THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : After a brief lull, Jyothi Radhika, the star speech translator of Rahul Gandhi during his visits to Kerala, is back in action. On Tuesday, 44-year-old Jyothi, who is also a KPCC secretary, translated Rahul’s speeches during his road shows in Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency. The last time she translated Rahul’s speeches was during the assembly elections in 2021.
This has been Jyothi’s thirteenth year as a translator for Rahul’s speeches whenever he came down to Kerala. She told TNIE that on Tuesday, Rahul asked her the Malayalam equivalent of ‘extortion’.
“Rahul wanted to highlight Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s extortion through electoral bonds. When I replied that it was ‘kollayadi’, Rahul incorporated it in his speech. I could see that he was extremely happy with my translation. It was so special for me as we shared an excellent rapport,” said Jyothi.
Clad in a pink cotton saree, Jyothi tied her hair in a bun to escape the scorching sun in Wayanad. She stood along with Rahul atop his open vehicle and translated his short speeches in at least nine points. It was Wandoor MLA A P Anilkumar who requested Jyothi to reach Wayanad on Monday. She was busy in Thiruvananthapuram imparting classes to civil service aspirants, mulling over to pursue research in law as well as being an anchor for Doordarshan. She says it’s easy for her to listen to what Rahul says as his ideologies have got wider acceptance among people.
“Rahul’s vibrant sense and jovial nature help me relax during my translations. At a time when Rahul had come under flak from the Left, he spoke about the LDF as his own family where there will be ideological differences,” added Jyothi.
Daughter of Congress leader D Vijayakumar, former general secretary in Alappuzha DCC, and Radhika, a homemaker, the biggest critic in the family is her seven-year-old-son, Govardhan Aman Jyothi, studying at Government Higher Secondary School, Kulathoor, Thiruvananthapuram.