A Bengaluru-based venture investor, Ritesh Banglani, ordered an SD card from Swiggy Instamart and was surprised to receive a free bunch of coriander (dhaniya) with his delivery. His post about the incident on X went viral, sparking amusing reactions and comparisons to the traditional Indian market custom of giving freebies.
Even as technology advances, certain buying habits don’t seem to alter. Social media users are amused by the sudden appearance of one of India’s oldest market customs. This was recently found by a venture investor from Bengaluru who used a fast commerce app to purchase a memory card. He never anticipated receiving something for free when the box came.
Venture entrepreneur Ritesh Banglani of Bengaluru posted on X that he had placed an order with Swiggy Instamart for an SD card. He discovered a bunch of fresh dhaniya (coriander) packed with the memory card when the delivery arrived.
“Indian quick commerce is wild. I ordered an SD card and got some dhaniya free with it,” Banglani wrote. His post quickly caught people’s attention, with many finding the unexpected freebie both funny and relatable.
A Look At Viral Post
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Banglani, who is part of the investment team at Stellaris Venture Partners, also shared a screenshot of the order to show that it had really happened. The post received several funny reactions from users. Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma commented, “Tell me this is a joke and not real. Else I will ROFL.”
Another user played with words and wrote, “Did you say Dhaniyavad,” combining “dhaniya” with “dhanyavaad,” the Hindi word for “thank you.”
“They are aping local grocery store. Just that they have ability to give on SD card too,” stated entrepreneur Vivek Kejriwal, who also joined the discussion.
Another X user soon revealed that earlier this year, he had bought an iPhone through a rapid commerce company and received complimentary coriander with it. He even included pictures beneath Banglani’s post.
Giving customers a small bunch of free dhaniya or green chillies has long been a common practice at local vegetable markets across India. Many shoppers have come to expect this small gesture from neighbourhood vendors.