Somebody once said, he who has no light in his heart what will he gain from the festival of lamps. In the present-day chaos when Pakistan needs sincere leadership and clear-cut policies, these important issues are completely neglected because the rulers, as well as other political parties, are engaged in their own materialistic pursuits. It seems as if all they care about is their own bank balance, fame, glamour, publicity and lavishness. The infamous chairperson of the very publicized Youth Loan Scheme is a fashion plate, who did not make it into Medical College due to low grades.
The elite-class and lower class are present as two extremes and the remaining middle-class is the victim of total discontent. In this disturbing scene, the patron chairman of PPP and obviously back from London-guy, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari appeared and announced Sindh Festival, which he thinks as crucial to protect the endangered Sindhi cultures and which we are still wondering was good for anything. When we see its ongoing events covered by electronic, print and social media, all we can see is people dressed in designers’ outfits, fashion models who had no concern for heritage, celebrities too busy fiddling with their cell phones, photographers who were interested in taking snaps of big guns rather than focusing and capturing the souls and their stories hidden behind the walls of the ruins.
All the reports covering the events showcased the fabulous elite-groomed adding a bit of culture of Sindhi Ajrak in their mini-skirts only to justify the name Sindh Festival. We, the common middle-class people could see no sign of what actually Sindh is, with its people are and what are its real traditions.
SANA AHMED AWAN,
Lahore, February 14.