Lawn Mania

Everywhere I go these days I see huge billboards advertising one brand of lawn or the other.

The photo shoots for these advertisements take place at exotic locations all over the world which goes to show the huge amount of budget allocated for marketing of these brands.  

Not only are these brands exorbitantly overpriced, but way too many in my opinion and yet I still hear women complaining that they could not get the print of their choice because it was sold out. 

What is it about a few meters of cloth that makes decent women behave like complete hooligans?

It is almost as if the entire female population of our country is collectively suffering from “Lawn Mania”.

This kind of reminds me of a similar obsession the Dutch had with Tulips a few centuries back. I remember being shown a painting of Rembrandt's wife in the National Gallery of Arts in London  where she is depicted as a Spring Goddess or Fairy of some kind holding a bunch of flowers. Right in the middle of that bunch is a very prominent Tulip. Our guide told us that back in Rembrandt's day, Tulips were so expensive that you could buy an entire house with just five or six of those flowers. So when Rembrandt painted his wife holding a Tulip, he was basically bragging to the rest of the world that he is rich and successful enough to afford one.
Although our Pakistani ladies' obsession with designer lawns may not be in the same league as the Dutch's fascination with Tulips, nor the price that high (yet) but in essence it is the same: paying for something that is clearly not worth the outrageous amount being paid for it.

Frustrated

Why is it that people in our country think that it is OK to cut lines ,OK to jump red lights ,OK to block exits , OK to throw garbage straight out of their car windows and so on. There is an entire list of "don'ts" that people do, not just with out giving it a second thought but also with out any kind of awareness that they are doing anything wrong.

I used to think that people do that because the repercussions are not there. Why else would the same people who drive around with cars that exhale smoke heavier than chimneys or broken side view mirrors would become so law abiding and so conscious of not committing traffic violations as soon as they go abroad. That is because they know they will not be able to get away with any of the violations they commit on or off the roads . They know that abroad there is no getting away by offering somebody the a little green note to turn a blind eye to their crime or calling up some superior relation occupying a position of authority on the the phone and asking them to intervene.

I also used to think this kind of attitude was common among Asian nationals but but I got a bit of a surprise on my trip to Malaysia this summer.

 The Malaysians who are every bit as Asian as us seem to have understood the simple and basic fact that bending a rule is the same as breaking it. When it comes to regulations you need to stick to them hard and fast. I was especially impressed by the staff at Sunway lagoon water park, which was not only well maintained but the staff was trained to be uncompromising when it came to following rules and regulations. If your weight is not within the range specified for a certain ride, you don't get to go, if you cut the line, you don't get to go, even if you are not wearing the proper clothes you don't get to go on any of the rides (speaking of proper clothes, jeans are not allowed, so if any one is planning to visit that water park in the near future, please take note that you will not be allowed to go on any of the rides if you are wearing jeans, or wearing anything with too many buckles and zippers, or wearing any loose flowing dresses).

This no compromising on the rules was upheld by even the Paratha lady at  our Langkawi hotel. I call her the Paratha lady because, one, I don't know her name and two, she used to make the most awesome, lightest square Parathas for breakfast every morning that tasted like heaven with a bowl of vegetable curry.

There was always a long queue of people holding their plates in front of her station. Once when it was almost my turn a guest lady just strolled up to the front of the line with her plate and that petite little Paratha lady who could not have been more than five feet in height and somewhere in her twenties (judging by her looks) without even bothering to raise her head from her work told the guest lady to "please get in line and wait for her turn". That is what I call putting someone in their place, literally.
I can't even recall how many times I have walked up to the person in charge and complained about someone jumping the line and gotten an extremely frustrating "what am I suppose to do about it" in return.
You can refuse to serve them, you idiot.

I am not saying Malaysians are perfect.  I was advised on the streets of kuala Lumpur not to dangle my handbag so carelessly on my arm or somebody would snatch it. There are all kinds of people amongst all nationalities and Malaysians are no different and neither are Pakistanis. Every now and then I do get to come across somebody who sticks to his guns and refuses to bow to the system. I have my deepest regards for such a person.

To sum it up I think the habit of doing the right thing should be instilled from childhood. It should be something that is taught along with all those other things we teach our children like writing, reading, eating etc. Not that teaching them these much needed values would be without consequences. The danger of them being outcasts and misfits in a system that runs on corruption will be there.
My own nephew decided to settle abroad a few years ago. According to him there are only two ways to survive in this environment.  You either become corrupt like everyone else and blend in or you just leave. He left. Pity
I wonder how many others have left because they too became disillusioned with the state of the affairs?
How many others realized that the values that had been instilled into them since early years had no place in the practical world they lived in?
How many others chose to leave?
And even worst, how many were forced to compromise in order to stay?
Either way the loss is ours as a nation. I just hope we realize that before it is too late.