On Janta Curfew day, journalists play ‘Twitter Antakshari’ with Smriti Irani

The coronavirus pandemic has swayed countries into lockdown. India is observing a Janta Curfew between 9 am and 7 pm today, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call during a televised nationwide address on March 20.

Streets might be empty and markets desolate, but Twitterati and politicians have joined hands to keep everyone’s spirits up online. Journalists barged in too, so what if it was awkward.

Union Minister for Textiles Smriti Irani called for a #TwitterAntakshari today, tagging Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporter and troll-of-repute Ankit Jain. It was scheduled for 11 am.

Minutes before 11, she tweaked the rules a little: anyone could sing anything they wished. “Ye apni marzi wala antakshari hai,” she declared. This is an antakshari of one’s choice.

Then the cringe carpet bombing began. Besides regular Twitter users, television anchors, especially those known to be more than just friendly with the government, started tweeting their songs. It included CNN-News 18 journalists Bhupendra Chaubey and Pallavi Ghosh, ANI’s Pragya Kaushika, India Today anchor Gaurav Sawant, among others. Here’s a gallery...

Talented socialite Suhel Seth joined in too:

Then, as if to outflank others, Gaurav Sawant posted a video of him singing. It seemed as if he was holding back tears, though our sources haven’t confirmed this.

When Times Now anchor Navika Kumar pitched in with her song, Irani swiftly chastised her for omitting the hashtag.

Tweeters raised objections at Irani’s choice of words, but Navika duly fell in line.