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 |
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