From Shawarma To Rajnigandha: Zohran Mamdani's Viral South-Asian Moment

A short clip of New York City's newly elected mayor, Zohran Mamdani, casually munching on Rajnigandha mouth freshener during a street chat with content creator Nicolas Nuvan has taken social media by storm.

The Instagram video, posted by both Mamdani and Nuvan, opens with the mayor stepping out of a sleek black SUV and stopping for a quick conversation in Brooklyn. When Nuvan asks if he has eaten, Mamdani replies, "I did eat today, chicken shawarma." 

Moments later, he reaches into his pocket, pulls out a pack of Rajnigandha Silver Pearls, cardamom seeds laced with saffron and coated in silver, and adds, "I've also started having a lot of these. It's like a mint."

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After he offers it to Nuvan, he reacts instantly, "Oh wow, that's delicious... it feels like I'm consuming perfume. It tastes good, I like it." Mamdani laughs and quips back, "Perfumes you can eat."

The fun exchange struck a chord with South Asians online. "No way he just ate Rajnigandha (South Asians will relate)," one user commented. Another joked, "Muh mai Rajnigandha kadmo mai duniya, like bhai made it happen literally." A third said, "Omg never in my life I thought Rajnigandha will make it to New York."

After the viral moment, Mamdani continued his campaign rounds through Brooklyn, engaging locals in conversations about small business challenges and community issues.

At just 34, Mamdani has already rewritten history by becoming New York City's youngest mayor in a century, as well as the first Muslim and South Asian to hold the city's top office. His unapologetic embrace of his identity has made him a defining figure in American politics.

"I am young, despite my best efforts to grow older. I am Muslim, I am a democratic socialist, and most damning of all, I refuse to apologise for any of this," Mamdani told supporters during his victory speech at a Brooklyn music venue.

For many observers, his ascent signals a deeper shift in how South Asians are represented in US politics. Mamdani's openness on his background "certainly is a break from what we have seen in the past," said Sara Sadhwani, a political scientist at Pomona College who studies South Asian Americans.

"But that very much goes along with Mamdani's brand of authenticity and embracing difference – fully accepting the nuance of those differences," she added. "Even if all Indian Americans don't completely embrace his politics, it is nonetheless a symbolic moment of acceptance of Indian Americans."