A few years back, going out for breakfast or tea would have been limited to some small, ornate, tea or coffee shop, but lately there have been additions to the list. We’ve started investing in tandoors and chai corners and dhabas. There is a mood shift from tea to chai, and a growing acceptance and increasing value of our indigenous culture and traditions.

Social trends have always been constant in their changing. Every now and then there is an attitude shift towards different kinds of food, clothes, or music etc which determines what people consider more culturally and aesthetically relevant. Some trend shifts are more conspicuous and superficial, like fashion trends or music trends but then there are some, which affect us just as greatly, but are more subtle and low-key like the use of the right kind of slang or picking up on the right topic for gossip.

These trends culminate in a particular type of persona which entails knowing how to carry yourself, how to behave and interact at a group as well as at an individual level. The ‘hipster’ is straight out of the 1950s, the ‘hippie’ was an invention of the ‘60s, the ‘preppy’ comes from the ‘80s, and in current day Pakistan the new hot shot persona which is slowly gaining recognition is the ‘maila’.

So what is the ‘maila’? This culturally updated ‘cool’ is all about being modern desi. It’s about wearing shalwars, appreciating street-food, and jamming to Daler Mehndi. It’s about being quirky and having a crisp sense of humour, and punctuating your speech with some good old ‘abay yaars’ and ‘good hais’.

It’s about having no sense of personal space and being a little all over the place and easy going. The maila is the ideal mix of desi and current, modern-day global culture. The concept is more popular amongst young adults and students and it’s refreshing to see the youth of our country embrace Pakistani culture at a social level.

College functions have started incorporating themes like ‘truck art’ or ‘basanti’ instead of last year’s ‘gatsby’ or ‘western formal’. Lollywood is managing to fill cinema halls again and it’s very ‘in’ to know lyrics to all the recent Pakistani songs, no matter how gaudy and flashy.

The ‘hipster’ is straight out of the 1950s, the ‘hippie’ was an invention of the ‘60s, the ‘preppy’ comes from the ‘80s, and in current day Pakistan the new hot shot persona which is slowly gaining recognition is the ‘maila’.

Though a relatively new term, the concept of ‘maila’ is evidently becoming more and more prevalent.

For the longest time, Pakistani society has been infamous for being infatuated with the west. The casual look maintained by all the posh kids had to do with denim and polo shirts and hoodies. Bollywood has been a no no and dhaba food considered ‘unhygienic’. I’ve met people who have never been to the UK but adopted a British accent, just because the trend was accepting of it. However, there’s a not-so-new term for these Anglicised desis: ‘burger’. There’s an evident condescension associated with the term and it’s not altogether uncommon to see your average college going babe walking out of a rickshaw these days.

Why the sudden culture shift? I feel that we as a society are becoming more comfortable with our own culture and heritage. We have come to realise that there is beauty and vibrancy in our own traditions. Either that or we’re simply bored of the westernisation that’s been dominating our likes and dislikes for quite a while. Either way, this gradual change in attitude is refreshing and uplifting. ‘Naway ayo soniyo?’