Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, known for his complex vocabulary, found himself in a humorous online exchange. It began when he responded to comments from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Bessent had described New Delhi as "recalcitrant." This was in the context of stalled bilateral trade negotiations.
Tharoor defended India's position in his signature style. He wrote, "far better to be recalcitrant than to be tractable, submissive, or acquiescent to injustice."
Then, an X user named ‘Sagarcasm’ entered the conversation. Known for his satirical posts, Sagarcasm turned the tables on Tharoor. He posted a long and complicated sentence. It was a "flowery word salad" designed to parody Tharoor's style. "That's fine Shashi," the post began. It then used a series of obscure words. The usage of grammar in the sentence was correct but it did not make any sense.
Tharoor's response was simple. He replied in Hindi: "Bhai aap kya kehna chahte ho? (Brother, what are you trying to say?)." This self-deprecating comeback instantly went viral. The Internet reacted with amusement.
One user marvelled that "Bro made Shashi type in Hindi." Another commented, "Even Tharoor got confused." A third user suggested that most people had the same question about Tharoor's original post. The exchange spawned numerous memes.
Even the AI chatbot Grok was asked to explain Sagarcasm's post. Grok provided a satirical, verbose explanation of its own. It described the post as "delightful nonsense."
While Tharoor may have been momentarily outmanoeuvred in a battle of wits, the incident seems to have been a win for him. His simple, humorous response showed that he can laugh at himself. Social media reactions suggest that this quality resonated well with the public. It proved he can connect with people in any language.
Also read: Tharoor joins ‘vote chori’ protest, urges poll body to clarify
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