Names can often be a tricky prospect for those unfamiliar with the language of your country. And what seems like a simple enough proper noun can suddenly morph into a strange tongue-twister that bears no actual link to the original. Writer and activist Meena Harris experienced this first hand recently after a flight attendant ended up calling her "Meena-quiche" while trying to pronounce Meenakshi.
"My full name (on my boarding pass) is Meenakshi and a flight attendant said “Meena-quiche?” and now I can’t stop laughing" she tweeted on Sunday night.
And while some did take this as an opportunity to talk about racism and other issues, a quick perusal of the comments section shows that Harris is certainly not alone.
"Meena Quiche is a beautiful Hindu name," assured fellow Indian-origin American, Mindy Kaling.
"As a person named Rakesh, I can tell you it’s definitely better than Raw Quiche," joked another.
Well in touch with her Indian roots, US Vice President Kamala Harris' niece has been a vocal critic of recent issues in India, such as the ongoing farmers' protest. On several occasions, she has also shared her take on Indian dishes, triggering a lengthy discourse on Twitter.
"South Indians are going to come for me hard on this but I need to confess somewhere that I just made rice and yogurt and lime pickle with cauliflower rice," read a tweet from April.
But while her culinary adaptation had not found much appreciation online, Twitter was certainly sympathetic today. Dozens of tweets shared in response to Harris' showed the many (and unfortunate) mispronunciations people have dealt with over the years.
"Letters are hard... How anyone messes up NALINI is beyond me. It’s spelled the way it sounds," lamented one user.
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