Tamilian households are well versed with the "Maami." Once used to address your Mama's wife, before he became 'Uncle' and she 'Aunty' owing to fashun pressures, and by many Madisar-sporting women thrown together in the same house for a function, its now the acceptable way to call your cook.
A colorful thought that occured to me... imagine: "Gomathilakshmi, konjam sambhar konduvangoolaen!" ["Gomathilakshmi, respectfully if you please get some sambhar please"] as compared with "Maaami, kozhandha chips kaekkaraan". ["Yo! This here kid is respectfully asking for some chips"] [Clearly, Tambrahm Tamil is exceedingly polite and all] The latter prevents the respected Smt. Gomathilaks from tottering in hurriedly with the chips and bumping into equally respected (unless her daughter ran off with some fellow) Smt. Jayalaks, who has the sambhar. Abstraction and Object Oriented Programming, thy 'amma' is the Tambrahm household.
Now that introductions are done with, lets bite into it, so to speak (cooking-eating pun serendipitously intended). Many houses these days, with lesser joint families, more working women and genetically kitchen-shy men, know the Maami. In which case they also know that there is probably a strong nexus between these 'help' and general physicians that results in your fair mother's BP being played ping pong with (or basketball, if you are a Vadivelu fan). Consider:
"Maami Rasam ready a?"
[Yo! Is the flavored water respectfully done yet?]
"Illa ka, puli pudhu batch so alavu theriyala. Uppu karam eduthu vechurukkaen neenga paathu sollungo."
[No, elder sister! The tamarind is different from yesterdays, since yesterday's got used up in yesterday's food. I have respectfully set apart the salt and pepper items, please peruse and respectfully advice]
"Ippo enna pannirkael, Maami?
[*strained* So what's cooking now, yo!?]
"Thanni kodhikka vechurukkaen ka"
[I've set the water to boil at a respectful temperature, elder sister]
"Oh! *saniyan*"
[Oh! *Accursed liege to Saturn who is entering not only my house but various houses in my horoscope and resultantly throwing all planets in disarray* (note how the oh! is not respectful)]
"Seri Maami, idli suttacha?"
[That's ok. Yo! have you respectfully baked the rice-cakes that are to come out as soft as baby's bottoms?]
"Illa ka, maavu ok va nu paarungo"
[No elder sister, you respectfully check the dough first na]
"Ellam en neram dhaan! Seri naane sudaraen"
[All my bad time. (Note that this is redundant since Saturn sitting anywhere in your house indicates this, as any respectful Tambrahm would know already)
The remaining part of the sentence has one of two meanings:
a) Ok I will bake them myself, said with a resigned sigh.
b) Ok I will brand you with that hot iron, said with an evil glint.]
"Seri Maami, enna dhaan pannirkael?"
[No problem. Yo! What HAVE you done today?]
"Appalam suttutaen ka!"
[Elder Sis Elder Sis, I heated up those papads!]
Author's musing: Seriousa, ivalaam Maami a microwave oven a? [Are these cooks or microwave ovens?]
A colorful thought that occured to me... imagine: "Gomathilakshmi, konjam sambhar konduvangoolaen!" ["Gomathilakshmi, respectfully if you please get some sambhar please"] as compared with "Maaami, kozhandha chips kaekkaraan". ["Yo! This here kid is respectfully asking for some chips"] [Clearly, Tambrahm Tamil is exceedingly polite and all] The latter prevents the respected Smt. Gomathilaks from tottering in hurriedly with the chips and bumping into equally respected (unless her daughter ran off with some fellow) Smt. Jayalaks, who has the sambhar. Abstraction and Object Oriented Programming, thy 'amma' is the Tambrahm household.
Now that introductions are done with, lets bite into it, so to speak (cooking-eating pun serendipitously intended). Many houses these days, with lesser joint families, more working women and genetically kitchen-shy men, know the Maami. In which case they also know that there is probably a strong nexus between these 'help' and general physicians that results in your fair mother's BP being played ping pong with (or basketball, if you are a Vadivelu fan). Consider:
"Maami Rasam ready a?"
[Yo! Is the flavored water respectfully done yet?]
"Illa ka, puli pudhu batch so alavu theriyala. Uppu karam eduthu vechurukkaen neenga paathu sollungo."
[No, elder sister! The tamarind is different from yesterdays, since yesterday's got used up in yesterday's food. I have respectfully set apart the salt and pepper items, please peruse and respectfully advice]
"Ippo enna pannirkael, Maami?
[*strained* So what's cooking now, yo!?]
"Thanni kodhikka vechurukkaen ka"
[I've set the water to boil at a respectful temperature, elder sister]
"Oh! *saniyan*"
[Oh! *Accursed liege to Saturn who is entering not only my house but various houses in my horoscope and resultantly throwing all planets in disarray* (note how the oh! is not respectful)]
"Seri Maami, idli suttacha?"
[That's ok. Yo! have you respectfully baked the rice-cakes that are to come out as soft as baby's bottoms?]
"Illa ka, maavu ok va nu paarungo"
[No elder sister, you respectfully check the dough first na]
"Ellam en neram dhaan! Seri naane sudaraen"
[All my bad time. (Note that this is redundant since Saturn sitting anywhere in your house indicates this, as any respectful Tambrahm would know already)
The remaining part of the sentence has one of two meanings:
a) Ok I will bake them myself, said with a resigned sigh.
b) Ok I will brand you with that hot iron, said with an evil glint.]
"Seri Maami, enna dhaan pannirkael?"
[No problem. Yo! What HAVE you done today?]
"Appalam suttutaen ka!"
[Elder Sis Elder Sis, I heated up those papads!]
Author's musing: Seriousa, ivalaam Maami a microwave oven a? [Are these cooks or microwave ovens?]
