Tongue Twisting Tamil

HE will want to spank me for this post. But what the hell I'm suffering and need an outlet!

I'm learning Tamil. : ... And I'm miserable.
I mean listen to it!! Greek and Latin may seem foreign... but Tamil is Alien!! Out of the planet! It even sounds so.. so... tongue-twisting and mind-boggling.. and having to learn it from scratch at the age of 21?? It's like... beginning to climb Mt Everest in winters when you have asthma and arthritis both...

Take for example the word "yenna"... it's got God knows how many different meanings. And that's not it! All those different meanings have got different pronunciations!

Time... it's called nayrum and mani both... and it depends on the rest of the sentence as to which one you are supposed to use. The two are not replaceable... even though they mean the same thing.

And you've got a different set of words for "respectful speech" and a different one for "casual speech". It'll be indecent to use the words of the latter in place of the former. For instance, if you have to say 'It's too late' respectfully, you'll say rumba naari aidtha (don't even try pronouncing naari... it's got that scary weird "r" which gives your tongue fits when you speak it)... else you can say rumba irata aidtha casually. Marvellous... isn't it?

Oh and the word that takes the cake is vaaraparam... just try it out!! Yes, both the "r's" are the weird types... I'll hail you if you get it right in a week.

And what runs havoc on my nerves further is that whenever I'm struggling with the language... I feel a number of his relatives from Chennai sitting all around me mute and watching me. HE is not to be seen. I'm on my own amongst a gathering who's there to judge me and then pass a verdict on whether I'm capable of joining them or not.

But no, I can do it... I have to... anyhow... there's no escape and I don't want one... i wanna do it for those oblivious of me in Chennai... for His parents who deserve so much more than me... for Him... who's ready to accept me even when i'm far from fulfilling his criteria... and for myself.. so that I feel one of them...

But God please help me!!!

- SHE