'Will Daenerys become Kamalamma?' Jokes erupt as Guj govt renames dragon fruit
If a rose by any name will smell as sweet, why shouldn't a similar experiment be tried on the dragon fruit? The Gujarat government has decided that henceforth, the pink and green fruit which looks like the scales of a dragon to the rest of the world, will be called 'kamalam' because to them, it looks like a lotus.
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, while interacting with the media on Tuesday, said that the government has applied for a patent to change the nomenclature of dragon fruit to 'kamalam'. The pressing reason for this is that the word 'dragon' for a fruit sounds 'inappropriate' and so, the government has decided to resolve this identity crisis by naming it after a flower.
"We have applied for the patent of the dragon fruit to be called kamalam. But as of now, we, the Gujarat government, have decided to call the fruit as kamalam," the Chief Minister said.
"Even though the fruit is known as dragon fruit, it doesn't sound appropriate. The word 'kamalam' is a Sanskrit word and the fruit does have the shape of the lotus, so we have decided to call it 'kamalam', and there's nothing political about it," Rupani added. According to the CM, the fruit has been grown as a form of cactus in the country for a long time.
The lotus is the symbol of the BJP to which Rupani belongs, and the state BJP headquarters in Gandhinagar is also named 'Shri Kamalam', which translates to 'lotus' in Sanskrit. However, Rupani added that nobody has to be 'alarmed' by the word 'kamalam'.
The Gujarat government's decision led to an explosion of jokes and memes on social media. A few social media users speculated on naming other fruits based on their outer shape.
Oh, if they are naming fruits by their “outer shape” then I am really worried about one fruit in particular https://t.co/RMdXDiF5pc
— Sarita A Tanwar (@SaritaTanwar) January 20, 2021
Some even joked that the renaming of the fruit was a response to India's border issues with China.
After gobi manchurian, this is the biggest Indian strike against #China. #dragonfruit renamed. https://t.co/EafeS4OJE1
— Pooja Prasanna (@PoojaPrasanna4) January 20, 2021
Tomorrow : fried rice to be renamed Gandhinagar Pulao https://t.co/6nBFGs62du
— DharmaVirodhi Aditya (@almostinfamous) January 20, 2021
Others referenced Daenerys from A Game of Thrones.
Khaleesi with Kamalam. pic.twitter.com/sTopPnrQPN
— CS Amudhan (@csamudhan) January 20, 2021
And dragon queen Daenerys Targaryen will henceforth be called Kamalamma https://t.co/DhiGQ6HGn6
— Charmy Harikrishnan ചാമി ഹരികൃഷ്ണൻ (@charmyh) January 19, 2021
"The word 'dragon' is not graceful.” What’s in name? #dragonfruit https://t.co/KFGx2tTGqK
— Gargi Rawat (@GargiRawat) January 20, 2021