New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani
| Photo Credit: Getty Images via AFP
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released videos of himself speaking in Bangla, Mandarin and Spanish, apart from English, about an initiative to give free theatre tickets to city high-schoolers.
In the videos posted on X, Mr. Mamdani speaks in Bangla, Mandarin and Spanish to highlight a programme under which the city has partnered with TDF (Theatre Development Fund) to give away over 2,000 free tickets for Broadway theatre shows to NYC high School students through a free-to-enter lottery.
Mr. Mamdani’s multilingual command is garnering rave reviews from users on social media who are complimenting him on his perfect tones, pronunciations and enunciation.
Praise from Bangla speakers
“And now he’s speaking in Bangla as well; what can’t this man do,” a user said on X, commenting on his video in Bangla. “Native Bengali speaker here, dude speaking better Bangla than current Gen Z in Bangladesh,” read another comment.
“Bengal has a rich legacy of art, theatre, literature, and culture. From the Bengal School of Art to jatra and Kolkata’s vibrant theatre scene, creativity runs deep over there! I am afraid this man’s political talent is unmatched!” another user said.
On his video in Mandarin, a user on X said: “The NYC mayor speaks better Mandarin than I do, bye.”
“This doesn’t sound AI since it is very staccato, which is basically what a lot of non-native Chinese speakers sound like. I do appreciate how he tries to pronounce every character well,” another user on X commented.
“How many languages does bro speak lol,” said another comment.
Indian roots
Indian-descent Mamdani, the son of filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani, is the 112th Mayor of New York City, the first South Asian and Muslim to be elected to sit at the helm of the political seat in the largest city in the US.
Born and raised in Kampala, Uganda, Mr. Mamdani moved to New York City with his family when he was 7.
Over the weekend, Mr. Mamdani attended the India Day Parade in the Queens neighbourhood in New York.
“Today, I was back in Floral Park for the Queens India Day Parade — this time as the first Indian American mayor of New York City. It was an experience I will never forget,” he said. It was arguably the first time that Mamdani had identified himself as “Indian-American”.
Referring to former NYC Mayor David Dinkins, who had once described the city as a gorgeous mosaic, Mr. Mamdani had said, “Today, I saw that mosaic in the Hindus and Christians, Muslims and Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs across the Indian diaspora who have helped make our city what it is. To all of them, I say: it is an honour to do that work alongside you.
Happy Indian Independence Day!” Mr. Mamdani had said in a post on X.
Published – August 18, 2026 08:15 am IST
