to them in English so that the kids dont forget what little English they can speak when they return to school in Chennai after the two-month vacation. This inclination to speak in English has been evident for the past 1-2 months, probably on the class teacher's advice or on seeing classmates jabber in English.

The only problem has been that they address us as Daddy and Mummy when they speak in English. You know what follows when you hear a Mummy coming. And now the Appacha and Ammachi have been replaceed by Granpa and Granma! Anyway I hope once they master the language they will revert to Appa and Amma and so on.

The train journey to Kerala was fun for the kids. They found a few elders (in picture) willing to be humoured by their antics and songs and talk. One of them, a balding man travelling alone, was Ash's object of interest. "You have a mottathala (bald head) like my Appa," he told him. And, 'do you know the spelling of ball, uncle?" he asked again unwilling to let his victim go.

The first two days at home went in a whirl as they ran from our house to the family house and back, and entertained their paternal grandparents the second day (picture). Mira began to feel depressed the night before my departure - she either wanted to go to Changanachery or to Chennai since she feared that granpa would beat/scold her. Granpa meanwhile is gearing up to discipline and tutor them while they are there.

Ash was stoic when I left, and didnt even look up from the sketch he was doing. And when we made him come out, he immediately ran off to see his grand uncle and his new scooter. Mira's crying face was etched in my memory as I took the night train to Madras teeming with Sabarimala pilgrims on their return journey.

Ash reportedly consoled her with a "Look, I am sad too but I am not crying." She lost her composure each night I called, but today she sounded cool and happy as she professed. Hopefully she will begin to enjoy the rain and sunshine, the love and care of her doting grandparents, and the food and playtime. And hopefully they will remember their summer vacations in Kerala with nostalgia like her parent and cousins did.

As my cousin wrote recently: "Remember how we used to run up and down the Chandanapally property, especially to the neighbor on the left side to collect the small mangoes that fell when the wind and rain came? I still recall the tangy sweet taste of those mangoes. K... used to be so small but he would keep up with us in whatever way he could. You and I used to make all kind of food with sand, water, flowers etc in coconut shells behind the house. Also, do you remember the mass haircutting sessions? I used to hate them because we girls were treated like boys, when our hair was cut short by the expert hair cutter 'Paramu'. Basically there was no chance to let hair grow beyond the level of the earlobes! I now allow my girls to grow their hair- although I hate long hair."

I too hate long hair now, but back then I simply loved long flowing hair. Now Mira wants long hair, but her curly hair is too unruly for that.