LANGUAGE IS NO BARRIER

 

LANGUAGE IS NO BARRIER

 

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

 

07/IV/20222

 

As we move in life we learn every day. Small things can make a big difference & add to your experiences. One smile can bring a change, one ‘time wish’ can break the ice, one conversation can break all myths, perceptions can change, one gesture can make bonds. The list is never ending. If one can use these inexpensive tools, society would be a better place.

 

A few days back a lady and her ‘Golden Retriever’ were passing by our house. She wasn’t a regular but once in a while would walk her dog. Sitting inside the house, gazing from the drawing room window, we noticed that she stopped by to have a ‘Dekho’ to the plants. Probably she liked what we had to display as a plant lover, we conjectured.

 

One day, I sat on the parapet opposite the house to capture birds in action when one noticed a familiar dog bumming across. He knew every corner of our lane it appeared. One was not sure whether this guy was friendly or not. The craving to cuddle that fluffy thing was held back.

 

Soon, the same lady I mentioned earlier came following behind. All the turmoil in her heart about our plants came pouring out in one go. ‘Ye aap ki plants hai’, I smiled and nodded. Ye aap karti hai, my grin broadened and gave another nod. My smile turned into a grin as her accent seemed to be ‘malyali’ and her ‘Indi’ seemed so familiar when she mixed up the gender and tense.

 

Ye mere paas bhi thi, ‘tch-tch’ par marti thi. Now I was confused as to what did she mean. Mere paas ‘randu’ thi. Now I was more confused. I presumed she had a few plants which were now dead. Ek phool main aati ek main nahi ati. I understood the gist. App kya karti. I said, main Army main thi sorry… tha. Nai, aap plants ke saath kya karti?

 

This was a double meaning question. As one was getting the drift, I told her that I water them, hoe them and manure them regularly. Vo to main bhi karti. I asked, dhoop aati, haan ati she said. I didn’t know what to tell her unless I saw the plants. Main husband ko le ke ati. I got a little perturbed, hope I had not offended her. And the big burly south Indian film villain started floating in my mind beating me black and blue. I folded my hands and she ran away. In our conversation, she had lost track of her dog, who took advantage and evaporated. Tabby……..Tabby, Ankle maregi.

 

I mentioned this conversation to my wife. This morning, that ‘cuddle bag’ doggy came and halted in front of our house. Cuddly…Lucy….Tony…. it ignored me. I am not good at remembering names so this poor thing did not respond to the wrong name. But I recognised the lady and we exchanged good mornings.

 

Having reaped our first Black Pepper crop from our most beloved creeper, my wife and I were sipping tea in our veranda. Main aap ko us din poochi thi, plants ke bare main. I nodded. My wife then took the conversation forward. Are you Malyali? No, we are Telugu. My name is so and so and we had new friends in town.

 

She was invited to see our wares. Lemon grass, peppermint, mint, paan and we also shared from our little quarter plate, two pods of freshly plucked peppers. My-My she was so impressed. Within one minute we knew much more about the colony than we would have ever known.

 

The main purpose of writing this piece is that our hobby of gardening brought us a new friend. A few simple words exchanged broke the ice. A small conversation revealed that people look forward to opening up. Sharing too reinforces bond.

 

Telugu, Hindi, Marwari or English doesn’t matter. It was exchange of similar ‘likes’ that made an immediate bond. New friends are always welcome. Will you guys try it? I wonder!!!!!!!!!!

 

JAI HIND

© NOEL ELLIS