Apparently, Keralites eat cats. That is, according to a right wing handle on Twitter, which has in turn led to an amusing (in most parts) discussion on Twitter. “One Mallu friend told me that in Kerala they even eat cats. I was shocked,” the tweet posted from a handle called @HindusUniteNow reads. “Yes Gobi meownchurian is a popular dish here’, responded a Twitter user, among a long list of other quick-witted replies (though some users did not forget to promptly sexualise the whole thing).
There has been an ongoing discussion (bordering attack) about the eating habits of Keralites in light of a recent controversy about Vineeth Sreenivasan’s Pranav Mohanlal starrer Hridayam. In a song sequence, the film shows Kalyani Priyadarshan and Pranav savouring beef and bun parotta, as the Tyaagaraja keerthan ‘Nagumo omu gana leni’ plays. A Twitter user by the name Swathi Bellam had taken offence to this, a year after the film’s release, claiming that the juxtaposition of beef eating against a devotional song offends ‘Sanathan sentiments’.
The ‘Keralites eat cats’ accusation came as a reply to the Hridayam song tweet, to further extend the rhetoric. But some of the replies to it are so funny that the whole exercise has become a stress buster for many like the person who wrote, “I am going to read the replies & quotes. It's going to be hilarious Mallus rock.”
One person replied, “Yep. Cat cutlets are famous. It’s even there in a movie. There’s also something called Aanamutta. Go to any Kerala restaurant and ask for it. It’s delicious, I promise,” where Aanamutta means elephant eggs.
“Ya we have cat farms here. We also ate lion, tiger, giraffe, hippo, etc... Do you know why rhinos are facing extinction? You got the answer, I think,” responded yet another Twitter user.
While most replies serve as banter, some also use humour to make a pointed critique of the subtle hint in the tweet that Malayalis have problematic eating habits (because they eat beef), like how one tweeter wrote, “I am absolutely loving the replies and quote tweets to this tweet, less hate more jokes, Mallus rule!”
As a malayali, i can confirm this. This is the guy you are looking for. https://t.co/018KcVQ9TG pic.twitter.com/6I4R7Q4rB3
— Proud Keralite (@Assal_Malayali) June 5, 2023
https://t.co/VM3hpHZSKI pic.twitter.com/fbeayLCZNx
— puru (@oopspuruagain) June 5, 2023
I left my Mallu friend in charge of my cats for 4 days while I went to attend a wedding. I guess he doesn’t like ginger cats and Persian mixed breed cats because they were both still here when I came back. https://t.co/irZcPUMIu0 pic.twitter.com/QZPbuu5Ky5
— Sophie (@azenithromycin) June 5, 2023
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— puru (@oopspuruagain) June 5, 2023
We actually also eat humans during this festival once a year. The prettiest 2 people from the village are chosen and eaten (so that their prettiness is shared amongs the whole village) . Why stop at cats? https://t.co/allKXGBfgA
— shu⚘ beat me up if i pull on genshin (@archonajax) June 5, 2023
We keep the cats inside the fridge till it's ready to cook. https://t.co/GlxndLHNWw pic.twitter.com/aj6i997TYJ
— Nevin (@nevinthomas) June 5, 2023
as a mallu, i confirm this is tru https://t.co/SensnE6Sy3 pic.twitter.com/CgzusbL88w
— sasuke uchiha (@_UchihaSa_) June 5, 2023