They had to be brought up onto the upper deck of the ship...

They had to be brought up onto the upper deck of the ship periodically for a short spell of the essential sunshine and physical exercise. The only possible weapon they could have and of which the captain and the crew were afraid was the knowledge of more than one tribal language among the slaves. They were shipped in such groups as would comprise them of different tribes speaking one different language so as to daunt any attempt of staging a mutiny with the precision planning and timing.

This was because communication is power; the more the language-media for it, the stronger the base of this power. Language As an Asset. For a person speaking more languages is a socio-cultural asset with economic dimensions. Every language is a worthy component of the asset. This asset is enviable by those who as a community or a nation speak only one language - generation after generation.

To let the child gain the asset during the period of early childhood is within the control of the parents who themselves have so gained. When the period of childhood is over, and if the child has not been let to gain the asset in the family in continuation of the legacy, a 'crime' will have been committed against the child by no others than his own parents. The child when adult will have no legacy of 'competitiveness in languages' to pass on.

The child will remember the parents, not kindly, for this thoughtless and myopic omission or, worse still, parental negligence. 4- "Touch & Tie" the Child An Indian mother sits on the floor with her legs stretched close together. She lays her baby on her lap with its head resting on her knees.

And the exercise or "ritual" of massaging and caressing of the entire body of the baby begins with a liberal use of oil, abundant manifestation of affection and derivation of pleasure; and this goes on and on. She never seems to tire while the oil lasts -though no spot has been missed. The baby responds to the caressing and cooing by the mother - by purring like a kit- ten who has its neck tickled. This is a common scene in homes in India and Pakistan; and was so in East Africa too.

Whether the traditional massage with "religious regularity" during the infancy is a culture or a healthcare or both, the distinct significance and effect of the mother's touch and caress on the baby cannot be under-estimated.