EID2

Hedonism.

First it was Ramazan. Now it is Eid.

There are four full holidays on account of Eid here. A loss of three whole working days. Everything has come to a standstill. Except of course for the shopping malls and the eating, engorging business.

Having nothing better to do, I took a look at the main shopping centers in Karachi. Shops were open till well into the small hours of the morning. I was in Bahadurabad at 3 a. m. and the shops didn’t look like pulling down their shutters any time soon.

Interesting tidbits I learnt. The middle class here has been truly impoverished. Those in the business of selling footwear have not fared well this Eid. Their stocks haven’t moved, even though eid peh nyaa joota pehn’na seems to be "mandatory" for a whole lot of people here. They haven’t been able to do so this year. The buying power of the Rupee has been eroded almost beyond redemption . . . people employed in private enterprises, especially the much touted SME’s have either not been paid bonuses this Eid, or been paid fractions. Some enactment, dating perhaps from ZAB’s time, requires all companies employing 10 or more to pay at least one bonus a year equivalent to the employee’s gross salary. According to people I have spoken to, the majority received 50%. Government employees at least got a 100% bonus.

What is most nauseating is the role of the mass media here. They seem to project a picture of "sabb achcha hai". PTV, as well as the private channels all had night-long special chaand raat transmissions. Who watches them, I don’t know . . . most had the same format, showbiz celebrities, song and dance, of almost the same variety, and then more of the same packaged differently.

And then there were day-long transmissions!

Perhaps a redeeming feature of this is that it does provide a lot many people with something to do. Many people do not seem to be able to go out. That costs a hell of a lot of money and/or hassle if you don’t have your own transport. Seeing an entirely family, often 5 or 6 persons on a motorbike is routine here. Even the traffic cops turn a blind eye to it.

What are they to do I asked myself. Public transport, or what Karachi has in its name, is downright rotten, and overloaded to boot. Fares, considering take home packets, aren’t cheap either. Taxis and three-wheelers are even more expensive.

The zoo and the clifton beach turned out to be the main spots where Karachi goes when celebrating. The zoo didn’t allow in males unaccompanied by women - they celebrated "Families Only" eid. Clifton beach was another story. It seemed all the riff raff and scum of Karachi had congregated there today. It was a heartrending sight seeing families with young girls literally running for cover from gangs of louts.

Everything what I saw or did today somehow evoked memories of home. Ammee called twice and I just had to tell her I was enjoying myself immensely. The second time, when she was just about to sign off, she broke me with "Saddo taynoun jhoot bolna naheen aundaa"