* A fiction I wrote some months ago.
Riki could not
understand this. Her parents told her that they needed to move to another
country again. This time it will be India. They were in UK only for two years
now, and they are going to move again! Riki was very sad and nervous to go to
another unknown place. She has after all just started to speak proper English and
making best friends in her class.
Seeing her not
so ‘happy-curled lipped face’ and tears in her eyes, her mother made a cup of
hot chocolate for her; she herself took a cup of black tea and sat with her.
Then she started talking about the days when they were new to UK.
They came to UK
from Germany. Riki had to leave all her friends and her kindergarten teacher
there. She also could not bring many of her toys. She could speak only German
then, and at home they; that is, her mummy, daddy and she, spoke Bengali. On
asking once, her mother told her that they don’t speak German at home like
other kids in her Kindergarten, because they are not German. Instead they are
Bengali, from India. Riki who knew German and Bengali, on coming to UK found
that people talk yet another language, English. She was little scared, as she
could not understand them, her mother taught her to speak few sentences like
“My name is Riki and I am five years old”.
On the first day
at her new school in UK she was very nervous, but many children from her class
wanted to be friends with her. The teacher was also very good and she told her
that children are very good in learning languages so she need not worry. She
liked her teacher and the school; it was very similar to her kindergarten in
Germany. She was also very proud, as she was a schoolgirl and not a
kindergarten goer any more.
In the beginning
every one in her class tried to be very friendly with her, but it was really
difficult for Riki to understand, what others were saying. Luckily her teacher
asked a girl called Judith who was a German, to help Riki. She liked that
arrangement. She was also observing others. She smiled and tried to be friendly
with all. She used gestures and
her eyes to express her thoughts but was hesitating to participate in any
game. First few days, she liked it
at school, the fun and the extra attention she was getting.
But slowly it
was not that fun for Riki, as it was not possible to ask every thing to Judith.
Sometimes she had to play with an invisible wind friend in the school playground,
all others having their own group to play. She used to get very tired after
school, after listening to a language, she could not understand. Her teachers
were helpful, but they too did not have all their time for her only. On
returning home she would ask her mother to talk in German, she would like her
mother to read stories from German books. She would speak a lot with her doll
in German. She did not have any
friend in her neighbourhood. She so much wanted to run back to her friends and
teachers in Germany, chat with them a lot and have fun in her kindergarten.
Her parents told
her that they were also quite alone at their work and they were also struggling
to make friends, in spite of their knowing English. But then they all would end
up curling with each other and would talk with each other, Riki liked this time
of togetherness.
Slowly with each
passing day she found that she began to understand at least little of what
others are saying, her teachers were helping her by speaking with her slowly
and using few words repeatedly, they encouraged her to talk even when she
managed to express her thoughts in small sentences, and when she was able to
read those speech bubbles in English text books correctly, the teachers clapped
with big applause. Her classmates also showed thumbs up each time she spoke
with them.
One day her
mother took her to the city library just as they had in Germany, there she
could find many books with lots of pictures and few words, though in English,
but she liked the books and the library. Slowly she started reading some words
from them. Soon it became their Saturday ritual to go to library spend a lot of
time there and come back with lots of books.
Then one day
Riki’s mum told her that they would shift to a new house, and added that Polly
from her class also lived in the same street. She got very excited hearing
this. Riki liked her new rented house, for the first time she had her own room,
her mother decorated her room with pink bed linens, photos and a mirror, so
that she could look at herself when she would play dressing up game. And just
few houses away it was Polly’s house. She could see Polly’s garden from window
of her room. Polly was a charming and friendly girl. Riki and Polly started
spending most of the time playing together at school and at home. Polly told
Riki that she also has another language for home like Riki. Polly told, that
the language she speaks at home is called Spanish and it is a language spoken
mainly by people from Spain. Riki found this very interesting, as it was same
in their family too.
Then Riki’s
mother and Polly’s mother told them that people from different countries speak
different languages. Riki’s mother told them that in India even in one country
people speak different languages. Polly, Riki and their mums became a strong
gang and did many funny things together.
Slowly Riki was
finding it easy and funny to live in that small town of UK, she did not feel
sad for Germany anymore, she remembered Germany though. She had found friends
at UK and she could speak English now.
Riki’s mum took
a break from talking and sipped from her tea mug.
Riki was
listening quietly to her mother and she smiled, as that was exactly what had happened.
Then her mother fumbled
her hairs and added that as she excelled so well during her last move, this
time she will do even better as in India many can speak English and Bengali and
several other languages, also Riki will get a chance to learn so many of them.
Riki’s mother promised her that she would help her to keep contact with her
friends and teachers in UK. And one day they might come to visit her friends in
UK.
Riki was still
sad as she has to leave her friends, teachers and school but she was not that
nervous any more. She could see that just like she learned English, Bengali and
German, she would learn different languages of India-Hindi the national
language and so many other languages used by people from different parts of
India.
And her mother
said if they keep hopping to new places like this then one day she will have
friend from all over the world.
Riki, by then was looking at the world map hanging in her room; and
thought that would not be a bad idea!
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