Mother Tongue – Does it degrade your status?

I know someone, who is “well to do” economically. However, based on his attitude towards fellow human beings, relationships, his own mother tongue etc., does not make him a good person. Though i have complaints about him, i cannot get rid of this person due to some obvious reasons – there are few things in life that even money cannot get rid off ;(

One day, i called him to wish on his wedding anniversary. I told him “thirumana naal vazhthukkal”. He said “thank you very much” and commented to a common friend that, “what is he thinking of me – an illiterate? why is he wishing me in tamil”. I heard this and made a decision – not to greet him any more.

In one more incident, in a party, there were few friends with their kids. Some of the kids were calling their parents as “appa and amma” in “azhagu tamil”. Immediately this guy commented, “what is this? there is no sophistication? the kids are calling the parents in Tamil and not as Daddy / Mummy. Did he [the kid’s father] really go to US or went only till Aminjikarai [a locality in Chennai]?”

I was just wondering since when, speaking in English was considered as a mark of social status and speaking in one’s own mother tongue [in this case, Tamil] is considered to be an indecent act.

-bright