New Delhi: Technology or logistics will not be a barrier for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's message to reach students on Teachers' Day. Language might. At least down south, where children are more conversant in English than Hindi.
A visit to three schools - one in Tamil Nadu and two in Kerala - was the acid test.
The Prime Minister's address - expected to be in Hindi - is worrying the teachers, who would have to translate for the children, especially those in the primary section.
At Thikodi MLP school in Thikodi, 45 km from Kozhikode, teacher V Pramod said they would record the programme and then translate it in English.
But even senior students did not appear too confident.
At Payyoli, nearly 50 km from Kozhikode, most students of the government-sponsored higher secondary school could not help betraying a shade of doubt.
"We have studied Hindi till Class X. We find it difficult to talk in the language. We hope we will manage to understand," said Vasavi, a student of Class XI. A moment later, she added in a more confident tone, "We hear Narendra Modi on television. We can understand."
"We find it difficult to speak in Hindi, but in Kerala we study it, we can understand," added Vasavi.
Understanding Mr Modi's Hindi speech could be a bigger challenge for children in rural Tamil Nadu.
In the century-old Government Boys' Higher Secondary School at Bhavani, headmaster M Chandrasekaran summed it up: "Students in Tamil Nadu do not speak or understand Hindi. We request our honorable Prime Minister to speak in English also."
A visit to three schools - one in Tamil Nadu and two in Kerala - was the acid test.
The Prime Minister's address - expected to be in Hindi - is worrying the teachers, who would have to translate for the children, especially those in the primary section.
But even senior students did not appear too confident.
Advertisement
"We have studied Hindi till Class X. We find it difficult to talk in the language. We hope we will manage to understand," said Vasavi, a student of Class XI. A moment later, she added in a more confident tone, "We hear Narendra Modi on television. We can understand."
Advertisement
Understanding Mr Modi's Hindi speech could be a bigger challenge for children in rural Tamil Nadu.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
"Strictest Punishment For Crimes Against Women": PM Amid Kolkata Protests "Natural Disasters Increasing Concerns": PM Modi On Independence Day "Reforms Focus Not For Editorials, But To Make Country Strong": PM's I-Day Speech 150 mg Semen In Kolkata Doctor's Body, Suspect Gang-Rape: Parents To Court 2 French Rafale Jets Collide Mid-Air, Instructor, Pilot Missing "Attempt To Save Accused Instead Of...": Rahul Gandhi On Doctor Rape-Murder G20 Nations Couldn't Do, India Did, Met Paris Accord Target Before Time: PM "Targeted Violence Against Hindus...": Vivek Ramaswamy On Bangladesh Unrest Probe Reveals Brazil Plane Crashed One Minute After Pilots Sensed Trouble Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.