The girl who broke the internet by pawr(ty)ing
It all started with the 19-year-old Islamabad-based influencer, Dananeer Mobeen, who went viral through her short Instagram clip
"This is our car, this is us, and this is our party." On the face of it, this sentence does not seem to make sense.
However, if you are a millennial, you may already know what it means, and its origin.
The 'pawrihorahihai' hashtag became trending from the five-second video made by a Pakistani girl that broke the internet, not only in her homeland but also in India.
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It all started with the 19-year-old Islamabad-based influencer, Dananeer Mobeen, who went viral through her short Instagram clip where she was seen partying with her friends in the countryside.
Swinging her camera around, as she spoke to viewers, she pronounced the word 'party' as 'pawri' in an attempt to make fun of the 'burgers'.
The term 'burger' is used in Pakistan to refer to the elites in their society who often try to show off their 'accent'.
Instead of being offended by her mockery, people took the joke positively as they found it hilarious, and overnight, Dananeer became an internet sensation.
She currently has nearly one and a half million followers on Instagram and the short video, which made her reach this huge pool of followers within such a short time, has garnered more than eight million views.
While Dananeer asserts in her Instagram bio, "Call me Geena but learn to pronounce my real name first!" Her fans prefer to address her as the 'Pawri Girl'.
As soon as her video reached millions of people, social media users started becoming creative with it and made their own versions of it.
The trend continued to run its course beyond borders. Meanwhile, the video almost exploded with popularity after Yashraj Mukhate, the Indian music composer did what he does best, turned her phrase into a catchy remix.
If you are into social media, you have no choice but to recognise Yashraj from his musical rendition of 'Rasode mein kaun tha'. This hit rap song came from the Indian TV show 'Saath nibhana saathiya'.
Followed by tremendous popularity from this under one-minute-long song, Yashraj Mukhate became one of the richest YouTubers in his country, holding more than four million subscribers at present.
The stories of Dananeer and Yashraj becoming popular among youngsters are quite similar. After the latter's remix became popular, Indian celebrities also jumped on the bandwagon of recreating pawri memes.
Since then, Dananeer's catchy line has shown up in brand campaigns, celebrity hashtags, Instagram videos, and even in political speeches!
As meme marketing has become a core social media strategy, big brands including Zomato, Domino's, Netflix, and PIB Fact Check did not wait further to use the pawri reference in their promotions.
Shockingly enough, the State Bank of India too grabbed this opportunity to connect with the youths while promoting their campaign.
"It was the most random video that I made in my life," Dananeer said in an interview. "In fact, I had no intention of uploading it."
Dananeer is not just a pretty face, she cares about her contribution to her community. After her sudden fame, naturally, numerous acting and modelling opportunities knocked at her door.
However, she disclosed that she wants to pursue a career in Pakistan's Foreign Service after finishing her studies.
During these trying times when the news mostly induces distress, Dananeer's video brought smiles to people's faces and gave rise to an opportunity to share happiness and love across borders.
Dananeer hoped the love continues to reciprocate between Pakistan and India by saying, "We should take this chance to absorb this love and see how we can be such great nations together and share a dialogue of peace."
