auuu...up...or...?

A little exercise in some basic language...

Starting off with a simple 'a' sound, and then the tongue touches the roof of the mouth with some emphasis, and then mouth opens again to form the 'aaaa'. - A.n.n.a.

Start now by putting the tongue right behind the two upper front teeth, make the sound and then open up to an 'aaaa', and back again to repeat it a second time. - T.a.t.t.h.a

Coming back to the 'a' sound, and the lips close together, and with a short burst of air , open up and end with the 'aaaa' - A.p.p.a

Where did all this come from, you may wonder. Well, I was spending some time with Thambi, and mouthing out all these simple words to prompt him to try them out on his tongue. He watched me intently and then broke into a wide smile. And it made me spend some time in trying out all these sounds in slow motion, just to see exactly what kind of movements it took to achieve the said words. A very fascinating exercise. And I began to appreciate just what lay ahead of him to master, and how he would begin.

Winkie's very first words was 'Aum' or in the more familiar letters...'Om'. Yes, we were startled too, when at the tender age of 5 months, he lay happily on his grandfather's lap, watched his lips intently as he chanted the word slowly and with deep reverberation, and the wee little one, pouted his lips in the exact same manner, and said 'auuuu'. It was perfect. And the video caught it all. And then, there was never a repeat performace, and he kept us waiting for the next 15 months, before saying his very first real toddler-stage word....'up'. He pointed his index finger towards the ceiling and said up.

I tried 'auuu' on Thambi too...some weeks back, and it reduced him to tears. Probably the serious conjecture on my face unsettled him a bit and he showed his upset. Now, he's more stoic about it, and I too remember to wear my smile and take the edge off it. :) Still, no sounds have escaped his baby lips.

And in the end of all this word exercise, I came back to this one...

The same 'a' sound, with the open mouth. Bring together the lips and let them touch gently, and with no added effort, no extra emphasis. And then slowly open up again to go back to the 'aaaa'.....A.m.m.a....simple, effortless, full of comfort, full of sighs, full of soul.

So what will it be...the auuu...the up...or Amma? It remains heavily shrouded in time's mystery.