My Mother's Tongues: A Weaving of Languages

Sumi’s mother can speak two languages, Malayalam and English. She can switch between them at the speed of sound: one language when talking to Sumi’s grandmother, another when she addresses the shopkeeper. Sometimes she speaks a combination of both. Could it be she possesses a superpower? With awe and curiosity, young Sumi recounts the story of her mother’s migration from India and how she came to acquire two tongues, now woven together like fine cloth.