McHindi: Sunday Photo

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Ask not what Sepia Mutiny can do for you; ask what you can do for Sepia Mutiny! The picture above is courtesy of tipster Ashish, who ran after a bus to take this picture for us. As he notes, it is an ad in Hindi, for McDonald’s. It was on a SamTrans bus in Menlo Park this summer. I intended to put it up back when he originally sent it, because did I mention he ran after a bus for us? and also the picture is cool? but now it is cold and grey and I am glad to have just recalled this and to be posting it now, because among other things it is a nice reminder of summer and running and outdoor things. (I hope those of you on the East Coast have power and are warm and safe.)

Anyway. Hindi on the side of a bus in America, for the quintessential American fast food chain, which is now selling various South Asianish foodstuffs, by which I mean mangoes and coconuts are involved. If you have tasted any of these foodstuffs, please revert.

UPDATE: from the crowdsourcing on my FB wall—since I am not a Hindi speaker—this ad references pineapple-mango smoothies made from real fruit (the word “real” didn’t make it into the photo, so that part’s an educated guess). The ad further informs us that these smoothies are cooler than the month of August in San Francisco. Thanks to Aruni, Salil, Oindrila, Sucheta, Sumita, Zain! Oindrila offers this review of the smoothie, which she had several times this summer: “It was too much pineapple and not enough mango imo. I like my exotic cliched fruit.”

6 thoughts on “McHindi: Sunday Photo”

  1. McDonald’s: “On behalf of the Americans, we’re avenging you Indians for taking our jobs and being argumentive for customer support calls.”

  2. McDy’s did not do their research here. The Hindi for pineapple is अनन्नास (Anannas), not Annas as it appears on the bus. Also, the transliteration of smoothie here ends with ‘dhi’ which is what it sounds like but would be थी (thi) when written in Hindi. Looks like someone did not use Google Translator!

    • it is ananas not anannas. which is really a guarani/portuguese word borrowed into most of north indian languages

  3. Yeah McDonalds. Slaughters hundreds of thousands of cows every year and cooks its French fries in Beef tallow (which only came to light after a Hindu group sued). I didn’t realize including Mangoes and coconuts in recipes meant South Asian food. Thanks for the laughs VV, you could become a writer with that wit.