It was one of those great evenings when mom, Atta and I were having our dinner together. We eat together at the table only when mom is visiting. Mom and I were ribbing Atta about a girl he had befriended while taking Anakin out on his evenings walks. The two would meet and talk under the pretext of walking their dogs.
Mom was warning Atta about him getting distracted by all this girl nonsense when his A-levels were so close. So typically mom! With food in her mouth, mom tried to say "Mein usko phone karke bolungi ke aaj kutta leke na aye" (I will call her up and ask her not to bring her dog for a walk tonight). But the food in her mouth made it sound as if she had said "Mein usko phone karke bolungi ke aaj-chutta le ke na aye".
I froze. I couldn't believe my ears- what she had just said sounded like a distorted version of a filthy Hindi word referring to the female anatomy! That's not the kind of language I expect from mom, but then she is most unpredictable. I gave her a glare and soon realized that she was not even aware of what she had said. It just sounded like it did because she was chewing her food as she said it. So, I decided to ignore it and went on eating my dinner. Just then, after a gap of about 20 seconds, Atta asks "What is chutta"? I burst out laughing.
Mom was horrified that anyone could think she would use such language. She insisted that she had not said it, but both Atta and I had heard it so there was no escaping. We probably laughed about it for the next 10-15 minutes, much to mom's chagrin.
But that was not all. For the rest of mom's stay, Atta would make it a point to remind her daily of what she had said and mom never stopped getting flustered about it. When she left, I am sure she was happy to see the end of this story finally.
Today, I saw an FB comment from grandson to grandma reminding her of the incident. Poor mom, there is not going to be any end to this unforgettable story about the unforgettable galee!
Mom was warning Atta about him getting distracted by all this girl nonsense when his A-levels were so close. So typically mom! With food in her mouth, mom tried to say "Mein usko phone karke bolungi ke aaj kutta leke na aye" (I will call her up and ask her not to bring her dog for a walk tonight). But the food in her mouth made it sound as if she had said "Mein usko phone karke bolungi ke aaj-chutta le ke na aye".
I froze. I couldn't believe my ears- what she had just said sounded like a distorted version of a filthy Hindi word referring to the female anatomy! That's not the kind of language I expect from mom, but then she is most unpredictable. I gave her a glare and soon realized that she was not even aware of what she had said. It just sounded like it did because she was chewing her food as she said it. So, I decided to ignore it and went on eating my dinner. Just then, after a gap of about 20 seconds, Atta asks "What is chutta"? I burst out laughing.
Mom was horrified that anyone could think she would use such language. She insisted that she had not said it, but both Atta and I had heard it so there was no escaping. We probably laughed about it for the next 10-15 minutes, much to mom's chagrin.
But that was not all. For the rest of mom's stay, Atta would make it a point to remind her daily of what she had said and mom never stopped getting flustered about it. When she left, I am sure she was happy to see the end of this story finally.
Today, I saw an FB comment from grandson to grandma reminding her of the incident. Poor mom, there is not going to be any end to this unforgettable story about the unforgettable galee!
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