The King’s Speech

April,May and September are the busy months,” says Khera,who has been penning the speeches of NSUI’s contesting presidents for the last six years.

While Panjab University Students’ Council elections fall in September,the announcement for presidents of various student parties happens in April,which in turns triggers the supporters to write speeches. These speeches help the contenders to impress the students and outwit each other. They are not in English,but are excerpts of rich text,in vernacular languages.

Oration is the second round of groundwork. “If these are not scripted well,then we fall face down,” says Robin Brar,president of Students

Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU),even as he fills in his scriptwriter with his agenda. “I only give a bony structure,it is for them to add flesh to it. They add humour and wit and make the speech interesting,” says Brar. He uses Sanskirt shlokas as ready fillers for the speakers. “There are elaborate phrases and quick one-liners. We alternate them according to the time available,” says Brar,as he talks about his two companions — one is a student of Punjabi Department,who assists with poetry,and the other is a student in Law Department,who appraises him with student issues and demands. “They are my sounding boards,” he smiles.

Dinesh Chauhan of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) calls the speechwriters the backbone of any election. “Winning or losing depends on them. The president gets to win or lose because of what he says. Work comes in only after you bag the post,” says Chauhan. He introduces us to Vikas Sharma,an MA Sanskrit student and Ved Rana,who’s preparing for civil services. “Earlier Vijay Chauhan,a PhD student,was instrumental in providing that extra touch to election speeches,now that he has completed his PhD all the parties are feeling the loss. He was among the only few students on campus who wrote for all parties,without any vested interest,” says Chauhan.

At the Students Center,Gurvinder Vir Aulakh,president of Panjab University Students’ Union,introduces his “Birbals”,who give him all the weight and clout to win. “Karanvir Singh Gill,a student of Tangori College and Dharm Pal Dhaliwal,are my left and right hand. They are the words I speak,” says Aulakh,who is happy that both his speechwriters compliment each other. “One of us makes the speech and the other makes it fit for deliberation,” chips in Dhaliwal,who is quick to add that this does not mean that the president is not fit to write. “It just means that we add that extra something to the speech because he has limited time and also because some of the supporters have a way with words,” he adds. Clearly the pen is mightier in this instance.