Video: Bring Out Dictionaries. Shashi Tharoor Just Met His Match In Nepal

They call him Mr English and Mr Difficult Words. He enjoys every bit of the adulation and awe his command over language inspires. An avid cricket fan, Shashi Tharoor loves throwing a curveball wrapped in tough words and unheard-of expressions at his audience every once in a while, and he is loved for that.

And he has a counterpart in Nepal. The Finance Minister of the Himalayan nation, Dr. Swarnim Wagle, is known as the Shashi Tharoor of Nepal for his proficient use of the English language and penchant for using tough words.

So, what happens when the OG Tharoor meets Nepal's Tharoor on the stage of NDTV World's Anviksha Summit in Kathmandu?

Well, light-hearted banter loaded with big words.

Sample this:

Grand larceny.

Nepal's Finance Minister threw the word in, saying it's often mimicked and used.

#NDTVWorldAnviksha | Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle (@SwarnimWagle) is Nepal's 'Shashi Tharoor'? Watch this candid banter between the Nepal minister and Congress MP#NDTVAnviksha #IdeasAcrossBorders #IndiaNepalDialogue | @rahulkanwal | @AdityaRajKaul pic.twitter.com/BSJbhuUb9c

— NDTV (@ndtv) August 27, 2026

Tharoor commended it with his trademark wit: "Better used by a finance minister than a leader of the opposition," said the Congress MP.

If you are still wondering, grand larceny is the criminal theft of property whose value is greater than a specific statutory limit set by law, making it a felony.

Tharoor then threw in one of his own.

Defenestrate.

To throw someone out of the window.

"You defenestrated the former Prime Minister," Tharoor said, evoking laughter from the Minister and the audience.

Wagle and Tharoor then went into a masterclass on the oft-used German word "Schadenfreude", which, Tharoor told the room, means "the feeling of joy or satisfaction you get when something bad happens to another person".

While the Nepal Finance Minister said there probably is no word in English that aptly captures the same meaning, Tharoor was quick to point out that there is in fact an English word for "Schadenfreude", which "even the English don't use".

"Epicaricacy" - the English word for "Schadenfreude" - Shashi Tharoor, donning a Nepali topi, informed the audience.

"But they also use schadenfreude instead of epicaricacy, as sometimes a French or a German word comes more naturally to an Englishman than the English word," Tharoor added.

Wagle then added that he had asked some of his linguist friends whether "Schadenfreude" can be translated into Nepali, but they didn't succeed.

Calling himself a fan of Shashi Tharoor, Dr. Swarnim Wagle said he has been trying to follow in his footsteps. Tharoor acknowledged Wagle's admiration with a nod of the head and a hand on his heart.