On International Mother Language day, meet Koo's communications team that speaks 8 languages!

 21st February 2022    PR News 
 Paarul Chand

With 22 official languages navigating India for communicators can be a daunting task.

The communications team of Koo, the home-grown, microblogging platform is proficient in 8 languages. On International Mother Tongue Day, we ask them about their challenges and opportunities.

Archana Muthappa, Head – Corporate Communications, Koo says, "This is the most diverse team I have ever had the opportunity to work with – in terms of language and geography."

Muthappa adds, "During the course of my career, most of the communication was done in English and organizations looked for communications people with good English skills. Regional media, at best, played a supporting role. With the creation of a multi-lingual micro-blogging platform in India, the focus has shifted to the Indic languages. Because I read only two Indian languages, for the first time – ever – I simply have to trust that my team who manages the language understands the brief and is able to convert the requirement into what is required for Koo. And in the many months I have been at Koo, there has not been a single instance when my team has let me down!"

Yogitha RJ, specialist in Kannada language feels that she has learnt a lot from her colleagues and met people from different parts of India, "As South Indians, we never understand the language diversity of the North. We think only Hindi rules everywhere. But working in Koo, I've started understanding how people in Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand speak different languages and how they love their native language."

Lipika Kapil, who handles communication for corporate and Hindi speaking states says, "The hiring of PR people has largely been driven with the ‘English first’ mindset. There is no denying the fact that this is important.

However, our team has a unique blend of communications professionals who are proficient in Hindi, English and also their mother tongues like Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, and Telugu. This diversity is instrumental as they bring in the understanding of the local people who are the real users and the target audience for Koo."

Srikanth Gunishetty, who handles communication for South India in Telugu language shares his experience saying, "While the construct of storytelling has been the same, but the lens with which we look at sharing these stories has changed, the initial days had been challenging, as we had to understand everyone’s perspective and the pulse of the state and language."

Muthappa says, "It is, in many ways, representative of the complexity that India is with our languages, dialects – leading to a variety of cultures, nuances and inferences. My team is able to talk about how ‘national’ news plays out in their own regions, giving me insight into our vast country, as well as showing me how little I actually know about the country I call home!"

Anisha Bachani who works with Koo corporate and in Gujarati language agrees that,"There are a lot of differences in opinions when we think together but this adds to my productivity. I am exposed to different points of view thus increasing my soft skills."

Qasir Khan, specialist in Hindi language says, "Being from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh and now living in Noida, I had mostly interacted – both professionally and personally – with people from the Northern regions of India. At Koo, I’ve made friends who are from places as far away as Shimoga in Karnataka, Aurangabad in Maharashtra and many more."

If you think PR is becoming more multilingual tweet us @PRmomentIndia .