Culture of waste

Fleeting moments

The bill passed by the Punjab government to restrict display of extravagance on wedding functions is a step in the right direction. The restriction to serve only one dish and wind up the function by 10pm had already existed, even though some influential people openly flouted the law. Similar curbs are in order on some other spheres of our lifestyle as well.

Some interest groups aren’t happy with the decision of the Punjab government on the plea that the bill passed interferes in the private affairs of the people. However, today’s wedding ceremony is no more confined to the old tradition of nikah followed by rukhsati. There is a string of functions before the good bride departs. Some of these functions cost as much as the total expense on a marriage of previous years.

As in other spheres of social life, commercialism has taken hold of the ritual of wedding ceremony to exploit it in its own favour. In the past, we had never heard of ‘event managers’ who now plan various marriage functions. These smartly turned out managers will guide you how to arrange an impressive wedding ceremony by holding a chain of functions. On every step, you lose and they win.

Similarly, a new crop of tailors specialising in making wedding dresses for brides and grooms has appeared on the scene. These tailors seem to have walked out of Bollywood movies. While a modern bride’s wedding dress subscribes to traces of traditional values, the groom – appearing as a Rajastani prince – looks not only hilarious but also uncomfortable in his brocade achkan and turban. Often it appears as if the achkan is wearing the groom and not the other way around. Interestingly, the bride and groom rarely wear their expensive wedding dresses again.

However, the newly passed bill also prohibits display of dowry. Because of the curse of dowry families of many girls suffer from untold mental anguish. A few weeks ago, a greedy husband burnt his newlywed bride to death for not bringing a motorcycle in dowry. Grief stricken, I thought I could have bought Rs50,000 worth motorcycle out of my modest income to save the girl’s life, only if I knew. But marriages based on materialism mostly don’t end up as happy relationships. No wonder one observes so many young couples either parting company or looking withdrawn in public and social functions.

A lot could be said about our profligate marriage functions when a vast majority of our population suffers from deprivation. The rich are the problem, particularly those who have no source of income to account for their riches. By setting lavish trends, they are responsible for creating social problems for others. In fact, our ostentatious wedding functions are less to please us and more to impress others, unlike Anthony Trollope who wrote in his autobiography: “my marriage was like the marriage of other people, and of no special interest to anyone except my wife and me.” There is much to be said about such a self-contained man for his discretion.

The summer is round the corner – and loadshedding following close behind. People will soon start protesting against long hours of loadshedding. In anticipation of such a scenario, the government should think of making the best use of daylight since we have long hours of sunshine in the country. Why not open shops and shopping centres at 9am and close by 5pm? Wasn’t this the practice some years ago before these so-called modern trends had the better of us? The routine of shops opening by midday and closing by midnight is wasteful, unaffordable and absurd.

Moreover, it’s common knowledge that the country will face acute scarcity of water in a few years. What are we doing about that? The subsoil water level in Lahore has gone drastically down. We will soon suffer from shortage of potable water in the country – mega dams having fallen to the vagaries of regional politics. Besides other wasteful uses of water, look at how cars are washed every day at service stations and at homes. It will cost us soon.

Had the government conducted the national census, we would have known how our population has swelled in geometrical progression and how many mouths have been added to share the meagre resources. Sadly, instead of practising austerity, we have turned prodigal in our lifestyle as if we live in a land of abundance.

The writer is a freelance columnist based in Lahore. Email: pinecity@gmail.com