Call me 'Rosebud'

"Call me Rosebud", the little one chirped yesterday.

When I asked her why, she informed me that everyone has to have a nickname. But why Rosebud?

Because this is a nice name. I like it.

The little one gets quite talkative when she goes to bed. Nudge her anytime earlier and she has forgotten what her day was like.

Not at bedtime. Then she wants to talk about who she played with, who she had a fight with and what all she learned during the day.

Her Hindi has developed remarkably in the 11 months she has spent in Delhi. Her vocabulary is quite extensive as she hears Hindi at home, with friends and in school.

Such is her confidence that I am frequently corrected when telling a bedtime story - Lion nahin Sher" (It's Sher, not Lion), "Clever nahin Chaalak" (It's Chaalak, not Clever) and Dark nahin Andhera (It's Andhera, not Dark).

People of my generation grew up caught between Hindi and English. The former was the language you grew up with; the latter you had to learn to do well in life.

Somewhere, our language turned into HinGlish - with the structure and shape of Hindi but peppered liberally with English words.

This has since taken shape of HinUrGlish, bringing Urdu into the mix as well. Hindi TV channels have been a big promoter of this. Quite often, it results in presenters using Hindi or Urdu words where they make no sense or distort the sense.

However, this hasn't dampened the enthusiasm for the language. It now is part of the popular culture, shaping some of best marketing slogans - like Youngistan Ka Wow (Pepsi), Taste Bhi Health Bhi (Nestle) and Khushiyon Ki Home Delivery (Dominos).

So how come my little one is swimming in a different direction?

Probably because at her age, the capacity to learn is immense. At school, she is being taught both Hindi and English. Phonetic English is as close as it goes to teaching Hindi. The alphabets are taught the way they are pronounced and the words come together based on sounds of individual alphabets.

For us, it was A, B, C. For her, it is Aa, Ba, Ka. Just like Hindi, where the alphabet are identified in the same way they are pronounced. So, CAT happens when the sounds Ka-Aa-T come together, not because of See, Aye and Tee.

With the structure and sound so similar, it seems her brain has created two compartments. One for Hindi and the other for English. Any unfamiliar sound, as in the use of a Hindi word in English or vice-versa, seems jarrring to her - assuming she knows the equivalent Hindi word.

An interesting side-effect is that her British English diction has nearly disappeared. It is an interesting mix of American and Indian English dictions.

I forgot to ask her whether her new nick-name will be Rose-bud or a Rrrrrrose-buuudd?

She's speaking Hindi now

The little one definitely looked better when I got home on Wednesday.

Those hardcore antibiotics seem to have had an effect. As a friend of mine said, the bugs here are hardcore and have built up a strong immunity to the regular stuff. You need hardcore treatment for them.

It was nice to hear her voice again, but a little surprise for the first words to be tum chup ho jaao (You keep quiet please). Didn't realise I was talking too much over these last few days. Thanks for letting me know, little angel.

It is interesting to see Hindi become her primary language. Suddenly, she is making entire conversations in the language - without struggling for words or phrases.

Just a week ago, she wanted to know to what chippee sadan (hidden tooth decay) meant. A toothpaste commercial had a young kid being lectured on dental hygiene and how that particular brand was best at it.

The arrival of DTH television has opened her to a world of possibilities. Suddenly, she knows all about McDonalds, Crax, Maggi, Cadburys, Alpenliebe and other such things.

Lelly Kelly Shoe, Peppa Helicopter or Play-Doh no longer interest her. McDonald's Happy Meal, Maggi Masala and Crax Corn Puffs are more thing now.

Thankfully, she has rediscovered Cbeebies which, fortunately, doesn't attract much commercial advertising. But local heroes like Tenali Rama, Chhota Bheem and Krishna and perennial favourites like Scooby Doo and Tom & Jerry attract her attention too. They are on channels like Nick, Disney and Pogo, which attract the heaviest of advertising.

She is also hearing lot more Hindi around her. During the illness, something clicked - almost as if the Hindi switch got turned on. Humko doctor ke pass nahin jaana hai. Humko dawa nahin khaani hai. Yeh kharaab hai (I don't want to go to the doctor. I don't like the medicine. It is bad).

Soon, it was Humne dawaayee kha lee. Thodi kadvee thee, par humne kha lee. Humne daal bhee khaayee (I had my medicine. It was a bit bitter, but I had it. I had lentils too).

Along the way, she has also picked up hum tumko maarenge (I'll hit you) or hum tumko bund kar denge (I'l lock you). But then, you can't be selective about a language. It is made of both good and bad elements - the judgement on which elements to use comes later in life.