A midnight sms

[Knowledge of malayalam essential to understand this article]

Onam ayaal oru vidha petta ella non-resident malayalleeyum tries to reach their home in Kerala if they can manage leaves & tickets for their family. I have a school friend from Kochi, now working with a bank in Malappuram, called Santhosh . Though both of us learnt Hindi as our second language, his hindi was a bit rusty due to lack of any opportunity to use it. He was transferred to the bank's branch in Madhya Pradesh and had to live alone there for about 3 years. Overnight, a chap who depended on his sister or wife for anything more complex than making lemonade was forced to fend for himself. He learned to cook kanjiyum-payarum, dal-um, chappathiyum, and also polished up his hindi, since all the bank's customers and his colleagues spoke only Hindi. Njan avaney phone cheyyumbol avanenne very proudly hindi vadi kondu thalli, peedipichu. 

While we speak in another language our thoughts are always in our mother tongue,. So when we get stuck for a word we literally translate a word or phrase in our mother tongue to have an unintended effect. Yesterday night around 11. 30 I got an sms from Santhosh. 

"I Da ? R u?" 

Enikku onnum manassilavilla. So I replied - ""Am I what?"

The next message was clearer" abhi kaham he tu? I m on my way 2 kochi in bus, rchd Alwaye". 

Oh! Pahayan kochiyil Onam akhoshikanulla varavannu. 

To humour him I responded in Hindi , "Abhi mei bangalore mein hun". 

Kurachu neram silence and then his message comes "Tum kaise mardh ho, kab above kochi?" 

Njan njetti. Urrakkam poyi. Literally the first part translates to "Nee oru Ann annoda, pulle ??" 2nd part onnum manasillayilla. 

Avan enne theri vilikkan maathram njan avanu oru upakaravum cheyythittilla. Thala pukanju alochichu. No idea why he should be angry with me. 

Then.... slowly ente kochu thalayil bulb kathi. What he meant was 

Tum=Nee, 

Kaise=enthoru/enginathe, 

Mardh=Manushyan, 

ho =annu. 

Kab=eppol, 

above =typo Aoge annu udeshichathu =varum, 

Kochi =kochiyil. 

Nee enthoru Manushyan annu. Kochiyil eppol varum. 

Onathinu naattil varathe bangaloril thanne thangiyathinulla veshamam annu. Nee kochiyil vannal kanaamayirunnu enna oru koottukarante sankadam avan paranjathannu. 

Samadhaan ho gaya, Bhai, Samadhaan ho gaya!