A mobile-phone seller in Tamil Nadu’s Thanjavur district is offering one kg of onions free with every smartphone purchased from his shop, The Hindu reported on Saturday. A video posted by Tamil news channel Puthiya Thalaimurai TV on Twitter has gone viral on social media, as everyone tries to cope with soaring onion prices.

The owner of the shop, STR Mobiles, was identified as Saravanakumar of Sembalur village near Pattukottai. He claimed that sales of mobile phones have risen since his offer. “Normally I sell only three to four mobile handsets a day. But after the announcement sales have increased to 10 handsets or more...” The Hindu quoted Saravanakumar as saying.

Helpless under the onslaught of onion prices, social media users have responded with dark humour in videos and memes. Practical jokes are not far behind either, with some gifting each other a handful of onions as wedding presents.