“I hate materialistic people, beta, but I love my designer clothes”


She began talking to me

Incessantly

Without any breaks

She started off by telling me that she is from a rich business family in Karachi and handed me her husband’s business card right after

She went on to tell me that her only son, who lives in England, recently got divorced

She let me in on the nitty-gritty details about how he was hoaxed by the girl and her family

She went as far to say that the girl was psychotic and created numerous problems for her son

Then she asked me if I am married, to which I responded that I’m not

She took that as an invitation to tell me how to choose the ‘right girl’ for myself and lecture me on the flaws of aaj kal ki larkian (the girls these days) and said there are no sinf e nazuk (women) anymore

I could tell she had something against aaj kal ki larkian, who according to her, are not willing to do anything and everything for their husbands

They just don’t care about them is what she said

She went on to elaborate how she still takes care of her husband herself, even though she has servants and has never cooked or done any household chores

I nodded my head in response, but she kept at it and further degraded aaj kal ki larkian by comparing them to herself

The conversation then drifted towards the topic of materialism

Boy was she passionate about that particular topic

She told me how much she despised materialism, and how everyone around her is so materialistic

She narrated an incident about a funeral she went to, where a relative of the deceased hugged her as she was leaving, and then complimented her jora

She asked, “Is it Asim Jofa?” “I don’t know what it is

Could be Sapphire

” She went on to say that she only buys her clothes from Asim Jofa, Sana Safinaz, and a few other high end designers, but at the same time, she despises women for being materialistic and that too at a funeral, taubah! The conversation then shifted back to her son, saying how good it was that we brought him up in our conversation

Truth be told, I wouldn’t label this as a conversation, it was more of a one sided rant

She wanted to tell me more about him and she started telling me what a simple boy he is and is not brand conscious at all

However, she added, “Allah Ka shukar hai beta, aisee baat nahe hai

Har cheez hai

” (Thank God, child

It’s not that we don’t have it

We have everything) “My son always wears shirts from BOSS

But recently, he has stopped talking about these shirts since I told him not to waste money

” While she was saying this, I looked at my shirt, wondering where I got it from

The horror would not stop

Even though my responses were mostly ‘okay’ or ‘yes,’ it did not deter her

As if a verbal description of her son wasn’t enough, she started showing me pictures of him on her phone

She asked me if I found him handsome and I nodded, out of politeness

Next, she showed me messages from her niece, a scholarship student at IBA, all the while praising her niece’s intelligence and smartness

I somehow became privy to all her relatives details

She even showed me a text that her niece sent her – one that showered her aunt with adoration and praise

“Look how nice I am,” she said to me

Once again, I was left with no other choice but to nod

Finally, the much awaited landing announcement reverberated through the plane

The aunty turned to me and told me to recite Ya Hafeezo a number of times along with her

I pursed my lips and nodded, again

The reason I shared this painful experience was to emphasise how materialism has become inherent in our lives, to the extent that we don’t even realise it

A mature 60-year-old woman despises others for being exactly what she is

Isn’t that hypocrisy? Most people have begun to value a person based on the brands they wear as opposed to the individual’s integrity and honesty

 Relationships with inanimate possessions are more cherished than those with the ones with actual people

 The worst part is we fail to recognise these flaws

What happened to modesty and humbleness? This seven hour long ordeal made me realise how our society has changed

The aunty made me feel ignorant for not knowing high end brands that are oh-so-important

But then I realised, it doesn’t really matter

As for you aunty, I think I now know why your ex-daughter-in-law left



Date:21-Aug-2016 Reference:View Original Link