Muthu was delighted to be in Delhi. The journey -his maiden (first) flight, had been very exciting. He could barely contain himself. His cousin Hari and Hari’s parents had come to the airport to receive him. The boys hugged tight and danced with joy, for they were seeing each other after months. They compared notes and heights! They were chattering away when suddenly they looked at a lot of men in uniform pass by. It was the Indian cricket team! Of course they were in a rush as they were entering the airport. But that did not prevent the sport stars from smiling and waving out at the two star struck boys who had their mouths open in awe. What a wonderful beginning, thought Muthu.
Hari’s father had a friend, Dr. Kapoor, who was a professor at a reputed university in Delhi named after India’s first Prime Minister. They stayed on campus with the Kapoors. Or ‘Vroom Vroom uncle’, as Hari used to call Kapoor uncle as a toddler. Why? Because Kapoor uncle had owned a large motorcycle which made a lot of noise. Young Hari had taken a liking to the sound and so Kapoor uncle had been so christened.
Kapoor aunty had a very interesting career. She was a translator. Not of any Indian language but of French. Muthu found it difficult enough to master Tamil, his mother tongue, and was only just about acceptable at Hindi, his third language. "Hats off to you aunty -you are *proficient in a completely foreign language. Wow!"
"So are you, Muthu. You speak suchgood English!" She said and laughed. Muthu realised for the first time that though non-rural Indians often speak in English, it is indeed a foreign language.
"But French is easy you know. I am sure you can pick up some of it if you practise hard enough." To prove her point she got him a small English to French dictionary and a few audio tapes to learn simple spoken French. Muthu and Hari had fun trying out the new sounds and words and actually managed to pick up some basics just as Aunty had stated. They tried to use some phrases -for instance they said "Bon sior" instead of "Good evening".
The Kapoors had a grown up son who was studying in the US. They let Muthu and Hari play with his lovingly preserved toys.
This included a lovely train set. Seeing the boys mesmerised by it they decided to take them to the Rail Museum in Delhi.
