Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s latest literary flourish wasn’t about foreign policy or parliamentary debates, but about idlis. After a user on X (formerly Twitter) derided the South Indian breakfast staple as “steamed regret,” Tharoor unleashed a defence so elaborate that it compared the dish to a Beethoven symphony, a Tagore sangeet, an MF Husain painting, and a Sachin Tendulkar century.
What happened?
“A truly great idli is a cloud, a whisper, a perfect dream of the perfectibility of human civilisation,” the Thiruvananthapuram MP wrote, describing the rice-and-lentil delicacy as “sublime” and “ethereal.”
Swiggy’s reaction
The ode quickly went viral, sparking memes and retweets across social media. And then came the brand intervention. On Sunday, Swiggy decided to turn words into action. Delivery personnel and employees showed up at Tharoor’s residence with parcels of freshly prepared idlis, sharing a photograph of the MP holding the boxes with their team.
In a post on X, Swiggy wrote in Hindi that it was a delight to serve “Shri Tharoor Ji the region’s finest idli” and wished him “a state of supreme bliss.”
Tharoor, who has long professed his love for the dish, including during a stay in Vienna where he claimed to have had idli breakfasts daily, has now added “culinary influencer” to his eclectic resume, courtesy of one viral post and a prompt delivery.