THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Diplomatic talks and international relations can wait —a video has surfaced on Instagram, in which women from Kerala are seen sarcastically asking a few British tourists to return the Kohinoor diamond. Published as a collaboration reel in the accounts of two digital creators, Emma (@discoverwithemma_) and Alex (@alexwandersyt), the video was taken near the premises of Padmanabhaswamy Temple here. Within five days of posting, the video has gained over 11.4 million views and 327k likes.
In the caption of the video, the creators mentioned that once they said they were from England, the women started talking about how the British looted India during the colonial period. "English people have looted us. Treasures, black pepper, and Kohinoor were looted. When will you give it back to us?", the women are seen speaking in the video. While the satirical tone is maintained throughout by the women, the tourists, too, are seen saying in the video that they will talk to King Charles regarding this.
Emma, who had earlier posted multiple content on her Instagram account talking highly of Kerala, also noted that the incident made them think deeply. While she mentioned in the caption that it was one of the most awkward moments they have had while travelling, the video has sparked discussions on the civic sense of Malayalis.
The comments section of the video is split into two, with some saying that Kerala is the only place where they had to face relevant questions, and others have taken a dig at this attitude. Criticising Malayalis' attitudes, a graduate student, Sourav AS, commented on the video that these tourists should not be treated this way for what their ancestors did. "We were exploited by the British in the past, but mocking the tourists in such a way without any trigger is not a healthy practice," the literature student from Kochi told TNIE.
On the other hand, Fabin Francis, a tattoo artist from Kochi, found the video interesting and posted a funny comment. "People can react to situations in many ways. I think we should be happy that Malaylis expressed their dissent in a sarcastic-but-respectful manner," he said. A traveller-entrepreneur, Balram Menon, said one cannot comment that Malayalis have poor civic sense because of this video. "Generally, all foreign tourists speak highly of Kerala than any other Indian state," he noted.
In an attempt to put off the discussions, Emma's friend and travel content creator Maheen S said that the incident has not changed their opinion about the state. "The level of sarcasm changes with each culture. Though they were a bit taken aback by the incident, they left Kerala happily after enjoying boat trips in Alappuzha during the Kerala Piravi time," he told TNIE.