Never Ending….
Author: utbt4 Dec 2009
This has a lot of Tamil content which will be lost in translation. Serious apologies for the non-tamil.
When I was a kid, I remember playing with my friends:
Gopala…Yen Sir ->Yenge pore? ->Kadaikku poren ->Yenna vaanga? ->Roti vaanga ->Yenna roti? ->Bun-roti ->Yenna bun? ->Tea bun ->Yena tea? ->Chakra tea ->Yenna chakaram? ->Vandi chakkaram ->Yenna vandi? ->Mattu vandi ->Yenna madu?…………..
…..and so it goes.
I remember another version, the beginning of which I don’t remember. But it goes something like this…
…Upma ->Yenna uppu? ->Kal uppu ->Yenna kal? ->Ma kal ->Yenna ma? ->Teacher amma ->Yenna teacher? ->Kanakku teacher ->Yena kanakku? ->Veetu Kanakku ->Yenna veedu? ->Maadi veedu ->Yenna maadi? -> Mottai maadi -> Yenna mottai? ->Pazhani mottai.
Basically there are many versions, but the idea is to keep the answer tied to the previous question and forming the basis for the next question. Sort of like word play.
Why this sudden nostalgia? The resident three year old A.K.A Ms.Pipi Longstockings(will tweet later on why this nick) A.K.A Mieja who is a hybrid of why-why girl and the never ending story girl has taken to a never ending loop of questions.
On a regular day this is how it goes:
Amma what are you doing?
I am eating.
What are you eating?
Breakfast.
What breakfast?
Upma?
What upma?
Aval upma.
What is aval?
Beaten rice. Poha.<I explain the whole process of making aval. But all the words I use have clearly circumvented the head, none other than the first two words have entered in to the ear of the said child.>
Why do they beat the rice?
To make aval.
What do you do with the aval?
I make upma.
What do you do with the upma?
I eat it.
For???
Breakfast or for a snack.
Amma, what are you eating?
At which point I am singing in my head “Devuda devuda ezhumalai devuda, chooduda chooduda yindha pakkam chooduda……” Inside my head because I am afraid of questions like what is devuda? What is chooduda? Why are you singing that song? What does that mean?………
Technorati Tags: preschoolers curious about everything, preschoolers asking questions, old tamil word games
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14 Responses for "Never Ending…."
Ah that phase … answering anything means inviting million more questions till your head starts spinning.
Btw, have a similar version in Kannada as well …
UTBT SAYS: CA, I went through this with Chula. But she still hasn’t transitioned out of that phase. Double dose is a little too much for me to handle.
Haaa….haaaa ! That question answer session was too funny :-).
UTBT SAYS: Silar sirippar, silar azhuvaar, naan sirithukkonde azhugindren 🙂
I am enjoying this as well as a little wary of it. You know what I mean.
the beginning goes like
ribbon ribbon
enna ribbon
pachai ribbon
enna pachai
ma pachai
enna ma
..
UTBT SAYS: Oh, wow, we have a beginning now.
ROLF at Meija’s questions..hilarious. I think the girls are a riot and so is their mum ;)!
I think I am slowly getting there with my soon to be 3 year old..it has already started here :)!
UTBT SAYS: Oh! Sole….. the joy of answering questions when you are swirling like a tornado, fighting to get to work on time!
Amma, what is (this)?
Mannangatti…
Amma what is mannangatti?
(I am quite)
Amma, why did you say that and are not talking now?
(You look at the big brown eyes and start feeling guilty about saying mannangatti, self note to be more patient)
🙂 My kids ask me never ending questions too…and now you got me breaking my head on how the “……Upma ->Yenna uppu? ->Kal uppu ->Yenna kal?” starts..No matter how hard i try i am only remembering from this part 🙂
I just saw Kowsalya’s comment..now i can sleep peacefully 😉
UTBT SAYS: 🙂 and welcome here.
I am breaking my head to remember the first lines of enna chellam? -> vethalai chellam -> enna vethalai? -> thalir vethalai -> enna thalir? -> maan thalir -> enna ma? -> amma
Ms. Pipi Longstockings oda peyar kaaranam is too much! Funny mom and even funnier daughters! LOL!
Also reminds me of a vadivelu joke where he keeps asking q’s instead of answering during a panchayat.
UTBT SAYS: So Mieja is going to be beaten up like Vadivelu, hmmmm…. interesting……don’ t tempt me now….
Arrrggghhh!!! Don’t get me started with this topic….sometimes the boy pushes me to the point of breaking down and crying even. I know I know….a little more patience and decorum might be nice, but not when one is trying to get a few things going.
UTBT SAYS: I hear you sister.
I have started answering with ques.
What are you eating amma?
What do you think I am eating?
So far it hasn’t cycled around, I don’t know.
Got it.. biscuit biscuit, jam biscuit, enna jam, Ra-jam… Phew.. now I can work in peace!
Meija gets a big big hug and a loud loud kiss! I see you already got the idea of asking her a question instead of answering her 😀
UTBT SAYS: I am glad you had a productive work day Reva. Reminder to self: Skip buying stocks from the compay Reva works for.
Though I grew up in TN, don’t recall hearing these.
Anyhoo, the upma conversation is classic. With D, after my head goes into the spinning wheel, the fallback is questioning her back. Works sometimes, other times it spins into yet another never ending conversation. Saadly, at times I just have to plain tell her, my head/mouth is starting to hurt and I need a break from talking 🙁 I can so relate to the “Mannangatti..” followed by the alarmed big brown eyes.
UTBT SAYS: Yes, I have started to answer Mieja in questions, but I know I am setting myself up for a bigger fall. Few years down I am going to ask her, “Why did you do THAT?” and she is going to say, “Hm. Let us see. Now, why do you think I did that?”.
PS: BTW, what email do you chk frequently? Ping me on my gmail.
Hilarious !!! You have a great sense of humor too, I was laughing more at your replies…
UTBT SAYS: Thanks. Both the girls are in two different stages. The younger one is asking too many questions, hoping that she can figure out the mystery of the universe through us and we escape her at times by telling that we don’t know, but it leads to one final question, “Why don’t you know?” before she gives up. The older one is at a stage that she has already figured out everything, “Oh, appa, you don’t know anyyyy thing”, in a sing song voice and the husband or self get a little piqued with it and say, “Yes, we know things.” Right know the girls a little confused 🙂
That was really funny. I began reciting “biscuit biscuit enna biscuit…” almost as soon as V was born, in the pretext of putting him to sleep! He is now two and a half and am already experiencing a backlash with a flurry of questions beginning with..”Amma…athu enna…?”!
UTBT SAYS: Aha, some one digging hole for themselves??? 🙂
LOL!
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