Chowrangi

I was home for holidays; in village Mong that is situated in the foot of Salt Range and that is where I get treatment like a king every time I go there. There it occurred to m that I have three different lives; different identities; Rural, Urban and Cyber.

In village I am same old village boy. I speak same language (Punjabi), dress like them (Chadar Kurta), eat like all others (in our village, tea is taken when some one is unwell. Similarly, chicken is slaughtered on a very special occasion). Every one is know to each other. You call elders saying Chacha, Mama (uncle) or Chachi, Massi, Phunjbi (auntie). Life is slow, simple, caring, loving, and sharing.

Life is different in city, where I live now. I dress formally, speak Urdu (mostly English) or Pinglish as Adil Najam calls it. Here we address each other like hey, hi, hello, Mr. Madam and some more titles that are coming in. I go to clubs instead of Dara (village community center). Chicken (and other meat) is major part of meals and tea and coffee is a usual drink in the city.

My life in the Cyber World is altogether different. There I have friends from Romania to Albania and America to Africa. I do not even know gender (or age, or name) of some of my friends. We do not need that. We discuss every thing from weather to political weather and are very close to each other. Some time it is very comfortable to share secrets of life with other who are complete strangers. They come out with the best points of view; completely unbiased and straight from the heart.

How many identities you have?