Tamil · தமிழ்
A morning call in Tamil, for your Amma.
Meenira rings your mother in Tamil Nadu every morning in Tamil — நீங்கள் and the respectful -ங்க endings throughout, Amma (அம்மா) — chats for a few minutes, and sends you a plain English summary. Tamil families are spread from Singapore to New Jersey; the call happens in Chennai's morning, and the summary waits for yours.
- Meenira
காலை வணக்கம்மா! நான் ரவியோட அசிஸ்டென்ட் மீனிரா பேசறேன். இன்னைக்குக் காலைல உடம்பு எப்படி இருக்குங்கம்மா?
Good morning, Amma! I'm Ravi's assistant, Meenira speaking. How are you doing this morning, Amma?
- அம்மா
வணக்கம்மா. நான் நல்லாத்தான் இருக்கேன், ஆனா இந்த முட்டி வலி தான் கொஞ்சம் இருக்கு.
Hello, dear. I'm doing alright, just a little knee pain.
- Meenira
அய்யோ, எப்பத்துல இருந்து இந்த வலி இருக்குங்கம்மா?
Oh dear, since when have you had this pain, Amma?
- அம்மா
ஒரு ரெண்டு மாசமா இருக்கும்மா.
It has been about two months, dear.
- Meenira
ரெண்டு மாசமா... சரிங்கம்மா. காலைல ஏதாவது சாப்டீங்களா?
Two months... I see, Amma. Did you eat breakfast?
- அம்மா
சாப்பிட்டேம்மா, அவல் உப்புமாவும் டீயும் சாப்பிட்டேன்.
Yes, I ate. I had some poha and tea.
- Meenira
ரொம்ப நல்லதும்மா. நான் இந்த முட்டி வலி பத்தி ரவிகிட்ட சொல்றேன். உடம்பைப் பத்திரமா பார்த்துக்கோங்க, நான் நாளைக்கு மறுபடியும் கூப்பிடறேம்மா. வரேன்!
That's good, Amma. I'll definitely let Ravi know about your knee. Please take care, and I will call you again tomorrow. Goodbye!
Voiced for the demo. On a real call she speaks live and remembers what your parent tells her.
The Tamil she speaks
Written Tamil and spoken Tamil are further apart than in almost any other Indian language. The Tamil of the newspaper and the newsreader — சாப்பிட்டீர்களா? — is not what anyone's mother hears at her door; at home it is சாப்டீங்களா?, and a machine that speaks the first sounds like a government announcement. Listen to the recording above: பேசறேன், இருக்குங்கம்மா, சரிங்கம்மா. That is the point. Meenira speaks the Tamil of the kitchen, with the respect built into its endings.
Sixty-nine million people in India gave Tamil as their mother tongue in the 2011 census, and it is an official language of Singapore and Sri Lanka and the language of a large part of Malaysia, the Gulf, Toronto, London and the Indian corridor of the United States. A mother in Madurai or Coimbatore with a daughter in Singapore or a son in Edison is the most ordinary Tamil family there is.
What she gets right
- நீங்கள், never நீ. The respectful form throughout, and, more tellingly, the -ங்க that attaches to every verb addressed to an elder: சாப்டீங்களா, பார்த்துக்கோங்க. Drop it and you have a stranger being familiar.
- The word for mother. Amma (அம்மா), as in the sample, or Mummy or Aathaa in some families. Tell us and she uses it. For a father, Appa.
- The small things. Aval upma and filter coffee rather than "breakfast"; the kolam, the temple on Fridays, the neighbour's grandchildren, the serial. She asks about the life your mother actually lives, and remembers it tomorrow.
- Switching. Many Tamil parents slide into English mid-sentence and back again. Meenira follows the language your mother uses and stays there; she will never tell her she "only speaks Tamil".
How the first call goes
Before any call, your mother receives a message on her own phone, in Tamil, saying who asked for the calls, how often they would come, that the call is written down so you can be told how she is, and a code to give you if she agrees. Nothing is dialled until you enter it.
On the call, Meenira opens as she does in the recording — ரவியோட அசிஸ்டென்ட், Ravi's assistant — and says the call is recorded. Then: how she slept, whether she has eaten, the tablets, and whatever came up yesterday. Two or three minutes. If your mother would rather not talk today, that is fine; she tries again tomorrow.
Singapore is easy; America is the night before
| Her time (IST) | Singapore, Kuala Lumpur | Dubai | London | New Jersey, Toronto | California |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:30 am | 11:00 am | 7:00 am | 3:00 am / 4:00 am | 10:00 pm / 11:00 pm the evening before | 7:00 pm / 8:00 pm the evening before |
| 6:00 pm | 8:30 pm | 4:30 pm | 12:30 pm / 1:30 pm | 7:30 am / 8:30 am | 4:30 am / 5:30 am |
Where two times are given, the first is winter and the second summer; India, Singapore and the Gulf do not change their clocks. From Singapore the summary arrives before lunch; from the US it is on your phone before you sleep, and your own call, at Saturday breakfast, is her Saturday evening.
Hear her ring your own phone All eleven languages
Questions families ask
Does Meenira speak Tamil?
Yes — spoken Tamil, the way a family speaks at home, with the respectful நீங்கள் and the -ங்க verb endings an elder expects, and Amma or Appa as your family says. The sample call on this page was voiced for the demo; on a real call she speaks live.
What time does the call reach my mother in Chennai if I live in Singapore or the US?
Whatever time you choose, in her day. A call at 8:30 am in Chennai is 11:00 am in Singapore, so the summary reaches you before lunch. From the US it is the evening before: 10 pm in New Jersey and 7 pm in California in winter, an hour later in summer.