It appears we have failed to learn any lesson from our past and are merrily living in ostentation without realizing that wasteful expenditure is one of the major causes of our present national misery. This is not just my opinion but that of almost everybody who attended the grand ceremony on the night of October 19 on the lawns of PAF Museum Karachi. The occasion was the marriage of son of a provincial minister with daughter of another high dignitary holding a highly important position in the federal capital. Prime Minster, Chief Ministers and a number of federal and provincial ministers graced the occasion. The number of invitation cards issued for the function are reported to be 7000 and I do think some five or six thousand guests, at the very least, were present. The Pindaal had been decorated in the ambience of the proverbial Arabian Nights and innumerable dishes were served. Being an invitee myself, I was absolutely dazzled, and nauseated, by the vulgar display of wealth. I felt extremely sorry for the nation whose representatives, instead of setting examples of simple living, were splurging hundreds of millions on weddings of their children. This, in extremely difficult times when the country is hard pressed for cash and is accepting alms from the world on very humiliating terms and conditions. -QAIMUDDIN BALOCH, Kandhkot, October 23.