PETALING JAYA – Malaysians being multilingual is common. Yet it still warms the hearts of many when someone is able to converse in a language that is not their mother tongue.
A young Chinese boy named Kai Kai won over the internet when a video of him conversing effortlessly in Tamil went viral.
TikTok user Kartik Suresh shared a video of him making mango lassi with Kai Kai in which the two spoke in Tamil.
It is learned that Kai Kai’s family is Kartik’s neighbour and Kartik’s mother has been the boy’s babysitter.
In the video, Kartik was showing Kai Kai the difference between a simple mango juice and mango lassi.
The boy assisted Kartik in blending the cut-up mangoes and later added yogurt to make it a lassi.
“I think it would be sweeter to combine grapes and apples,” the boy said in Tamil after which he went off screen to ask Kartik’s mother whom he calls Amma if they had any apples.
The boy’s cheerful demeanour and closeness with Kartik made many smile as he was seen comfortable enough with his “big brother” to even wipe his wet hands on Kartik’s shirt before operating the blender.
“A Chinese boy speaking Tamil. This is rare!” said TikTok user @nsy952.
“This is my Malaysia. No other country, only here Malaysia. Proud,” said @womenicer.
Kai Kai also mixed in English as he spoke, telling Kartik to “go faster, I wanna go already.”
“I love my country Malaysia. This is beautiful,” said @zulfarouq.
In a video shared last year, Kai Kai was seen celebrating Deepavali with Kartik’s family, even wearing a veshti. – The Vibes, September 17, 2023