Date:10/06/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/06/10/stories/2008061060610300.htm

Translation of public speeches is an art, and it has been convincingly demonstrated by many political leaders and persons in different fields. But, this art was used most incompetently by a local advocate, who often makes desperate attempts to be in the eyes of the media, as he translated the speech of AICC general secretary Veerappa Moily at a function attended by Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy at Avanigadda with the kind of freedom that made the original speech and the translated version look totally different.

The scribes and all others who could follow Moily’s speech in English felt that the advocate had delivered a parallel speech rather than translating the original one.

Thrilling, verily

R.V. Subrahmanyam, Principal of Vishnu College of Dental Sciences, Bhimavaram, surely has a way with words. He said at The Hindu Education Plus Career Workshop that a career in dentistry was good, because it involved “drilling, filling and billing.”

On an earlier occasion, he quoted Ogden Nash to say that “some pains are physical and some mental, but the worst are dental.” He said dentistry these days is being referred to as ‘dentistree’ because more and more girl students are opting for the course. Dr. Subrahmanyam’s play with words brought wide smiles on the faces of students and parents as they enjoyed his counselling and promotion of dentistry.

‘Umpire’ decision

It’s not all that easy even for sports journalist with a nose for news to get a no-holds-barred interview either from the cricketers or the administrators of the game, as people in both these categories ‘claim’ that they are bound by the rules of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). This was experienced by local sports reporters the other day.

They arrived at IGMC Stadium to get a bite or two from ICC panel umpire Pratap Kumar, who officiated in the matches of the Indian Premier League. Pratap diplomatically refused to give any interview to the media, saying he can’t open his mouth until July first week as he is under a ‘contractual obligation’. Despite promises from the pen pushers that he would not be pushed into trouble with unpleasant and controversial questions concerning the faux pauses often committed by umpires, the smiling Pratap stuck to his stance and succeed in seeing the back of the crestfallen scribes.

It’s puzzling

Inferno at the Agriculture Market Yard has exposed some of the practices at the yard that were finally affecting farmers in getting remunerative price for their produce -- chillies -- at Asia’s largest market yard. If people thought Government had done well to announce compensation for all farmers, who had lost their produce on the yard premises, market committee was doubly quick to announce the list of farmers and pegging quantum of loss at 92,000 bags.

In a strange scenario unfolding in Guntur, Chilli Merchants’ Association is now backing the farmers for getting compensation as they claim the loss to be 2.69 lakh bags instead of 92,000. That market committee was not keeping entry records properly got exposed badly and traders have been offering to get prosecuted if their claims were wrong. People were surprised to see traders supporting farmers holding dharna on Monday.

If traders were responsible for the safety of produce, why was market committee not insisting on that? There was more to it than what meets the eye, but what?

This remains a question mark as payment of compensation remains tardy.

(K. Srimali,

G.V. Ramana Rao,

J.R. Shridharan in Vijayawada and Ramesh Susarla in Guntur)