When I left my convent school, I thought I had left behind my Tamil connection with it: from the Tamil and Keralite Sisters to the food cooked in coconut oil with curry leaves. Little did I know that some 7 years later that small state will crop back into my life and 'tamilize' me more than ever.

It happened where you would least expect it to happen- the UK. When Bharath and I became friends, the closed vaults of south-Indian memories began to open up again. Everything from his accent (!) to the food he cooked, reminded me of my convent. Wait- that was just the beginning. As days passed by, and more people added to our group, I realised that I was drifting into a minority corner as almost all of them were Tamils: Sud - Tamil, Manisha- his g/f (trying all the time to learn Tamil ways) - the fact that she was a non-Tamil, never helped me much. Karthik- super-Tamil: he eats, sleeps and breaths Tamil; Krishanth and Anush (who later joined us)- Sri Lankan (yeah you guessed it- tamil), Anjali- mallu (as if that helped!) -my only ray of hope- Mirrin - north eastern, non-Tamil, from Calcutta- as the profile fit like jig-saw pieces I realised that I'll always have her with me through this tough phase! Hang-outs became more like staring from one face to another (when they went bantering in Tamil) rather than participating in the chit-chats. The worst part being their refusal to explain those conversations as it would be "lost in translation".

As my early days of tamilization rolled into its medieval age, I started doing things I never thought I would. Beat that- I went to watch a Tamil movie- in the UK- which happened to be my first movie in the country. And did I mention it had no subtitles? Not that I had leant enough Tamil to understand a whole 3-hour movie of Tamil words coming out of Surya's mouth like flood water from a dam. Convenient for me Bharath, who had promised to be my translator for the evening quit at the last moment from the post- duh! He had to watch the movie! n a Déjà vu there "it'll be lost in translation" anyway. Thank you so much.

When my Tamilization hit its maturity curve, I started gorging on sambar, rasam and curd-rice! (The ilish-mach was now long lost) Even when we went out for dinners, I saw myself eating dosas and slurping sambar. So much was my tamilization that I had started to consciously learn words (and unconsciously learn the accent) and could pick bits and pieces from their conversations. One fine morning when I called chocolate - chaaklet, I raised a frown to what has been happening to me (and the frown is still there).

It’s tough even for me to believe that I actually sang a tamil song at a party a few days back! With around 500 Tamil songs on my laptop and 10 Tamil words in my vocabulary and all tamil food items on my meal menus, I think I have touched the peak of my tamilization graph.

Something tells me that it’s not going to change in a very long time!

Ever blessed and glorious Joseph, kind and loving father, and helpful friend of all in sorrow! You are the good father and protector of orphans, the defender of the defenseless, the patron of those in need and sorrow. Look kindly on my request. My sins have drawn down on me the just displeasure of my God, and so I am surrounded with unhappiness. To you, loving guardian of the Family of Nazareth, do I go for help and protection. Listen, then, I beg you, with fatherly concern, to my earnest prayers, and obtain for me the favors I ask. I ask it by the infinite mercy of the eternal Son of God, which moved Him to take our nature and to be born into this world of sorrow. I ask it by the weariness and suffering you endured when you found no shelter at the inn of Bethlehem for the holy Virgin, nor a house where the Son of God could be born. Then, being everywhere refused, you had to allow the Queen of Heaven to give birth to the world's Redeemer in a cave. I ask it by that painful torture you felt at the prophecy of holy Simeon, which declared the Child Jesus and His holy Mother future victims of our sins and of their great love for us. I ask it through your sorrow and pain of soul when the angel declared to you that the life of the Child Jesus was sought by His enemies. From their evil plan you had to flee with Him and His Blessed Mother to Egypt. I ask it by all the suffering, weariness, and labors of that long and dangerous journey. I ask it by all your care to protect the Sacred Child and His Immaculate Mother during your second journey, when you were ordered to return to your own country. I ask it by your peaceful life in Nazareth where you met with so many joys and sorrows. I ask it by your great distress when the adorable Child was lost to you and His Mother for three days. I ask it by your joy at finding Him in the Temple, and by the comfort you found at Nazareth, while living in the company of the Child Jesus. I ask it by the wonderful submission He showed in His obedience to you. I ask it by the perfect love and conformity you showed in accepting the Divine order to depart from this life, and from the company of Jesus and Mary. I ask it by the joy which filled your soul, when the Redeemer of the world, triumphant over death and hell, entered into the possession of His kingdom and led you into it with special honors. I ask it through Mary's glorious Assumption, and through that endless happiness you have with her in the presence of God. O good father! I beg you, by all your sufferings, sorrows, and joys, to hear me and obtain for me what I ask. (make your request) Obtain for all those who have asked my prayers everything that is useful to them in the plan of God. Finally, my dear patron and father, be with me and all who are dear to me in our last moments, that we may eternally sing the praises of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

---

As a child I'd fill pages of dairies with quotes that made me stop awhile and think about life. To stay at par with the modern age, I'm opening a virtual counterpart of the same.

# Childhood ends when you find out there are no monsters in your closet and that they are really walking the streets.

# Some days we are the flies; some days we are the windscreens.

# Forgive, O Lord, my little jokes on Thee. And I'll forgive Thy great big one on me.

# The evening knows what the morning never expected.

# Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present.

# The woods are lovely dark and deep / But I have promises to keep / And miles and miles to go before I sleep / and miles and miles to go before I sleep.

# God cannot be everywhere, so He created Mothers.

# Growing older is no excuse for growing up.

# No one is perfect, that's why pencils have erasers.

# Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less travelled , And that has made all the difference.

# When you play it too safe, you're taking the biggest risk of your life.

# Problems can either be considered as stumbling blocks or stepping stones.

# The devil is not as dark as we paint it.

# Life is a foreign language: all men mispronounce it.

# Living is like licking honey off a thorn.

# When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers.

# Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers simple.

# It's not denial. I'm just selective about the reality I accept.

# Faults are thick where love is thin.

# Day by day, nothing seems to change. But pretty soon, everything´s different.

# You know what the best thing about pain is? It tells you you're not dead yet!

# You can catch more flies with honey that vinegar. ( Referring to the importance of politeness)

# Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.

# It is better to wear out than to rust out.

# Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

# Whether you think you can, or you can't, you are right.

# Problem with old age is that you know all the answers but no one asks you the questions.

# "Most of us miss out on life's big prizes. The Pulitzer. The Nobel. Oscars. Tonys. Emmys. But we're all eligible for life's small pleasures. A pat on the back. A kiss behind the ear. A four-pound bass. A full moon. An empty parking space. A crackling fire. A great meal. A glorious sunset. Hot soup. Cold beer. Don't fret about copping life's grand awards. Enjoy its tiny delights. There are plenty for all of us."

# Everyone wants to save the world but no one wants to do the dishes with mum after dinner.