Mother tongue: A way of life

As the flash news scrolled by, I let out a small squeal and broke out into a happy dance. It wasn't what was on the news, but the fact that I had finally caught up to speed in reading Tamil. I read the whole news the first time it scrolled by and understood the meaning as well. I know this may not seem like such a big deal, but I was genuinely happy.
Growing up in the USA, my parents had taught me how to read and write in my mother tongue - Tamil - and we spoke it at home. It was just something we did, and it never seemed out of the ordinary. Whenever we went out, I somehow managed to become a topic of discussion. My parents were admired and lauded among the Indian community for raising me to speak Tamil. The way they made it sound, you would think my parents taught a pig to fly.
What is so difficult in an NRI child speaking his or her mother tongue? Actually, if noted carefully, all children speak it quite well when they are younger. These are the days of those frequent and long visits to India that force the child to keep up. Then time passes by and only a handful of children continue to speak fluently. The rest get clumped into that category that can understand but cannot speak.
I've always wondered what causes such a change. Surely it can't be the child, because a child can learn and retain ten different languages if he or she wants to at that age. Starting school and picking up the pace in English is not going to suddenly make them forget their mother tongue. Whether it is this fear of falling behind in English or just plain ignorance, we can thank the parents for allowing this transition to happen.
One would be surprised at the number of NRI parents I have seen lament that their children won't speak their mother tongue. When I look at them, I rarely feel any sympathy. Aren't they the ones who allowed this? In fact, I can recall years back when many proudly declared that their children don't speak, like it was a matter of superiority. They looked down at my parents as if they were wasting time teaching me Thirukurals and how to write small articles in Tamil, instead of pressuring me to learn SAT vocabulary words. If parents themselves feel this way, how can we expect kids to show any interest?
The problem is the attitude they hold towards the subject. Many NRIs question "Why" should my child learn his mother tongue? In reality they should be asking "Why not"? What harm will it do? It can only help. The mother tongue should not be seen as just another thing on the list to learn, because it is something special. It can do wonders.
I can confidently say that my attachment towards my culture and my family in India was all built on this foundation of being able to communicate in Tamil. It gave me a sense of belonging and an identity as well.
So, coming back to my moment of glory with the flash news, it wasn't pride that I was feeling. Being proud would mean that I was doing something extraordinary; when in reality, I was just now catching up. What I experienced was joy, and personal satisfaction that I was doing justice to my mother tongue.
So remember, our mother tongue is not just a language, it is a way of life.