A MOTHER"S TONGUE.....IN CHEEK :-)

A friend of mine scouts for talent.I met her last Thursday over a laughter filled chit-chat and a cappuccino.A childhood friend,Anita holds a degree in management and heads her own recruitment firm.

"Hey!" Do you remember the little boy Ajay and his dad Madhav,Anita asked me...."Oh! Yes !," I said ,"I do,and I remember the English lessons too," I chuckled.

"They were your neighbours right ?and where is Ajay now ?What does he do ?" I asked her.....Anyway ! What makes you remember him now ,after all these years ? I am very curious to know." I added.

With a mischievous gleam in her eyes,Anita remarked...."last week I was weeding out applications and going through the resume of several candidates .I came across one that reminded me of Ajay.I still have contacts with the family . Ajay is a dignified man, A PHD"

" Oh ! Really !That's great," I said.

"I met him a few months back,after nearly three decades and was happily surprised at his achievements,"...Anita went on to say.

So what's so special about this little boy ,you may all wonder...Here I narrate an incident,that occurred thirty years back.

The Yadavs were Anita's neighbours in Calcutta....a simple family .Ajay was in the 3rd Std and Papa was an aspiring Chartered Accountant,attempting the exams every year without fail.It was a week day and back from school,Ajay was immersed in homework.My friend Anita was chatting with Ajay's elder sister Radha.

Ajay asked his Dad "Papa ! PEN mein kya rehtha hai ?"The Dad replied instantly " Beta ! PEN mein INK rehtha hai ," to which the boy replied,"Nahin ! Papa ! PEN mein NIB rehtha hai."

All the while.Anita was a mute spectator,keenly observing the dad son conversation.She was amused and curious too.She peered into the notebook and the exercise clearly read...HOMES OF ANIMALS...Fill in the blanks !

Ajay looked upto Anita and asked her "Didi ! Aap hee bathao ? PEN mein INK rehtha hai kee NIB ?"Anita was flabberghasted.She did not wish to guffaw loud in laughter.:thumbsup



Good manners prompted her to stay emotionless.Slowly she gained her calm composure and said 'Nahin Ajay ! PEN mein CATTLE rehthey hain...Gaye,Bains ithiyadhi.ithiyadhi......."

"He was not convinced right ?" I had interrupted Anita then ,thirty years back.as she was relating the incident.

The box of cookies was nearly empty.Anita and myself were in splits again in the beginning of 2013. :rotfl

So what ? I added.What makes you think of that conversation today? I asked her.....and she continued....."I was going through several applications last week and I came across a unique one,similar to the PEN thirty years ago..Just listen ! and you will be stumped too."

"Gautam is an M Tech.As I went about ticking the eligibility requirements viz.,Name,Age,Nationality,caste etc etc ,I was forced to stop at the Mother Tongue "...Anita said.

"Was the space unfilled ?I was curious..."it was filled in all right,".

"then what's the problem ?"I asked her further.

"Oh ! Very Significant ,"she replied and burst into laughter. :rotfl

She went on to say "as I kept reading it over and over again,it took me a while to actually understand what the candidate wished to convey."

"The space against the MOTHER TONGUE clearly read PINK...I spelt the word repeatedly P.....I......N.......K..Yes ! it meant the colour of his mother's tongue." I WAS TOO STUNNED and my reflexes refused to work for the rest of the day.

Gleefully Anita remarked."I had to record my observation in the application form.I was at a complete loss for words and so my final remarks were "THE CANDIDATE IS NOT TOTALLY COLOUR BLIND"........and I was ROFL :rotfl