We all know that Congressman Shashi Tharoor has a way with words, and many people admire his grasp of the English language. Many individuals have felt terrible about not paying attention in English lessons because of ‘Tharoorian English.’ Everyone recalls his “exasperating farrago of distortions, misrepresentations, and downright falsehoods” tweets, as well as his “rodomontade” tweets, which prompted us to look up “rodomontade” in the dictionary. He engages with the young, expresses his thoughts on current affairs, provides commentary on cricket outcomes, reacts to vlogger videos, and even describes foreign foods.

The 65-year-old, on the other hand, has been trending online for something totally different this week. A photo of Tharoor crushing a traditional coconut at a Kerala temple during Onam celebrations has gone viral, prompting internet users to create memes. Thiruvananthapuram is seen breaking a coconut inside a Kerala temple while clad in a yellow kurta and white mundu. The original post from August 21 may be seen here.

This was followed by a slew of subsequent tweets including terms that are rarely used in everyday conversation. The Congress MP’s popularity on social media is due to more than just his usage of new terms. It was captioned: “And then offered a “Nirmala” at the Elevanchery Bhagavathy Kshetram a few minutes from my ancestral home (where I also smashed a ritual coconut & prayed to the Naga gods worshipped by all Nairs). #Onam blessings to all especially those suffering in these troubled times.”

After scores of netizens creatively turned the second photo into memes, Tharoor himself joined in the fun. “There are many of these memes going around using the pic of me ritually smashing a coconut. I don’t know who dreams them up by they are often very funny. This one is one of my favorites,” he wrote. There are, of course, many other versions of the meme. One was captioned ‘Statue of Dictionary’