Mother Tongue.

Literature, philosophy and science today are our tools for understanding the world which is developing tremendously. However, culture remains a saving grace, particularly in Europe and parts of the world. English, Sinhalese and Malayalam, the three languages of my childhood. My mother would begin a sentence in one language and without noticing finish it in another. I also learnt Tamil,Marathi Gujarati and Bahasa Indonesia later. I had no mother tongue, which, contrary to conventional wisdom, is not uncommon. In Sweden, you have Finnish as well as Swedish; in Malaysia, people speak three languages. The idea of a ‘mother tongue’ is a highly romantic and nationalist one, not practical even in a country like India where there is a babel of mother tongues. My multilingualism enabled me to reach out to the world and to feel at home everywhere. Every language is an open window on the world. This is in contrast to the grim attachment to roots advocated by some people who perpetuate the sons of the soil theory. Trees have roots- I have legs, I travel the world and am not a frog in a well, and believe me, that is a huge advantage.-Vinay-