Every now and then, a rather strange word or phrase trends on Twitter, and this time around, it was the word ‘shalwar’. Shalwar – which is a desi version of a loose, baggy trouser, was seen trending among the top spots on Pakistan’s Twitter. Why so? Let’s check it out.

It all started when TikTok star named Alina, who goes by the handle @alinakhanana took to the app to share a short clip of herself. In the video, she was seen sporting a desi, Pakistani style kameez (equivalent of shirt) which usually goes down to one’s knees. These kameezes are often paired with a shalwar to go along, which also make for the most common dress worn by Pakistanis and desis around the world. Access to her tweets is limited.

https://twitter.com/WhatsUpTodayORG/status/1462221729217093636

In the video, the user was seen posing in a black kameez. However, she had decided to not pair it with a shalwar. She captioned her video and wrote: “I love going out without pants.” Within moments, her tweet had gone viral all over social media. In fact, she also gained over 10,000 followers on Twitter since the video was posted.

Post the video, many took to social media to share their reactions on the same, which in turn, caused ‘shalwar’ to trend on Pakistani Twitter. Others continued to wonder how a random word like shalwar could make for the country’s top trend on social media.

Here’s what some of the reactions stated:

https://twitter.com/ufff_arooj/status/1461373514833973252

https://twitter.com/WasiqRaptor90/status/1461762924020736002

https://twitter.com/oyedaktar_/status/1462057053975887879

https://twitter.com/its_jiya_j/status/1461867680152137730

https://twitter.com/Maheroo_Sheikh/status/1461745084379152392

https://twitter.com/BajiPlease/status/1461782192225501188

https://twitter.com/BajiPlease/status/1461784254447296516

https://twitter.com/UsmanSh47046374/status/1461770687912235017

https://twitter.com/Me_Gareeb_hun/status/1461710090596233217

https://twitter.com/RealYasir__Khan/status/1462118749004259337

https://twitter.com/Hamza95549266/status/1462255722188750849

Others on social media started making memes on the video. Some showed men posing without shalwars too, whereas other memes saw the likes of Chris Gayle making a shalwar for the girl. Some went to the extent to share that the viral shalwar video might just give them an excuse to sell shalwars at discounted prices on sale. Have a look:

https://twitter.com/pakhtoon_lad/status/1461979006228647936

https://twitter.com/Dr_AdeelHashmi/status/1462000545581969413

https://twitter.com/be___awaree/status/1462005347762253832

https://twitter.com/oye_paglii/status/1462034946864807942