Lost in translation

Updated on: Tuesday, July 19, 2011

My foray into Spanish was to merely prove a point. A sports fanatic, my decision to pursue the language was a result of the Spanish team being knocked out of the World Cup in 2006. I was dismayed and decided to learn the language of my favourite football team. I started Spanish classes at Ranade Institute and then, as the languages further enthralled me, I graduated to the third and last level. That qualified me for a BA in Spanish. My parents were amazed that an emotional release would lead me to explore a language in such depth. I have also passed the highest level of examination, the DELE from Instituto Cervantes in Spain and I topped all three years of learning the language at the institute.

Considering that I already knew a considerable amount of Spanish literature and culture, I felt confident enough to broaden my linguistic skills to learn another language. I chose German as my second language of choice as my basics of the language were cemented during my last years of schooling. I pursued a BA in German from Fergusson College and simultaneously went to the Max Mueller Bhavan in Pune to pick up more of the language skills. After finishing my two levels at Max Mueller, I decided to apply for the DAAD scholarship offered at Max Mueller. I am one of the lucky students selected for the trip to Germany, granted on getting the scholarship.

Due to my sufficient knowledge of both languages, I do a lot of freelance work that I get from various institutes, primarily involving translation and interpretation. My first major assignment was when I was given an opportunity to teach a certificate course in Spanish at the New Arts College in Ahmednagar, a collaboration of Ahmednagar and Pune universities.

The sky is the limit when a person is fluent in foreign languages. a wide range of jobs from interpretation, translation and teaching to sub-titling for company brochures are on offer. study of comparative literature is one of the courses that a student can pursue abroad, which i realised i could do after my ma and phd. there are many institutes in the city offering a wide variety of language course and job opportunities like teaching as well. learning these languages has provided me with knowledge of the literature of two countries.

Times of India

Lost in translation

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