Influencers Are Coming for Your Grandma’s Thali
The West is rebranding an Indian household staple as a premium lifestyle product.
Brands and influencers have a new yassification target: the thali. I’ve now seen many new monikers floating around for this generations-old receptacle — chrome plates, minimalist homeware, even “cutie trays.”
“It has all these little boxes,” says Montreal-based lifestyle creator Anais Young in a post that was later amended with an apology. Young called the dish an “aesthetic jewelry organizer,” pointing to the sections of the steel platter in her hand meant for an assortment of Indian dishes.
Cue the predictable montage: thousands from the Indian diaspora swiftly corrected her, many chorusing that “the West yearns for thali.” Beneath these facetious jabs lies a familiar umbrage — this is hardly the first instance of influencers of a certain variety Columbus-ing things that are categorically Indian or South Asian. The cultural fixation that started with yoga and turmeric has now expanded to hair oiling, jhumkas, and saris.
