Indian Ameri

First of all, Mad Max, thanks for this awesome link. You just made my week start perfect. (A definite watch...)

"Hari! We all knew, that you were coming", is the comment I often got as I entered my classroom located three stories high in the air. Thanks to the voice I carry, I've been misunderstood as a serious or a hot tempered guy most of the times. Though, my reasons to sing around while climbing stairs or talk to friends while climbing has been zipped in the States, the leaping three step assent (in American wooden stairs) has always been a signature of my presence. But today, the post isn't on my voice nor my lizard leaps. It's on me having trouble talking simple words...... :(

"Man.... How Man?????? Sun TV to Sony to Gemini TV to HBO?", is the comment I get a lot now a days from my friends. Fortunately and also unfortunately, I'm one of those members of the multilingual desi clan (Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, and a lil bit of Malayalam too) who's got enough friends and trouble, trying to switch over between the tongues, whenever the heart permits to socialize. Although I am never perfect in any of the languages, I've been satisfied with what I do with this partial skill of mine. But, yesterday for the first time, I've been pretty much pissed off with this curse of mine.

In two seasons of cricket, I've been an improving middle order batsman gaining the trust and confidence of previous senior players. The key to my success was, using my voice at it's best to shout either a confident 'YES YES YES' or a strict 'NOOOOOOOOOO!' or a careful 'WAITinggggg' when it comes to running between the wickets trying to increase the run rate. But over years, I've managed to be flexible in stealing the crucial runs by gaining my partner batsman's trust, by yelling in the tongue he'd been comfortable with.

Third year into this practice, and now the added thoughts of captaincy, team chemistry, reading the bowling team (& the opponent captain), 'opening batsman' mindset to stay in; just to give confidence to the middle order freshers is really messing with my tongue. I shout, "Aaja aaja aaja" to a Telugu miyan, "Vandhuru" to a Hindi hitteru, or a "Ochae" to a Chennaigaaru. Add to this confusion, the supportive job of talking to your partner after every ball giving him confidence I mix "Rok Lo/Rak Lo", "Achae khel rahe ho", "Soober shot da", "Nalla aadura da", "Anthe. Alaanae aadu", "Manchiga aaduthunaav" and a few other usual comments with the wrong person. I need to get back to my old state of using plain old, "Yeahhhhh" "Come on" "In the gap" "My danger end" etc to get those sleek, smart, sexy Singles (No double entendre guys)

We multilingual people have been mocked around in most occasions. But the real truth is, we have the best exposure to different cultures (trust me! It is very different even between two neighboring states) all together. We have more songs to listen to, more movies to watch at, more friends to spend time with, more styles to learn on, more cities to visit at, more of more everything and everywhere..... So never think that mockery on our language skills is gonna depress us.... ;)

Off the tongue:
1. Am back to good ol' 4/5 hour per day sleep cycles. Yippieeeeee!
2. Work's going perfect and am happy with whatever shit I am put up with the results
3. Under grad days are back in terms scheduling. I use a pocket note for almost everything.
4. Watched the movie 'Race' (first Desi movie almost after 5 weeks of busy life) and as commented by a friend 'I guessed and expected every twist in the movie and felt it to be boring and dull'
5. Journal reading count is on the high again. Thanks to the 'guilty if not worked' cricket season.
6. For the first time in three years, I wasn't available this weekend for any socializing work coz I was busy and wanted to work on my research.
7. It feels rejuvenating to listen to 'Anbe Enanbe' and 'Sakiyae' from Dhaam Dhoom (Been long I liked a song, thanks to the copying of good songs by Pritam in Hindi, the too many Dandanakka in Tamil (where did YSR disappear?) and mix it all Telugu songs, I'd been starving for a good song)
8. Finished watching season two of Bones finally and am happy that I've churned into an awesome forensic interpreter. Give me a murder situation and I can gather my very own clues and can find the murderer for sure (given I'm offered an FBI badge)
9. Journal reading has gone up by 300% (too many papers being read now a days)
10. Finally I spoke for over 44 'seconds' with my parents this weekend while mutually cooking the same food at different times and at different countries. Mom finally thinks that I haven't forgotten her and dad's already asking me to look for old age homes. :))
11. Jay - my 19 month old nephew came over while I was sleeping yesterday evening and gave me a kiss to wake me up. HE gave me a KISS - now that's news. Naughty kid always preferred giving and getting kisses from woman and now he has changed. Poor kid, must have had a broken heart from some 12 year old girl :))
12. Culinary skills (cooked after 3 months), hasn't deteriorated. But chopping style has gone crazily sleek. Get me a real sharp knife, and I can cut a tomato into four quarters just by throwing it in the air and chopping before I catch the pieces with my hand (It's not hard guys, it's just a trick)
13. Tongue ulcers are really playing hard with my taste skills.
14. Am cursed! However safe I wear my thigh pad during batting, I get hit and am having internal hemorrhage (black enough making me not wear shorts for job). One moment I was pleased that I wasn't hit and while keeping, I got hit bad on my thoracic cage. Guess I should take part in UFC... and finally
15. This is a long post........ :D