In a now-viral video, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee gives us a sneak peek into what goes on inside that beautiful mind of hers. In the 45-second video clip, the very ‘humble’ and ‘modest’ Trinamool Congress supremo brags about being conversant in a host of languages, just before she claims that she does not feel the need to publicise it.
Irked by PM Narendra Modi reciting a Bengali verse during his Mann ki Baat radio address on Sunday, Mamata Banerjee took off on Tuesday, December 1, while briefing the media at the state secretariat: “I can speak Gujarati. I learnt Vietnamese when I visited Vietnam. I know a little bit of Russian after visiting the country three times. I also know Nagamese since I’ve worked in Nagaland for a long time. I know Manipuri, I know Assamese. I know Oriya, Punjabi, Maratha and Bangla language. I know Hindi, Urdu, Gorkha, Nepali. But I don’t show-off”.
After the video went viral on the micro-blogging site, Twitter users were left spellbound with the West Bengal CM’s ‘sheer brilliance’. One Twitter user proposed that Mamata Banerjee could take up language tutorials at her office in Nabanna.
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— Gourab Ganguly (@GourabGanguly16) December 3, 2020
Nabana Language class.
Student interested in multilingualism kindly join tution class of professor Hon’ble Mamata Banerjee. https://t.co/EYX3BPow87
Few others joked on how Mamata Banerjee’s speech was more like an interview of a person seeking the job of a translator.
Job interview for a translator’s job? 😂pic.twitter.com/6oOrFCHLNH
— Vasudha (@WordsSlay) December 3, 2020
If you’re looking for a multilingual translator, your search ends here ! pic.twitter.com/RseoccF0Ye
— Rishi Bagree (@rishibagree) December 3, 2020
There was one user from Odisha who was particularly amazed at how talented Mamata Banerjee is as compared to his state’s chief minister. He said that on one hand there is Odisha’s CM Naveen Patnaik who does not know Oriya and on the other, there is Mamata Banerjee who knows so many languages including Oriya.
Here, our CM @Naveen_Odisha babu, doesn’t know Odia . But, she knows so much languages, including Odia.
— Omprakas Pattanaik ଓମପ୍ରକାଶ ପଟ୍ଟନାୟକ (@omprakas1947) December 3, 2020
@MamataOfficial didi- Legend . 😂 https://t.co/OOeqNZ47HW
Few others could not help but share funny memes.
Jaani naukri karoge hamari company mein??? pic.twitter.com/QqI7JY7NMl
— Deshmukh saheb🇮🇳🚩 (@440tude) December 3, 2020
Aami Kiliki language jaani pic.twitter.com/7uB0pU3AXw
— ಅಂಧ ಬಕ್ತ🚩🇮🇳 (@SavageHumour) December 3, 2020
People listening be like pic.twitter.com/7VbxuHpZsh
— Ajay Kumar (@AjayKum06495617) December 3, 2020
She’s wierd pic.twitter.com/lGZmP8pg4u
— Suggest Me A Name (@HypocriteLaunda) December 3, 2020
Meanwhile, making light of PM Modi quoting a Bengali verse during his Mann ki Baat radio address on Sunday, Mamata Banerjee had also told the reporters that “everything appears in front of you on a teleprompter when you are giving a public speech. You just read it. The public won’t get to see it. Only a few people know this. Earlier it was a practice in the USA and the UK. Now we are seeing it in India.”
Well, honestly, the West Bengal CM was a little too modest when she claimed that she knows 14 languages. Over the years she has also mastered another uncanny and unexceptional talent of speaking alien languages, which she probably shied away from mentioning. This is one of her hidden talents which was thrown before the public when a video clipping of Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee chanting a slogan to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act at a public rally had gone viral.
Her iconic “Kaa Kaa chi chi chi chi chi chi” song still remains fresh in the minds of many Mamata Banerjee’s admirers, leaving not an iota of doubt as to how talented the West Bengal chief minister is.