"Mallyaalam korchu korchu aryum"

A small incident, while I was travelling in a bus in Kerala.

There was this family befor me, and some people had come to see them off too. They were incessantly bantering in english, the type who'd say "Of course I know Malayalam; but korchu korchu. I am not very fluent in it, you know" with utmost pride.

Since there was nothing better to do, I put up a bored face and well, listened to them.

After some time a European lady (Later I got to know that she's from Germany, and has come to India to study dance) climbed in and sat right in front of me.

And behind her climbed a rather old woman, wearing a tattered sari and looking quite miserable.

Though there was a vacant seat, she hesitated to sit near the European lady and went up front, but the "mallyaali" family was quite "un-accommodative" of her and wouldnt allow her enough space. Now, this earopean lady got up, called the old woman, and in an ultimately sweet voice said, "Ivdey irinnolu" and smiled, a bit doubtful whether she had said the right thing.

Well, what more can I say?