Tere masoom savaalon se...

Pareshaan hoon main.... Yes. Kutu is going through that phase when he wants to know about everything and anything. Straight out of the babe's mouth I know they are amazingly cute. But....I am not too good at answering questions either. So more often than not I am at a loss of words. Literally...

He has a question about everything around him. From the street dog to the spider at some corner of the house to the imaginary monsters that help me thrust morsels of food down his throat. Everyone is subject to his interrogation. :) Its just questions, questions and more questions through out all his waking hours.

Want to try a sample of his questions? Here you go:

Scene One: The short early morning walk that he takes with his amma. A dog is seen disappearing down the road.

Kutu: Bow-Bow evide odi poyi amma? (Where did the Bow-Bow run away amma)

Amma: Adhinde veetilleku poyi kutu.(It ran to its home)

Kutu: adhu engane odi poyi?(How did it run)

Amma: fast fast aayitu odi..

Kutu: Engane fast fast aayitu odi?

Amma(already at a loss of words): fast fast aayitu odi.. (with a stern tone)

Knowing from my tone, not to probe further into the random dog's atheltic capabilities...

Kutu: Sheri...Adhu veetu poyitu endhu cheyum?

Amma: Adhu good boy aayitu pallu thechu, paapam kazhichitu school pogum ( like a good boy he brushes his teeth, has his breakfast and goes to school...all this told with a faint hope to inspire him into being a good boy and not to make a fuss while getting ready to school)

Kutu: Appo bow-bow inde amma endhu parayum? (Then what will its amma say)

Amma: Bow-Bow inde amma "good boy good boy" parayum. Kutu good boy aano? (Are you a good boy too kutu?)

Kutu(with a sheepish grin): illaa....:)

End of Scene.

Off late he also wants to know the pros and cons of everything. For Eg., When I ask him to drink milk. He wants to know "amma...paal kudichaa"(what if i drink milk?). I say something random like the bacteria in his tummy will run away. Then he asks "amma paal kudichilengil??". Again I search for something imaginative to say but end up saying that the bacteria will come running back to his tummy and that if he drinks milk it will go fight all the bacteria there. Then he wants to know how exactly the milk will fight the bacteria. I would say something like it will do dishum dishum and fight them. Then pop comes the question "engane dishum dishum fight cheyum?". I end up blinking for a second and then do a dishum dishum on his tummy. He would then start giggling and run away. And the bottom line is that inspite of all this the Misson Milk Pouring down his throat remains unaccomplished. :(

I just tell him not to ask too many questions when I end up blinking like a caterpillar. That again is sends him on a giggle tour.

Ever Heard of Kipling's Six Honest Serving Men?

I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.

Well....my son keeps these honest serving men too...and makes them work overtime...24x7. Hundreds of whats and hundreds of whys. They might be teaching him all he knows but they have also put his mom on a fasttrack towards insanity.

P.S: This is a beautiful poem though. Given below is its full version. These lines comprise part of the epigraph to Kipling's short story, "The Elephant's Child".

I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
I send them over land and sea,
I send them east and west;
But after they have worked for me,
I give them all a rest.

I let them rest from nine till five,
For I am busy then,
As well as breakfast, lunch, and tea,
For they are hungry men.
But different folk have different views;
I know a person small-
She keeps ten million serving-men,
Who get no rest at all!

She sends'em abroad on her own affairs,
From the second she opens her eyes-
One million Hows, two million Wheres,
And seven million Whys!