Most social media platforms are swarming with names of drugs used to treat COVID-19 infection as India continues to battle the second wave of the pandemic. Several government officials, political figures, non-government organisations, and celebrities have been using their social media reach to amplify the requirements of these medicines and other allied resources. One such public figure is Telangana minister and Working President of Telangana Rashtra Samithi, K T Rama Rao. KTR, as he is popularly known, has been relaying requests and arranging resources for those in need using his Twitter account.
Amid this, the leader shared a lighter moment with his followers and wondered aloud the reason behind the convoluted and often ‘unpronounceable' names of the COVID-19 medicines. Sharing a list of the polysyllabic names, he said on Twitter, “On a lighter note, any idea who comes up with this unpronounceable names for meds? Posaconazole, Cresemba, Tocilzumab, Remdesivir, Liposomal Amphoterecin, Flavipiravir, Molnupiravir, Baricitinib...And the list goes on…”
Bringing Shashi Tharoor into the conversation, KTR said that he felt the Congress leader could have a part to play in the selection of the names. Mr Tharoor is well known for his command of the English language and extraordinary vocabulary. Tagging Mr Tharoor, KTR said, “I suspect Shashi Tharoor Ji Pakka has a role to play in this.”
Taking the joke in his stride, the Congress leader pleaded ‘not guilty', but not before teaching Twitter users some new words. Mr Tharoor said, “Not guilty! How can you indulge in such floccinaucinihilipilification, KTR? Left to me I'd happily call them "CoroNil", "CoroZero", & even "GoCoroNaGo!" But these pharmacists are more procrustean....”
Reacting to the banter, one user said, “Time to open your dictionaries guys.”
Another user confessed that they were not sure how to even spell the complicated words that Tharoor had used.
One comment said that Tharoor's knowledge of the language could be used to update a dictionary.
In case you were wondering, ‘floccinaucinihilipilification' is defined as “the action or habit of estimating something as worthless” by the Oxford dictionary. ‘Procrustean', on the other hand, means “enforcing uniformity or conformity without regard to natural variation or individuality.”
Tell us what you think about the banter between the two leaders.
