Mother tongue is your roots,
Your identity to society,
Your culture.
When my children were young
they spoke fluent Gujarati,
But, broken English.
I used to say,"Speak in English."
So they could do better in school,
As only the mother tongue was spoken at home.
Now, only English is spoken at home,
My grandchildren speak broken
Gujarati,
When I urge them to speak more in their mother tongue to be fluent,
They solace me,"Don't worry granny,
You be Gujarati and get on with your things,
Am I supposed to be the odd one in my own home?