The government is thinking of declaring the humble khichdi as the national dish. It has already been declared the national dish. It is being promoted as national dish. One or all of these theories have been floating around for the past day or so. Predictably, social media had some epic reactions as well. We look at the facts of the matter and some of the best reactions to the (incorrect) news of khichdi as the Indian national dish.
It is food for the sick and convalescing isn't it? That it may be, but it is also comfort food for vast numbers of Indians and is widely consumed all over India. It is healthy, nourishing and simple to cook; requiring only a few basic and easily available ingredients. Many tasty variations are also possible.
Approved by the centre, khichdi has been put forth as the representative of Indian cuisine. Food Processing Minister, Harsimran Kaur Badal has denied that Khichdi will be declared as the national food of India; instead she clarified that khichdi would be presented as the Indian superfood at the World Food India show on 4 November.
Though khichdi is not really to be the national dish of India (at least not yet), the jokes and #Khichdi memes were soon out in full force.
Those who like khichdi and think of it as tasty, satisfying comfort food are clearly happy and nostalgic about it.
The dish made with rice and meat – another beloved of people all over India – could be a strong contender for the national dish (along with butter chicken and about a thousand other dishes)
This one alluded to the recent controversy around the national anthem and the fact that we have never had a national dish of any sort hitherto and that there is no set protocol regarding it.
…At Arvind Kejriwal and what some people see as his persecution complex.
…the nasty propensity that some news channels have of giving a communal twist to just about anything, including the most innocuous of issues – in this case khichdi biryani.
…Bringing up a few shameful realities of India and the fact that so many Indians are hungry and malnourished.
While one referred to the old adage “khichdi pakana” (cooking up conspiracies), another asked why a sick person’s food is hailed as the national dish.
To say that X tastes like Y, one has to have tasted both X and Y!
...All the people who fall for the silly social media claims about UNESCO declaring the Indian PM/anthem/song as the best in the world.
…to the gaffe made by BJP leader Navin Kumar Singh on national TV: while asking for the singing of the national song Vande Matram to be made compulsory, the leader was himself unable to sing it even though he was reading it off his phone.
Apparently khichdi is like Rahul Dravid!
…Wanted some clarifications.
One of India’s best known Sindhis, standup comedian Atul Khatri had this view.
…44% of those polled chose no. 3 BTW.
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