There are two kinds of English: Tharoor replies to Chetan Bhagat
The repartee started again on Saturday when Bhagat shared a photo of him with Tharoor and wrote " India has two kinds of English.
Bengaluru: Author Chetan Bhagat and Thiruvananthapuram MP and senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor once again had an entertaining exchange on microblogging site Twitter. This is not the first time that these two have engaged in bantering.
The repartee started again on Saturday when Bhagat shared a photo of him with Tharoor and wrote " India has two kinds of English. 1) The Shashi Tharoor English. 2) The Chetan Bhagat English."
To this, the Congress MP replied on Sunday morning, "My dear Chetan Bhagat, it was a pleasure catching up with you at the #ABPIdeasOfIndiaSummit. (Now how would you say that in Chetan Bhagat English?)"
The tweet of Bhagat did not go well with a few users and one of the users commented, "No. Not at all. We have many Englishes. R K Narayan English, Nirad Chaudhary English, Gandhi English,Nehru English, Mulkraj Anand English, Nissim Ezekiel English, Vikram Seth English, Arundhati Roy English etc. Our English is not so poor!"
Another user circled the face of a lady who appeared in the background of the picture and wrote "Neglected vernacular languages in the background..."
Another user wrote demanding to create an Indian English category, "It's time to create a different category of English called "Indian English" Just like British and American. We Indians always pronounce receipt as रिसीप्ट and not रिसीट . It's time. Let's go India."
Tharoor had commended Bhagat on a newspaper report on the country's economy a few years back. He called it a "superb article by Chetan Bhagat on everything that ails our country and what we should do about it," and added, "His message is obvious, and I hope his admirers in government act on it."
An overjoyed Bhagat responded by saying he was "flying" because "Shashi Tharoor had praised Chetan Bhagat." He also had "one request" for Tharoor: "Please, sir, use some big words to praise me next time, like ones that only you can do." Excellent is good, but a large one would truly make my day!"
Tharoor answered in his typical manner, leaving the internet in a tizzy. He tweeted, "Sure, Chetan Bhagat. It’s clear you are not sesquipedalian nor given to rodomontade. Your ideas are unembellished with tortuous convolutions and expressed without ostentation. I appreciate the limpid perspicacity of today’s column. "
My dear @chetan_bhagat, it was a pleasure catching up with you at the #ABPIdeasOfIndiaSummit. (Now how would you say that in Chetan Bhagat English?) https://t.co/PtyXMgMfEP
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) March 27, 2022