Here I am, sitting in front of my laptop (mom’s laptop) literally thinking about how idiotic people can be. Seriously! It can get so annoying. When I sit at home in peace and quiet, I honestly hear voices. “Ey! Come here Da!” or “Ey girl/boy do this/that Di/Da.”  It’s a complicated language that I dont know. I’m smirking right now! It’s like you’re sitting outside on a clear sunny day and suddenly, there is a burst of thunder and then you DIE. End of story. (I exaggerate too much…meh) What I mean is that if you aren’t familiar with the weather of the particular place, it can obviously take you by storm (no pun intended  :P )   In the same way, the people of Munnar have one thing in common. Their slang.

It’s a complex language that all Munnarites understand. Saying Da or Di is as common as saying yes or no! I do understand that sometimes all Malayalees/Tamilians use this slang but man, Munnar trumps all.  Even though the vast majority speak either Tamil or Malayalam, it is entertaining to hear the way English is spoken. For every word, there will be an add-on. For instance, if you say “girl”, automatically, in Munnar slang, it would be spoken as “Ey girl.” The thing that I find most interesting is that it isn’t considered as two words. Instead of “Ey girl”, it becomes “Eygirl”. Same goes for the opposite gender as well.

Another add-on I was intent on mentioning was the “uh/ah” at the end of every sentence or word. I don’t know, you decide. Again, (let me bore you with examples) instead of just saying “Are you going there?” We say “You are going there-ah?”. So basically, everything gets turned into a question. “Understood-ah?”

Okay, so here is the thing. As much as I criticize the slang, I have to admit that growing up in Munnar and attending the same school from kindergarten, I have in fact (giggle) picked up some slang. I know! I want to hit myself too! But in my defense, it is kind of hard to study in the same school for 10 years and not pick up the style of speaking. Actually when I realized that I was speaking in a certain way, I was initially mortified. I kept thinking of how much I made fun of the way that other Munnarites spoke when I was speaking exactly the same

In school, I constantly hear my classmates using this sort of language. Do I say anything to them? No way! I mean its middle-school; I could ruin the rest of my life if I got on the bad side of 39 students! Oh boy, I don’t plan on doing that anytime soon. I refuse to be publically humiliated by the people I call “friends” (Again, Exaggeration much?) As much as I want to correct them, I bite my tongue because nobody wants to be a buzz kill!

Oh, I could go on and on about how people make fun of me just because I don’t speak Malayalam as fluently as them. Yes, it is my mother tongue and I admit it, I ought to speak my mother tongue fluently, but people, just face it. I can’t. I constantly get picked on and made fun of, I don’t care though, because I know for a fact that my English can kick their butts. *Pumps fists in air*. No, but seriously, they do make fun of me and mimic me speaking Malayalam in sort of a westernized accent. I deal with it though! The thing is when you want to fit in and when you want to be a part of a group, you need to speak like them. Saying things like “Eda/Edi” are things I say just so I seem to fit in. it’s funny though, the only things I say are “Pinne or Venda” (Malayalam swag man!). So my friends *cough cough* talk to me in Malayalam and I reply in English. They expect it too and I guess they’re used to it.

So my point is basically…that…uhh..I don’t have one. Okay, Slangs drop it. Actually don’t, its entertaining to listen to you jokers talk. To all the Mallu people out there who don’t speak Malayalam fluently, all I want to say is you guys a—oh. There’s only me huh? It’s ok, I’ll face the world on my own. (I’m emotional now) Ha-ha.  I’m gonna go now.