To Idli or not to Idli? British professor Edward Anderson sparked a fierce debate on Twitter after calling Idlis ‘boring’ | Image Credit: Twitter
UK history professor Edward Andwerson’s unpopular opinion of ‘idli’ prompted a response from many South Indians, including Thiruvananthapuram MP Sashi Tharoor.
- News18.com
- Last update: October 8, 2020 11:30 PM IST
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Food can be a great unifier or divider. And what happened on Desi Twitter this week, popularly known as “Idligate,” has given Indians something else to think about.
It all started when Indian food delivery portal Zomato posed a simple question on Twitter. “What is that dish that you could never understand why people like it so much?” Zomato asked on the microblogging site.
While the question was fairly straightforward, one of the responses it generated elicited a rather disproportionate reaction from South India.
It so happened that Edward Anderson, a UK-based history professor and expert on Indian and British studies, took to Twitter to post what was later termed a ‘blasphemous’ opinion.
“Idli are the most boring things in the world,” Anderson wrote.
It’s safe to say that as soon as he posted the tweet, all hell broke loose. The post instantly drew attention with South Indians flocking to the microblogging platform in droves to draw attention to Anderson’s bad taste for Desi food and culture. While an outraged user called Anderson a “clueless white boy”, another informed him of his mistake by announcing that “all of South India is united through idli.”
The tweet garnered so much interest that Ishan Tharoor joined in. Ishan jokingly (we hope) referred to Anderson’s version of idli as the “most offensive take” he had heard on Twitter.
The Twitter jokes took a talkative turn as none other than Ishan’s father and Thiruvananthapuram MP from Congress Shashi Tharoor also joined the debate and redoubled Desi’s love for Idli. Speaking like the anti-imperialist that he is, Tharoor wrote: “Civilization is hard to come by: the taste and refinement to appreciate idlis, enjoy cricket, or watch ottamthullal is not given to all mortals. Have mercy on this poor man maybe never know what life can be. “
Yes, my son, there are some who are really challenged in this world. Civilization is difficult to acquire: the taste and refinement to appreciate idlis, enjoy cricket, or watch ottamthullal is not given to all mortals. Have mercy on this poor man, because he may never know what Life can be. https://t.co/M0rEfAU3V3
– Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 7, 2020
The outrage was enough for Anderson to take to Twitter and seek an explanation for his rejection of the distinctive powdered rice cakes so prized by South Indians. Anderson wrote: “Before all of South India attacks me, I can say that I love dosa and appam and basically all South Indian food. But idli (and puttu) are unbearable.” He also reported that his in-laws were from Kerala, perhaps in the hope that this would help him defeat the “idli-defenders”.
PS Before all of South India attacks me, can I just say that I love dosa and appam and basically all South Indian food? But idli (and puttu for that matter) are unbearable.
– Edward Anderson (@ edanderson101) October 6, 2020
One problem with pissing off South India twitter is that they are in literally all time zones, even when India sleeps, the angry responses keep coming! 😉
– Edward Anderson (@ edanderson101) October 6, 2020
After Tharoor’s response went viral, Anderson responded by saying that he had been afraid that the “World’s Most Famous Idli Evangelist” would see his post and beat him up. To defend himself, the clever professor had a copy of Tharoor’s book “IGlorious Empire: What the British Did to India” by hand.
Oh no, I was afraid that the world’s most famous idli evangelist would see this later @ishaantharoor tweeted it! Coincidentally, ‘this poor man’ is rereading one of his books that I have had my students read in a class next week! pic.twitter.com/30vqyrEQQk
– Edward Anderson (@ edanderson101) October 7, 2020
That was not all. Anderson anticipated himself asking for idli earlier that day and eating it while sharing the entire experience on Twitter. “Having accidentally angered the entirety of South India (and its ubiquitous diaspora) on Twitter, it was okay to order idlis for lunch,” wrote the professor. His opinion on idli, however, remained unchanged.
Aside from outrage, Anderson’s post also led Indians from different southern states, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka, to fight for the crown of making the best idlis.
I have to completely agree! but at the risk of pissing off all the mallus on twitter I’ll add, the malayalis really don’t know how to make sambar and chutney for the idlis or dosa for that matter !!! Kannadigas and Tamils (in that order) win hands down. https://t.co/g5AVVm6ZKx
– TM Krishna (@tmkrishna) October 8, 2020
@ edanderson101 – Idli can be eaten with many combinations. Did you know the different regions in #India Do you have different types of f idli as acidity / ingredients vary? Plus a fresh and nutritious meal from Idli. There is definitely more western food, but let’s learn to respect other people’s. #food ! https://t.co/dXdBrhJFvh
– Kutts (@kiranjosephp) October 8, 2020
Many, however, agreed that while Anderson’s version of Idli was unpopular, it was understandable as “good” idli, one that had been done to perfection, was a rarity.
This is not the first time that Indians have been openly susceptible to food. Recently, a South African food channel was skinned on Twitter after it posted a (rather dubious) biryani recipe online.
READ: Food Channel apologizes after Biryani with lentils recipe leaves a bad taste in Desi’s mouth
But not everyone was amused by “Idligate” or the jokes between Anderson and the rest of Twitter (which at various points threatened to disproportionate).
This is an extreme reaction on your part, Mr. Tharoor. It’s human that some people don’t like certain things. I can’t watch the whole cricket match. You cannot enjoy bhangra or gidha in the same way that we do. We like saag better. You may like uttapam. Doesn’t mean someone is in bad taste
– Ramandeep Kahlon Sangha (@ rkahlon2009) October 7, 2020
One more guy ridiculing someone’s taste. Have people forgotten how subjective these things are? And if not, then cricket, shee thoooo! https://t.co/z6tNWRB1Nn
– Ritesh Uttamchandani (@photowallah) October 8, 2020
Outrage over idli> outrage over democracy
– Veena Venugopal (@veenavenugopal) October 8, 2020
At a time when Indians are embroiled in a series of debates including over women’s safety, caste oppression, religious politics, and other threats to democracy, the Idli debate may have given many a breather in Twitter But, as one Twitter user rightly put it, it seems that in India, the outrage over Idli is far greater than the outrage over the wrongdoings that may be occurring in our democracy.
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