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Indian woman's Thiruvathirakali dance inside Costco sparks online debate

A video showing an Indian woman performing Thiruvathirakali inside a Costco store has gone viral, drawing both criticism and defence on social media. The debate centres on public behaviour, cultural expression, and civic sense in shared spaces.

By Tertius News AI Desk 2 distinct · 2 mastheads · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Aug 31 – Sep 1, 2026 Published 1h ago

A video of an Indian woman performing Thiruvathirakali inside a Costco grocery store has sparked a wide-ranging debate online, with users split over whether the moment was harmless fun or inappropriate behaviour in a public place.

The clip, which was first shared on Instagram and later circulated on X, shows the woman practising Thiruvathira while shopping. A text overlay on the video reads, "When Thiruvathira practice has completely occupied your mind even while shopping." Thiruvathira is a traditional folk dance from Kerala, usually performed by women in a circle.

The Criticism

An X account sharing the video criticised the woman, writing, "Zero civic sense only brings unnecessary embarrassment to the entire Indian community!"

Others were more direct. One commenter objected not just to the location but to the way the dance was performed, saying she was showing "no respect" for the tradition by dancing with shoes on. Another wrote, "This idiot has no respect for the dance. She is doing it with shoes on!"

A commenter who identified as Indian said they found the behaviour "embarrassing and completely unacceptable," adding, "When a country gives people opportunities, jobs and a chance to build a better life, the least we can show in return is basic civic sense and respect for the rules." The comment went on to warn that a few people behaving irresponsibly could create a negative impression of millions of Indians who live and work responsibly around the world.

The Defence

But the criticism was not universal. Some users questioned what exactly was wrong with the incident if the woman was not disturbing anyone. "What's wrong? Is she disturbing anyone? Every type of person does this!" one person wrote.

Another pushed back against the idea that public spaces should always be quiet and restrained. "Should public places be calm, boring and unexpressive?" the user asked, adding that people should not expect every public space to be completely homogeneous.

One user drew a comparison with other public behaviour, writing, "So many Americans dance in public for TikTok and social media and harass people. Why is it bad when an Indian does it?"

Others felt the reaction to the video was excessive, especially given that people from many backgrounds regularly record themselves dancing or making videos in public.

How each outlet told it

A framing line is our reading of that outlet's own text — an interpretation, not a quotation and not a fact we assert. Check it against what the outlet published.

Hindustan Times

Framing: The headline emphasizes the controversy, using a quote 'Zero civic sense' to highlight the criticism.

as of Aug 31, 2026, 1:16 PM UTC

Facts Included:

An Indian woman's Thiruvathirakali dance inside a Costco grocery store is drawing attention online.
The video shows her dancing while shopping.
The video was originally shared on Instagram and has since been circulating on X.
One user on X wrote: 'Zero civic sense only brings unnecessary embarrassment to the entire Indian community!'
The woman can be seen performing Thiruvathira, a traditional folk dance from Kerala, while inside a Costco.
Text over the video reads: 'When Thiruvathira practice has completely occupied your mind even while shopping.'
Several users criticised the woman, with one writing: 'This idiot has no respect for the dance. She is doing it with shoes on!'
Another user questioned the criticism: 'So many Americans dance in public for TikTok and social media and harass people. Why is it bad when an Indian does it?'
One user said: 'As an Indian, I agree that this kind of behaviour is embarrassing and completely unacceptable. When a country gives people opportunities, jobs and a chance to build a better life, the least we can show in return is basic civic sense and respect for the rules.'
The comment added that a few irresponsible people could create a negative impression of millions of Indians.
One sarcastic user suggested placing a placard at the store entrance that says: 'We entertain the above, but with a [probably 'disclaimer' omitted]'.
Others defended the woman, asking 'What's wrong? Is she disturbing anyone? Every type of person does this!'
Another wrote: 'Should public places be calm, boring and unexpressive? Why do we expect everything to be homogeneous?'

Read the source article →

The Times of India

Framing: Headline emphasizes the fury and online debate over 'civic sense' sparked by the dance. — Measured, presenting both criticism and defense without overt alignment.

as of Sep 1, 2026, 4:16 AM UTC

Facts Included:

A video of an Indian woman performing Thiruvathirakali inside a Costco store was shared on Instagram and later on X.
The video shows the woman practising Thiruvathira while shopping.
Text added to the video reads, 'When Thiruvathira practice has completely occupied your mind even while shopping.'
Thiruvathira is a traditional folk performance from Kerala, usually performed by women in a circle.
An X account sharing the video criticised the woman, writing, 'Zero civic sense only brings unnecessary embarrassment to the entire Indian community!'
One commenter objected to the way the dance was performed, saying she was showing 'no respect' for the tradition by dancing with shoes on.
Some users questioned what was wrong with the incident if she wasn't disturbing anyone.
One user asked, 'Should public places be calm, boring and unexpressive?'
A commenter said they found the video embarrassing and argued that people living in other countries should respect local rules and public spaces.
The user warned that the actions of a few people can shape perceptions of much larger communities.

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status is Contested when two claims on this page negate each other; otherwise it counts the distinct outlets we found asserting that specific claim — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimA video of an Indian woman performing Thiruvathirakali inside a Costco store was shared on Instagram and later on X.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via The Times of India as of Sep 1, 2026, 4:16 AM UTC, Hindustan Times as of Aug 31, 2026, 1:16 PM UTC
ClaimThe video shows the woman practising Thiruvathira (a traditional folk dance from Kerala) while shopping.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Hindustan Times as of Aug 31, 2026, 1:16 PM UTC, The Times of India as of Sep 1, 2026, 4:16 AM UTC
ClaimText added to the video reads, 'When Thiruvathira practice has completely occupied your mind even while shopping.'	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Times of India as of Sep 1, 2026, 4:16 AM UTC
ClaimThiruvathira is a traditional folk performance from Kerala, usually performed by women in a circle.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Times of India as of Sep 1, 2026, 4:16 AM UTC
ClaimAn X account sharing the video criticised the woman, writing, 'Zero civic sense only brings unnecessary embarrassment to the entire Indian community!'	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via The Times of India as of Sep 1, 2026, 4:16 AM UTC, Hindustan Times as of Aug 31, 2026, 1:16 PM UTC
ClaimOne commenter criticised the woman for performing Thiruvathira with shoes on, saying she had 'no respect' for the tradition.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Times of India as of Sep 1, 2026, 4:16 AM UTC
ClaimA commenter on the video wrote, 'This idiot has no respect for the dance. She is doing it with shoes on!'	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Hindustan Times as of Aug 31, 2026, 1:16 PM UTC, The Times of India as of Sep 1, 2026, 4:16 AM UTC
ClaimOne commenter asked, 'What's wrong? Is she disturbing anyone? Every type of person does this!'	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via The Times of India as of Sep 1, 2026, 4:16 AM UTC, Hindustan Times as of Aug 31, 2026, 1:16 PM UTC
ClaimAnother user asked, 'Should public places be calm, boring and unexpressive?' and argued that people shouldn't expect every public space to be homogeneous.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via The Times of India as of Sep 1, 2026, 4:16 AM UTC, Hindustan Times as of Aug 31, 2026, 1:16 PM UTC
ClaimOne commenter said they found the video embarrassing and argued that people living abroad should respect local rules and public spaces.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Times of India as of Sep 1, 2026, 4:16 AM UTC
ClaimA commenter warned that the actions of a few people can shape perceptions of much larger communities.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via The Times of India as of Sep 1, 2026, 4:16 AM UTC, Hindustan Times as of Aug 31, 2026, 1:16 PM UTC
ClaimOne user questioned the criticism, writing, 'So many Americans dance in public for TikTok and social media and harass people. Why is it bad when an Indian does it?'	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Hindustan Times as of Aug 31, 2026, 1:16 PM UTC
ClaimOne commenter wrote: 'As an Indian, I agree that this kind of behaviour is embarrassing and completely unacceptable. When a country gives people opportunities, jobs and a chance to build a better life, the least we can show in return is basic civic sense and respect for the rules.'	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Hindustan Times as of Aug 31, 2026, 1:16 PM UTC
ClaimA commenter said that a few irresponsible people could create a negative impression of millions of Indians.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Hindustan Times as of Aug 31, 2026, 1:16 PM UTC, The Times of India as of Sep 1, 2026, 4:16 AM UTC
ClaimOne X user argued that many Americans record videos and harass people in public, questioning why the woman's dance should be criticised.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Hindustan Times as of Aug 31, 2026, 1:16 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

2 distinct · 2 mastheads · 2 articles consulted: Hindustan Times, The Times of India 15 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-09-01