The parking lot was crowded, making a mental note of my grocery list, I hurried into the Fresh Market determined to rush in and rush out with my list…..
The Market seemed to be filled with Asians,this evening……..doing my groceries for the upcoming week is a chore I save for the weekends.
Skimming through my list , finding the fruits and veggies, I floated amidst the aisles……..next to me was a Dad with two mischievous brats in tow, one was throwing the potatoes on the scales, while the other was juggling the tomatoes like a professional juggler.
Dad signals with his eyes to the kids, no response, kids continue to do what they have been doing.Next, Dad in the most politest of voices says, “Behave, don’t do it!” but to no avail.Dad continues to pick the fruits.The kids get rowdier by the minute(they are perhaps 7 or 8 years old ) completely ignoring the command in his his voice or it’s modulation. Dad flashes the best smile he could manage at the moment and utters the words in Tamil ( a South Indian language,apparently the locals here don’t understand), not knowing I follow the language to a T.
The grim voice continues,still flashing a smile “Appaku indha kadalae power illae, kadakara kyulae kadacha veluthu kattirivan ” and continues to smile & pick his fruits.The mischievous kids suddenly stop dead in their tracks, I try hard not to choke on my laughter stifling it with as much social grace as I could muster at the moment.Literally translated, it means ” Dad does not have much control on you both, in this store, God forbid the store keeper catches you doing this mischief, he will SKIN YOU alive !”
The rest of the world continued to shop, totally ignorant of what transpired,the kids stood rock still next to the shopping cart, from that minute forward.Dad breathed a sigh of relief and continued to shop peacefully.
Being multi linguistic has it’s advantages , what are the chances that you will bump into a native from your land, be witness to a child rearing miracle of sorts, in a Spanish run Fresh Market, with a big crowd of Chinese and Koreans shopping ?
Some moments are worth cherishing,it’s amazing how an every day routine visit to a Fresh Market can turn your day around and make it refreshing and colorful !