Why a Rs 100 jhola selling for Rs 4000 abroad has sparked peak meme chaos in India

Move over Gucci and Dior, there is a new luxury item in town, and it smells faintly of turmeric and nostalgia. The classic Indian jhola, that ever-loyal cloth bag your dad used to carry onions in, has just had its global glow-up. Once sold for Rs 100 at Indian roadside stalls (or sometimes thrown in free with your month¡¯s groceries), this unassuming shoulder bag is now listed for a jaw-dropping Rs 4,000 on the website of high-end US department store Nordstrom.

What in the name of scam is this!! Jhola being sold at a premium department store Nordstrom for $48! ??

I¡¯m a homesick person but even I haven¡¯t reached these levels of nostalgia. pic.twitter.com/Zouw2rLpke

¡ª Wordita (@wordi25) May 21, 2025

Viral jhola costs Rs 4,000, and the internet definitely had thoughts

Yes, you read that right. A plain cotton jhola is now moonlighting as a ¡°woven tote¡± and retailing for $48 in the West. The same jhola that has seen more college protests, local train rides, and ration trips than most designer bags could ever dream of.

Indian Kirana store Jhola is being sold at premium stores now. ?
Gazab! pic.twitter.com/lF8S81hUCh

¡ª Aditya Kumar Tiwari (@adityakt) May 21, 2025

The mayhem began when an Indian user spotted the listing and posted it online, expressing disbelief that homesickness had not driven them to this level of desperation, yet. The post lit a meme-fire across the internet, with desis laughing, crying, and plotting potential business models.

Baniya ka Jhola is being sold in Western Countries as a premium tote bag for 48 Dollars ?! Crazy ? pic.twitter.com/GALRcvASX1

¡ª Deven ?? (@devenrd) May 21, 2025

Someone joked that a certain Indian sweet shop should sue Nordstrom for stealing their freebie design. Another wondered whether the bags are secretly being mass-produced in China, while a third boldly pitched a startup idea: ¡°Export jholas by the kilo.¡± Honestly, where is Shark Tank India when you need it?

One of the best and economical advertisements on Indian history .
You will find this jhola/Carry bag in every Indian city , many people use it while travelling , by spending just few rupees on Bag manufacturing , company is reaching to every nook and corner of the country.
Btw¡­ pic.twitter.com/MelB6RHheG

¡ª Poha Jalebi (@poha_met_jalebi) April 28, 2024

The jhola scandal is not the first one

The jhola scandal is not a one-off incident. Remember Maggi? The 15-rupee lifesaver in every Indian hostel? Well, it has been spotted in UK supermarkets for Rs 300. A Rs 10 Good Day biscuit? Try Rs 100. Alphonso mangoes? Rs 2,400 for six. Somewhere, an aunty is weeping into her achar stash.

LMAO not Americans selling ?80 Indian jholas for $48 like it¡¯s some ancient artifact ?

¡°Indian Souvenir Bag¡±?? Really!? Bro that¡¯s a namkeen wala thaila!

Colonize the culture, rename it, overcharge for it, and still have the audacity to be racist to the people who actually¡­ pic.twitter.com/3Ehct6Pa2u

¡ª Diksha Kandpal?? (@DikshaKandpal8) May 21, 2025

Harsh Goenka reacts

Even tycoon Harsh Goenka has had enough, cheekily observing how NRIs now pay more for haldi and hing than for a bottle of good wine, all while being served butter chicken by chefs who sound like they studied in Tuscany.

Humara Indian bidi wala jhola international ho gaya pic.twitter.com/nTebRrNBnJ

¡ª Vishal (@VishalMalvi_) December 20, 2024

The jhola¡¯s sudden leap into the world of high fashion feels like a love letter to Indian frugality, or maybe just a capitalist remix. Either way, one thing is clear: what was once functional, affordable and unfussy has now been rebranded as chic, artisanal and... ridiculously overpriced.

So next time you see someone carrying a jhola abroad, do not laugh. That is not a bag. That is Rs 4,000 worth of cultural appropriation, nostalgia tax, and a whole lot of desi drama stitched into one cotton rectangle.