When Ammini tried Hindi - Ammini & Ramchandra - part 8 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child
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Ammini searched for the shopping bag in the kitchen. She rarely had to go to the market, but right now, she was alone at home. Devaki Amma, her mother-in-law, was away to see baby Vineeta and her daughter Shreedevi in Borivali, and Subadhra, her young sister-in-law, was at work. Ramchandra, her husband, had gone to the office earlier that morning too. Ammini only realised after he had left that she had no vegetables to cook.
Ammini decided to carry one-year-old baby Raj to the entrance of the grounds at the military quarters in Colaba and see if the vegetable seller was there. That was where everyone had told her the vendor would be. Subadhra saw him often when she left and came back from work, and her neighbours often went to the gate to buy vegetables too. Ammini could always make do without any vegetables for once. Her husband would not mind. But she wanted to try and do something about her Hindi. She only spoke Malayalam so far.
In the last nearly two years of living in the military colony, she had heard so many languages. Every time she interacted with someone new, a new language fell on her ears. She was of course aware that no one could learn every language, but Hindi seemed to be the common language that everyone knew a bit of. So, she carried Raj, with the shopping bag in her hand and her little purse tucked into the little pocket pleat she had created at her waist in her saree, and walked to the gate.
She was there quickly, and yes, she immediately saw the vegetable vendor. He had a lot of fresh greens, some pumpkins of different colours and drumsticks. She decided she would ask him for some tomatoes, some spinach and maybe a couple of pieces of the drumsticks for the next time they made the yummy lentil preparation called Sambhar.
She walked up to the cart and picked up a little basket into which she would place the vegetables she selected.
“Tama... Tama... Tamatar kitna?” she mumbled, asking him the cost of the tomatoes.
He answered the amount for the equivalent of a quarter kilo. Ammini was not sure if she understood exactly what he was saying, but nodded. She knew he would not fleece her as she lived in the colony where he apparently came every day.
“Yeh tarbooja nahi...” Her words in Hindi became her thoughts in Malayalam. “Ayyo, endo aa idhe,” she thought, trying to remember what the exact word for pumpkin was.
“Kaddu, 5 paisa 1 kilo,” he said in reply.
Ah, Kadhoo, she replied trying to get the exact pronunciation. She tried to remember it for next time.
“Achha, Achha …aadha kilo.”
She was exhausted by the little exchange of words already. She picked up the drumstick and instinctively went to Malayalam and asked, “Ee muringaykka ethre?” which meant, “How much for these drumsticks?”
The man replied, “Ayyo, chechi Malayali anno? Nyaan Tamizh, enekya Malayalam thereyaam,” which, in translation, meant, “Oh sister, are you a Malayali? I’m a Tamil man and I can understand Malayalam.”
Ammini was suddenly pulled by his words to look at him and was a bit disappointed, as she had lost one new source of learning Hindi. Tamilians and Malayalis could somewhat understand each other.
She smiled at him and said, “Aaa... pakshe Malayalam venda, Hindi madhi.” Yes, but let’s avoid Malayalam and speak in Hindi.
The vegetable vendor smiled back and gave her a nod of his head. He gave her the total in Hindi.
Ammini walked back with baby Raj, practising all the words she had learned during the exchange. She seemed to desperately want to save them somewhere in her memory for future use. She would maybe surprise everyone one day with her fluent Hindi.
She looked at Raj, who was perched on her waist. He was smiling at her. She smiled and felt really good about her small achievement as they walked home.
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You can read all the previous stories here
The day they met
How my Daddy met my Mummy - Ramchandra & Ammini - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child
Read the second story of their wedding day here
My parent's Guruvayoor wedding - Ramchandra & Ammini - Part 2- The Chronicles of the Youngest Child
Read about how Ammini settles in
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