The Sharif wedding has hit the headlines once again and for all the wrong reasons! Social media was ablaze with images of the bride and groom and most importantly, the bride in waiting, our Chief Minister who could give many young actresses a run for their money. Dripping in diamonds and extravagant jewellery along with eye popping designer outfits, she was undoubtedly the belle of the ball and could very well star in the next Bollywood project of Karan Johar’s.
While the country bleeds and rattles from the after effects of the Gul Plaza explosion, the rich celebrate. After all, the Sharifs are the Ambanis of Pakistan and pulled out all the stops for a magnificent wedding, which was more about the groom’s mother than about the couple. The groom’s father looked like the hired help and while no expense had been spared on the wedding, it was quite obvious that the father was an uninvited guest at his own son’s wedding and that too, once again!
The first wedding to Senator Saif ur Rehman’s daughter was short-lived and according to the rumour mills, the groom’s mother was the main culprit. The couple was donned in attire by top designers on all the three days. The bride opted for Indian designer wear for her mehndi and baraat, which again stirred quite a hornet’s nest. The groom’s sisters were also bedecked in jewels and designer clothes and it was rather depressing to see the vulgar and crass display of wealth in a country where millions starve to death every day.
It harked back to when during the floods, Angelina Jolie as the UN Goodwill Ambassador visited Pakistan, to commiserate with the victims. The then premier arranged a feast for her, where all the women turned up in their finest silks and diamonds to meet the Hollywood actress, who on the other hand, was extremely simply dressed. When she returned, she mentioned all this in her UN report but sadly, we have not learned and I doubt we ever will.
As inflation cripples the average consumer, the rich continue to flaunt their wealth. The stark contrast between the haves and have nots is especially amplified at social events like weddings, which is used as a platform by the privileged to showcase and flaunt their wealth, thereby giving the less fortunate an inferiority complex. Weddings are the highlights of the social calendar in Pakistan and it is a multi-billion rupee industry, estimated at Rs. 900 billion or over $3 billion annually.
There are upsides definitely in the sense that it generates revenue and creates employment for all the stakeholders, ranging from the photographers, event planners, designers, jewellers and the make-up artists, to name a few. According to the multiplier effect, money should be kept in circulation, in order for the economy to prosper. Social pressures force people to spend far more than they can afford at weddings and quite a few spend the rest of their lives paying off the debts. For some, keeping up with the Joneses is extremely important, even if it means financial ruin.
Political leaders should set an example by practicing simplicity and urging people not to splurge at weddings; in fact, we have the one dish policy in Punjab but unfortunately, the Sharif family did not adhere to any of the rules that had been implemented for the public. The videos circulating on social media captured the scores of dishes and desserts that had been laid out for the guests, a banquet fit for a king, in a country that keeps going back and forth to the IMF to beg for financial sustenance.
However, this is a poor country of filthy rich people and generally, when people visit from abroad; they are astounded to see the extravagant display of wealth and the way that people appear to spend. They find it hard to believe that this is a poor country; the politicians and the bureaucrats have bled this country dry by not paying tax, exploiting the poor and siphoning off billions in off shore bank accounts.
Coming back to the point, the Sharif wedding was an abject lesson in what not to do at weddings. Rather than making a mockery of the millions who are starving in this country and living below the poverty line, the billions splurged on the wedding festivities could have been easily put to better use and what infuriated the public even further, was the fact that the bride wore Indian designers for her two main events.
To use a cliché, Nero fiddles while Rome burns; the crude and vulgar display of wealth only underlines the fact that the elite continue to lie in their ivory towers and splurge like there is no tomorrow and this dichotomy is highlighted even more at social events, especially weddings. History always repeats itself and people have short memories; this too shall become a page of history very soon, when another high profile social event sets social media and the headlines ablaze.
Till then, let’s keep looking for the light at the end of the tunnel which is growing longer and darker, as we sink into an abyss of illiteracy, corruption, unemployment and poverty.
