When irony enters the realm of nonsense

Though change is a part of life, some people prefer things to stay the same or even demand for the past to be returned, while others choose to go in a completely different direction.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the Facebook page "seeking the return of phad kraphao [stir-fry with basil and chillies] without beans, baby corn and onion" has caught the attention of so many.

In fact, in the three days since it was set up, the page has won more than 20,000 "likes".

This page was apparently set up to protect a "national dish" since food vendors nowadays are adding several other ingredients to the dish and using very little basil or kraphao. When asked about his inspiration for this page, the creator said he found the "seeking the return of PTT" page very annoying and decided to pick up a cause for himself; besides, he hates eating the beans that are added to phad kraphao nowadays.

Once this page was up and running, users started discussing how the quality of food being sold had dropped, while others said they had no problem with the beans or the changes in recipe. Some others also posted photographs of dishes of phad kraphao from different restaurants.

Some did an analysis on why the recipe was changed, while others just put it down to former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, saying he probably benefits from the sale of different vegetables.

Then there are those who decided to use this page to espouse their beliefs about taking public organisations back from the "capitalists and politicians".

Irony and witticism, in most cases, can go far. In fact, irony is more or less responsible for the popularity of a page, regardless of its real meaning or content.

If you look back, this column once talked about Noey Zuper-market and her online declaration that she "loves the world". In just three months, her page won more than 321,000 "likes" on Facebook and nearly 110,000 followers on Twitter.

As for the page bemoaning the disappearance of phad kraphao, another has been set up saying "stop seeking the return of phad kraphao without beans, baby corn and onion", while yet another says, "stop causing rifts among the phad kraphao classes".

There are other food-related pages such as "seeking the return of khanom khrok in banana leaf with parsley topping", which was set up to fight against vendors who take advantage of consumers, while "seeking the return of chicken rice with skin" takes a dig at the health-conscious crowd.

Then there are the pages "seeking the return of bidet sprayers", "seeking the return of brains for Thais", which also carries the slogan: "seeking brains and intellect for Thais so they are ready to join the ASEAN Economic Community".

Not to mention pages titled: "I don't know what they are seeking the return of but since a lot of people are seeking it, I should too" or "what the hell is everyone seeking the return of?"