Nothing to Wear!

So true! And so cute! While i generally don`t find i have the patience to read poetry, this light piece struck my fancy.

Its a pity that instead of spending so much money to dress up in new clothes for every occasion, women don`t find something more constructive to do. Still, I guess that would go against the grain of Paki Upper class Society. But most of these women have no careers in all liklihood, and so time hangs heavy of their hands. After all, what else is there for them to do in boring Pakistan beyond dressing up at social functions.

My point ? The less clothing the better! If these women were forced to wear less, they would become more conscious of their figures, and take to working out, instead of becoming COWS after marriage. Savings (from buying less of the heavy joras0) would then be passed onto the poor women to help with dowry (till such time as that evil is erradicated) for marriage.

Cute poem. I guess the ``darzi`` (that mean fellow who wreaks havoc on the middle-and-above class Pakistani social scene by promising more to the ladies than he can deliver) has his side of the story as well.

Something like this maybe:

Said Darzi Hameed to Mochi Habib

``Oh! Oh! here comes that would-be-bride,

Tell her I had to go away

While I find someplace to hide.``

Key Indicators in a decadent society where self-worth is often measured by the ``catch`` ( ie spouse. or the the ostentatious display of material well being. Having just come back from Pakistan, - visited old friends in Islamabad/Lahore/Karachi. - I think I would call it the prevelance of the vadera culture and its gradual seepage into the cultural mosaic of Karachi. People in Pakistan have plenty of time and in the upper middle classes, lots of disposable income.

Suprising thing, even old college friends from the US revert back to the local norms & customs upon query often replied `` Humay to yahan rehna hain - tum to social commentary kar key chalay gayoogee``


Interesting tyhing I did notice was that the culture in Islamabad/Pindi was extremely tribal with caste & baraderi denoting social status. Lahore was a little more cosmopolitan but caste was still a major factor. THis came as a real suprise to a perpetual expatriate such as myself.
Now this was not the lower -middle class - rather it as mostly the beaurocratic & military crowd, the MOdel Town/DEfense types in Lahore and the F8/F10/F7 crowd in Islamabad. In contrast I throughly enjoyed my conservations with people in the low echelons of the socio-economic strata, the far less pretentious and genuine.


Karachi in contrast, because of the melting pot culture does not have caste distinctions but ethnic ones like punjabi, behari, UP etc ...
and to top that they have the inevitable `` Where do you live in Karachi?? `` query. And there actual socio-economic stratas associated with each.


Funny thing though - the US offers us the opprtunity to meet people from Karachi from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, - people perhaps one would otherwise not meet because they live in Nazimabad or whatever.

The other thing I noticed was the `` arrogance of affluence`` that was a strong social presence.
Most actions were concerted to impress the ``foreigner`` and were subtly masked social posturing.
Humility was a factor totally amisss in the cultural mosaic. And the fact that I used to chat with the mali didn`t sit well with my hosts in Karachi. DO it that amreeka they used to say,
this is Karachi -

Having never actually lived in Karachi - I can some draw parallels between Ema Ducan`s book `` Breaking the curfew`` and the chaos that we call our Pakistani culture.

Actually Anita, the obsession with new clothes for every occasion is not unique to parts of Karachi. I remember hearing a comment made by one of my cousins. He was watching my brother`s shaadi video when he noticed that I was wearing the same outfit that I wore several years later in his brother`s shaadi. He shockingly commented, ``How cheap!`` Imagine a fifteen year-old boy born and raised in the U.S. making that remark. Merely goes to show that we have not escaped the mentality despite crossing oceans.

As for Pakistan, my cousins who live in Nazimabad cannot imagine repeating outfits to parties or weddings either. I think the ``murz`` is prevalent regardless of where you live.

Futema

Thank you all who took time to comment.

For the record, I`d like to clarify that this is a parody of women whose most important obsession in life is the 3 Ws. What to wear, when - at the cost of much mental, not to mention monetary, expense.

I did not intend to imply that I think people in Nazimabad are not good, respectable folk - just that the uni-dimensional women in the poem think that they are not. This is based on the actual perception of some people that I have interacted with, who live in the Defence area (I myself grew up quite far from Defence, I write as the outsider). As an example, I`ll narrate the following conversation.

Some acquaintances of ours moved from Nazimabad into a house they had gotten built in Phase VI, Defence. I asked an old Defence native directions to the new house. She said, ``oh easiest thing to find - just go down such and such street, and it`ll stare you in the face. Bilkul Nazimabad ka thappa hai.``

As Saima Shah, a Nazimabadi native, says in Shandana`s Vacuous World piece, its better to bring to the surface these inane, but dangerously divisive views, rather than to brush them under the rug.

Anita

And with all those lovely ``Burqas`` going to waste.

Cute!!

Ras

Re: younus (6)

When would ``good`` Muslims stop getting offended whenever they find anything, whether intended or not, remotely related to Islam? What about the name Karim? I know many people named Karim who have been called other names and referred to as adjectives not appropriate outside of ``street`` language? What about those ordinary souls named Mustafa? Wake up, man. We`re entering the third millennium!

Re: The Author

I liked the poem. Ah! The petty and ordinary, but yet wonderful, world of Shazia and Nazia. Loved the ``Nazimabadi function``! Well done!

shazia and nazia, two wonderfully one domensional characters, are people that we have all met. i agree with arif..great idea..but defintely loses momentum and becomes annoyingly banal. im a fan of yours ms zaidi, and as always, any criticism on chowk shouldnt be taken personally. (otherwise where would we all be?)



rizvi.

While the poem itself is fine, I would like to point out something that was perhaps an oversight. ``Hameed`` is one of the names of the God, and the use of the word ``bast * * *`` with it is not appropriate.

[Very funny though, when I posted this earlier with the word ``bast * * *`` spelled out fully, I was told the following:

Inappropriate text.

Your comments contain a word that others may find offensive. Please re-enter your text and make it suitable for everyone.]

Anita:

--Without new clothes, I cannot conceive!--

good line.

Cute, light, enjoyable.

regards

Is there some hidden interpretation here ? Is this just a piece of alliteration or am i too dumb.

What`s happening here

Rishi

Man, I just realized that I have nothing to wear for eid.

cute..a nice idea..but goes on a little bit too long and loses momentum.