Mazha(la)i...Inimai, kulumai!

Mazhai and Mazhalai...You can never stop admiring...You'll never get bored of it..
It's quite sometime since we had a kid in the family and all of us had almost forgotten how to deal with a baby. Just then, Voila! Like April showers, came my niece(cousin's kid). Now about a year old, living in the same apartment complex, she keeps us occupied all the time!
Just over a foot tall, this little angel keeps everybody enthralled. I prefer referring her language 'mazhalai' than using its English equivalent - 'Babble'. The thamizh word is a lot poetic and meaningful. Her vocabulary is confined to only a handful of words - 'thatha'(grandpa), 'tata'(I wanna go out), 'atha'(aunt), 'mammam'( I need something to eat), 'paapa'(I/ other kids), 'aaiy'(Mostly 'I dirtied my pants' and very rarely, 'I wanna sh*t). Of late, 'aaiy', with rolling eyes and excited expression also refers to Dog (Naaiy - N). More than these words, its her actions and expressions that conveys what she wants and what she thinks! In a couple of months, we are trained interpreters cracking dumb-charades clues. She can direct us to do exactly what she wants without using any words.
The next thing I admire the most in her is the kid's expressions! It is fun to watch the kid react to many of her first encounters with nature and this big bad world! She admires crows and butterflies, tries to catch the ants and millipedes, loves to get wet in the rain, wants to hold the dog's tail, chases to the shadow of a crow and most of all, craves for spicy adult food and dapanguthu music...
I am also fascinated by her grasping and learning capabilities. It is fun to watch the kid learn with perseverance. Did you know that its by practice, that we shoot the eatables from our fingers into our mouth accurately? For a first timer, the hand does not go to the mouth directly. She made a couple of attempts - First time, on to the nose, second on the cheek, and third time, her hand swayed about, but reached the mouth finally!
I can go on and on about this...but what I need to say, our Thiruvalluvar, encapsulated it perfectly in a tongue twister couplet!
'Kuzhal inidhu, yaazh inidhu enbar,
(tham) makkal mazhalai sol kaladhaar'!