New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is gaining attention among Sri Lankan social media users following a recent Instagram and TikTok video in which he engaged in a casual street-side conversation with a Sri Lankan comedian.
In the video, Mamdani is seen walking alongside New York-based Sri Lankan comedian Shenuque in a casual conversation.
During the exchange, Shenuque quizzed the mayor, saying, “My mom wants to know how can I be a good Sri Lankan boy?” Shenuque noted that many South Asian parents are now comparing their children to Mamdani, who became the city’s youngest mayor at age 34, since 1892, as well as the city’s first Indian American and Muslim mayor.
In response, Mamdani referenced Sri Lanka’s former cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan and his signature delivery, the “doosra,” which appears to spin in one direction before sharply turning the other.
“You know the phrase, ‘Never let them know your first move’? I would argue that has Sri Lankan roots,” Mamdani said. “Because Muttiah Muralitharan, the famous spin bowler from Sri Lanka, had a doosra — you think it’s going one way, it’s going the other.”
He added that what he learned from the Sri Lankan community is the importance of being prepared and not revealing one’s next move.
“That’s how you can be a good Sri Lankan boy,” Mamdani said in the video, which has since been widely shared among Sri Lankan social media users. (Newswire)
