'Shhh...' for Shanti!
Today was the 'Test Day'..
The doorbell rang in the morning at 7 am... and there she was... standing like a tree in a windy storm..There was a little anxiety in the air..I led her in.
She headed straight towards the kitchen..picked up the broom and without a word.. began her work.
I jumped behind her.. and yelled.."Good Morning Shanti!"
Silence.
"Shanti! Nee epdi irke?"
Prolonged silence. She looked at me blankly.. and then looked away.
Hmm..! I whispered to myself..
"foul mood alert!!"
"foul mood alert!!"
"foul mood alert!!"
My maid's name is Shanti. She doesnt know how to read and write. We have always had difficulty conversing.. since she knows no Hindi or English and I know no Tamil. Thanks to my book "Learn Tamil in 40 days", that I can now speak to her the bare essential. We fixed up a deal, that she is gonna teach me 'the-must-know-Tamil-words' , two per day.
A week back, I persuaded her to learn - how to write. And she fell for my trap. Ever since then, we have been devoting 30- 45 minutes everyday for this.
We began with the basic Hindi alphabets. She is a darling :) , a fast learner too.
She picked up how to write her name and my name in Hindi. She practised, watever I taught, after her daily work was over.
I had announced May 25th as the "Weekly Test' date. The reason for silence was now evident.
We began. I asked her to write "Shanti" (without looking at her practice papers). She wrote it. Man!! Was I delighted ot what!!
Then I asked her to write "Sugandh" in Hindi. She gets confused in the last letter 'dh'- almost always!! It was a nerve-racking challenge for her. She began - "S"..put the "oo"..."g"...puts the "dot above"...and then...after many twists and turns in the pencil.. she finally wrote "dh"..
I was overjoyed! For a second, my eyes welled up with tears...She did it!Yes, she did!! This woman who didnt know how to hold a pen will last week... had picked up so much! I jumped up, screamed "SHANTI!!RUMBA NALLA IRKE!! and hugged her tight! She was startled to see my reaction! But then, her own acomplishment, let her get away with her inhibitions, and she hugged me back! :-)
As she was leaving, she turned and screamed with joy - "Auntie! Shhhh for Shanti!" :-)
The doorbell rang in the morning at 7 am... and there she was... standing like a tree in a windy storm..There was a little anxiety in the air..I led her in.
She headed straight towards the kitchen..picked up the broom and without a word.. began her work.
I jumped behind her.. and yelled.."Good Morning Shanti!"
Silence.
"Shanti! Nee epdi irke?"
Prolonged silence. She looked at me blankly.. and then looked away.
Hmm..! I whispered to myself..
"foul mood alert!!"
"foul mood alert!!"
"foul mood alert!!"
My maid's name is Shanti. She doesnt know how to read and write. We have always had difficulty conversing.. since she knows no Hindi or English and I know no Tamil. Thanks to my book "Learn Tamil in 40 days", that I can now speak to her the bare essential. We fixed up a deal, that she is gonna teach me 'the-must-know-Tamil-words' , two per day.
A week back, I persuaded her to learn - how to write. And she fell for my trap. Ever since then, we have been devoting 30- 45 minutes everyday for this.
We began with the basic Hindi alphabets. She is a darling :) , a fast learner too.
She picked up how to write her name and my name in Hindi. She practised, watever I taught, after her daily work was over.
I had announced May 25th as the "Weekly Test' date. The reason for silence was now evident.
We began. I asked her to write "Shanti" (without looking at her practice papers). She wrote it. Man!! Was I delighted ot what!!
Then I asked her to write "Sugandh" in Hindi. She gets confused in the last letter 'dh'- almost always!! It was a nerve-racking challenge for her. She began - "S"..put the "oo"..."g"...puts the "dot above"...and then...after many twists and turns in the pencil.. she finally wrote "dh"..
I was overjoyed! For a second, my eyes welled up with tears...She did it!Yes, she did!! This woman who didnt know how to hold a pen will last week... had picked up so much! I jumped up, screamed "SHANTI!!RUMBA NALLA IRKE!! and hugged her tight! She was startled to see my reaction! But then, her own acomplishment, let her get away with her inhibitions, and she hugged me back! :-)
As she was leaving, she turned and screamed with joy - "Auntie! Shhhh for Shanti!" :-)
7 Comments:
Shiva
Jin baton ko khud nahi samjhe aur ko samjhaya hein....
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