Zara trolled for Rs 3,000 shirt with Hindi words that make little sense

A Zara shirt with random Hindi words has tickled desi Twitter

“Dilli ki dhoop Dilli. Chawal – elements of voyage.”

Confused after reading this random assemblage of words? You’re not alone. These are the Hindi words that fast fashion label Zara has embroidered on a menswear shirt that is retailing for Rs 3,290 on its website.

Taken word-to-word, the phrase directly translates to: “Delhi’s sunshine Delhi. Rice – elements of voyage.” Given that it makes no sense, it’s little surprise to see Zara being trolled for using this random collection of Hindi words on its shirt.

The shirt first captured public attention after Twitter user Shilpa posted its pictures on the microblogging platform. “Zara is selling a shirt that has Hindi words that make no sense: One side says 'Chawal — elements of voyage' which is rice and the other says ‘Delhi's sun/ heat Delhi,’” she wrote while sharing pics of the white shirt, which also features a design resembling the sun.

lol! Zara is selling a shirt that has Hindi words that make no sense: One side says 'Chawal — elements of voyage' which is rice and the other says 'Delhi's sun/ heat Delhi.' #lostintranslation pic.twitter.com/jLxAR0uUOV

— Shilpa (@shilpakannan) June 14, 2023

Some Twitter users wondered whether Zara had wanted to write “rise”, which sounds similar to “rice”. Rice in Hindi is chawal, which is what ended up being printed on the shirt.

I think someone was told to print “rise” in hindi along with sun.

— maaya (@mohmaaya) June 14, 2023

Localisation and spelling gone wrong.

Rise to rice....

And no one bothered to check it all along.

— Arvind Saraswat (@arvindsaraswat) June 15, 2023

I think this was supposed to mean, Dilli ki dhoop, Dilli ki chaav which got mistranslated to chaval !!!

— Shweta Desai (@shweta_desai1) June 14, 2023

Most Twitter users just cracked jokes after looking at the Zara shirt.

This is Chai tea all over again.

— My patience is waning (@Schadengirl) June 14, 2023

Horrible! Should have have been, “Pyaar” on one side and “Dilli ki sardi” on other

— Abhishek J (@_jairath) June 15, 2023

Love rice so much i'd wear it unironically https://t.co/CetfRz16rG

— Pooja (@Peswani_) June 15, 2023