Rahul Gandhi's impromptu translator draws cheers from crowd at Wayanad

Rashid Gazali

It was a great opportunity for Rashid Gazali, a native of Koolivayal village in North Wayanad to be chosen as Congress president Rahul Gandhi's translator for a 16-minute speech, but what made him tense before the public meeting was whether he would be able to translate the leader's actual feelings into the local language, and help him connect with the crowd.

Gazali was chosen at the last moment and was not even given a copy of the speech before the event. The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Kerala State Committee, had suggested his name, as he was one of the most highly educated persons from the district. However, till the last moment even the Muslim League office bearers were not sure whether Rahul's team would get a Malayalam translator from outside or would prefer someone from Wayanad itself. With almost no time to prepare and expected to become an impromptu translator at the St Mary's College ground event, an hour before he took the stage with Gandhi, AICC office bearers asked him, "The entire nation will be watching, the quality of translation should be assured. Are you confident?" Well, Gazali had no response to this then, but it seems he lived up to the expectations.

Rashid Gazali with Congress President Rahul Gandhi on stage during the event

Speaking to mid-day, Rashid said, "I was nervous seconds before Rahul started addressing the crowd. I was worried whether I would be able to meet the expectations of the local people, who recommended my name for the event as a translator. But I think I did a fairly good job and will give myself a 90-95 per cent for accuracy. The speech lasted a little over 16 minutes."

When asked to evaluate his translation, Rashid said, "The public applause and their response to three to four instances said it all. As I translated the leader's lines from English to Malayalam, people continued whistling and clapping. Even Rahul appreciated my translation."

When asked about Rahul's reaction to his work, Rashid said, "Soon after the speech got over, senior Congress leader Mukul Wasnik took me to Rahul, who complimented me in the presence of other party leaders and IUML office bearers. He said, 'You did a good job. We will meet again, Thank you'."

The crowd at the venue

No time for rehearsal

Recalling the series of events that happened on Wednesday, Rashid said around 9am he was asked to be present at the venue as a standby. "I had already started getting a lot of congratulatory messages for being chosen as Rahul Gandhi's official translator. I had heard a couple of Rahul's speeches earlier, and was aware that he usually pauses after every sentence for the translation. But this time I was neither aware of his speech delivery time nor the topic on which he would speak. It was a live translation for me." "As Rahul was pausing after two to three sentences, I did not get time to write down the notes, and had to be more attentive. I tried to ensure that the translated version had the same sentiments and feelings that Rahul wished to convey."

Late security clearance

"I wanted to reach the venue early and prepare myself, but it took me over 45 minutes to get security clearance," he recalled. Rashid added, "I thought I would be standing next to Rahul on stage, but I was quite far from him. Hence, I could not hear him clearly."

Any blunder?

Rashid admits that while he put his best foot forward, he missed out on a crucial point mentioned by Rahul. The Congress president had said that he would provide "medical facilities" in Wayand district, but while translating, Rashid missed out on the word medical. "Earlier I have addressed large gatherings and community events, but this was the first time I did a live translation from English to Malyalam and that too for a national leader. All my friends and relatives appreciated my work," he said.

Why Rashid?

When contacted, PPA Kareem, president of IUML, Wayand district, said, "We recommended Rashid's name as he is one of the most highly educated persons from the district. He has done an MBA in Human Resources and also an MA in History. He even runs a Commerce and Science college in the district. The recommendation was made a week before the programme was planned but till Wednesday morning there was no confirmation from the Congress. We are happy that Rashid did a good job and made our district proud."

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