PARTLY FACETIOUS: The same ethnic group

“It’s a tale of two weddings.”

“Dickens famous novel a Tale of two Cities…”

“Nah, not applicable here – all whites are not of the same ethnic group you know.”’

“I don’t understand.”

The Brits are Anglo Saxons and the French are Celtic or Gallic, however in our twin cities Islamabad and Rawalpindi, the same ethnic group…”

“Don’t be facetious, anyway as I said I like many others have been obsessing about the two weddings – equally lavish – the Vicky Kaushal-Katrina Kaif wedding – two individuals who through their talent and good luck made pots of money and while the fancy venue was free of cost yet I am sure they spent millions on their wedding while in Pakistan we had the wedding of Maryam Nawaz’s son Junaid Safdar and his bride’s father is extremely wealthy…”

“Right, let me highlight the similarities: the venue was free for the two, Kaushal-Kaif were offered the fort in Barwara near Jaipur free of cost while Raiwind is family property and therefore free of cost, second similarity the money was spent on clothes…”

“Were the clothes made domestically or imported from India because I have heard that many rich Pakistani families purchase their bridal clothes from India…”

“Even if they were bought in India Junaid Safdar’s wife was a resident of Qatar I think and so she is not bound by our import policy…”

“What import policy? We spent around 20 billion dollars on imports during the first five months of the year and even if the clothes were imported that’s as much of a pittance as…as was generated by The Khan for the exchequer from sale of water buffaloes and old cars and…”

“Don’t be facetious, it is good to have a yard sale off and on and The Khan set a good precedence by having one for the first time in the Prime Minister’s House.”

“OK so now let me talk of the dissimilarities between the two weddings. Kaushal-Kaif wedding was paid for by hard work of the bride and groom and the Junaid Safdar wedding was paid for due to hard work of their maternal grandfather…”

“Excuse me?”

“Nawaz Sharif made it possible and don’t forget he has been particularly kind to his samdhis – there is Dar and now there is Saifur Rehman…”

“That’s not technically right. Saifur Rehman is not his samdhi but his daughter’s…”

“Your statement is not correct either — a samdhi constitutes the fathers of the bride and groom. Don’t look so out of it – Nawaz Sharif is not the father but the grandfather of the groom and Maryam is not male.”

“I stand corrected.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021