Translating live political speeches live is no easy task. Ask BJP leader K. Surendran or former Rajya Sabha deputy chairman P.J. Kurien who had Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi running for cover after their speeches, while campaigning in Kerala, were lost in translation! In Tamil Nadu, too, Rahul faced the same problem, with the 'culprit'—former state Congress chief K.V. Thangkabalu—becoming a meme favourite for trolls.
However, a class 12 student in Kerala is winning hearts with her effortless and immaculate translation of Rahul Gandhi's speech at a school function in his Wayanad parliamentary constituency.
Rahul, who is on a three-day tour of his constituency, was to speak at Government Higher Secondary School in Karuvarakundu in Malappuram district. He asked the audience, comprising mostly of school students, whether anyone could translate his speech from English to Malayalam.
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Safa Fabin, daughter of a Madrassa teacher Kunhi Muhammed, volunteered to do it. She knew that if she messed up, her friends would troll her. But she gathered the courage and put her hand up. She started cautiously but soon grew in confidence. What impressed everybody the most was how she used the local slang to make the speech appealing to the audience.
During the 15-minute speech, Rahul urged students to ask questions relentlessly to improve their scientific temper. “There are no foolish questions or wrong questions. You have to keep on asking questions.”
“Society can maintain scientific temper only if students ask questions,” he said.
Safa's teachers were impressed and surprised in equal measure by her choice of words while translating Rahul Gandhi's speech.
After completing the speech, the Congress leader congratulated Safa and gave her chocolates.
Safa aspires to be a teacher, and Thursday's incident will be a morale-booster for her, she said.
Earlier this year, another translator in Kerala, Jyothi Vijayakumar, won praise for her accurate translation of Rahul Gandhi's speech on the same day Kurien messed up. The junior lawyer and teacher of sociology at the Kerala Civil Service Academy has also translated the speeches of Sonia Gandhi in the past.
