Daily Times

The idea to reduce the costs of wedding ceremonies loomed for years, but no one took the initiative. So, when in late nineties Shahbaz Sharif, the then Chief Minister of Punjab limited the main course of these dinners to a single dish, his proposal was widely welcomed across the province. People could serve rice, bread, salad, tea, soup and soft drinks, but the meat option could not exceed from one entrée — a big relief.

As with any new step, the directive faced some opposition from the poultry business owners. However, considering the overwhelming majority of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the support of the people in favour of the austerity and the unequivocal stance of party’s leadership, this resistance died down quickly. To understand how popular it was, just imagine that Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, despite his legendary rivalry with Sharif brothers, continued to implement the same rule during his five-year tenure between 2002-07. Even today, as Sharif has been elected back into power, the act stays untouched.

Before the limitation, a rat race had ensued. The reception dinners were getting breathtakingly expensive, exotic and elaborate. In order to keep up with the jones, people belonging to every economic class were getting crushed as they spent a significant amount of their savings in a matter of hours. For instance, they would serve roasted lamb legs, fried fish, chicken tikka, beef seekh kabaabs, chicken karahi, mutton joints and Qorma as the main course. It would be accompanied by eleven different types of salads; various kinds of desserts; a variety of soup options and a list of refreshments. It seemed as if a local Maharajah was hosting a dinner for the Mughal king.

Aware of the benefits, many well-to-do families began to follow the rule even when they served the meal within their private residences which were exempted from the restriction. With that, a trickle down effect was set into motion, helping everyone to understand the concerns of the government.

The question after so many years is if the initiative continues to provide relief to the people. And has it really reduced the expenses? As far as the competition part is concerned, we can agree it has worked. People have grown accustomed to the allowed menu options: a portion of rice, a piece of bread and a serving of meat with a little bit of gravy. However, as far as the cost is concerned, I know for sure that it has failed, at least in Lahore.

People still have to pay an enormous amount of money in these ceremonies to the marquee owners and the caterers; the amount, which would have, otherwise, fed an extraordinary meal to the guests instead of one dish. The savings, which should be kept in the pockets of the customers, are, hence, transferred as profits to the businessmen who charge between fifteen hundred to two thousand rupees per person on a single event.

What service do people receive after paying that amount? You will be surprised: filthy bathrooms, empty soap dishes, absent paper towel stands, unkept sinks and out of order toilet bowls. Even worse, the reception area lights are switched off many times during the main event; the main floor remains littered with tissue papers and food wraps; the red carpet, which is supposed to be sturdy, thick and comfortable, is spread out as thin as a bed sheet — loose, wrinkled and frayed — its color two shades lighter than red. Furthermore, most of the times, the board to display the name of the host is absent. If pointed out, the management would not agree to put up something decent, and instead offers to tape a plane piece of paper on a corner; their names handwritten on it. When it comes to the white and supposedly spotless seat covers, the bar is set to a new low. Unwashed and stained, they reek of animal manure. The odour within the marquee is so strong that the management has to spray air fresheners every few minutes to fend off the smell.

I am not done yet. By mistake, if you stepped out from the main hall and looked at the area at the back where the dirty dishes are washed and kept aside, it is so nasty that you would want to throw up right there and then: cats and dogs running freely, a black slimy layer of dirt coating the floor, bones strewn all over.

Coming back to the one dish limitation, whenever a new law is enacted, anywhere in the world, it is evaluated and reevaluated every few months to gauge its efficacy. The problems identified in the process are addressed, the concerns attended. The new measures go through the same process of evaluation, again and again, the sign of a dynamic process. But to have a dynamic process, we must have a dynamic and visionary leadership, an involved team and a concerned administration which unfortunately we do not find in the current Chief Minister of Punjab. His rule book does not require any revision, improvement or reconsideration. Once an idea has hit his head, it is a word engraved on stone; a commandment from God.

The writer is a US-based freelance columnist. He tweets at @KaamranHashmi and can be reached at skamranhashmi@gmail.com