Lights out!

The government’s decision to close down shops at 8pm and restaurants at 11pm is a step in the right direction. Keeping shops and eateries open past midnight is a luxury we can hardly afford. The decision is based on sound reasoning – conservation of energy. It should have come much earlier.
Some years ago, when the Punjab government decided to restrict wedding halls to close down at 10pm, there was much resistance by certain groups. Owners of wedding halls complained that their businesses had suffered by the decision. Poultry farmers grumbled that their broilers remained unsold because of the government ban. None of them, however, went bust because of the decision. Weddings have been taking place with the usual pomp and ceremony and poor chickens roasted as usual.
The lavish spending on weddings deserves the attention of the social scientists. What used to be a simple ceremony of nikah and rukhsati, followed by a reception, has turned into an event of grandeur and show of wealth. Bollywood films have a role in that. Although the glittering wedding ceremonies depicted in Indian movies are far from reality but they set the trend for our glitterati to follow. We had heard of brides visiting beauty parlours but now the grooms go as well. Some shops specialise in turning the groom into a Rajhastani prince – turban and all.
A Pakistani woman married an American who served in the police department. The couple went through the local rituals of ceremony and adorned local dresses. The groom had himself photographed in a sherwani and turban. On his return to the US, he displayed his picture in his office. Every time his colleagues visited him, they burst out laughing. When asked why, they replied, “Whenever we feel bored with work, we visit your office to see your picture and entertain ourselves.”
The elderly often narrate stories how Hindus in un-partitioned India spent so little on their weddings while the Muslims did so very ostentatiously. As a

result, Muslims had to borrow to spend lavishly on their weddings.
However, there was a time when Karachiites boasted that ‘Karachi never sleeps’. Compared with Karachi, Lahore was known as a sleepy town. Everyone turned homeward by 10pm. Then the trend changed. Now Lahore remains alive and its markets and restaurants bustle with people until after midnight. But pursuing such a lifestyle has its own problems. There’s acute shortage of power and we haven’t built any dams to cater for it.
Consensus on building the Kalabagh Dam seems to be difficult to evolve. Imran Khan, whose party rules in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has championed every cause but construction of the Kalabagh Dam. A purely technical subject has been turned into a political impasse.
But why do the traders, shopkeepers, and restaurant owners resent the government decision of closing down businesses by 8pm? Shopkeepers in expensive markets say the begums who form the bulk of shoppers turn up late for shopping. Similarly, the owners of trendy restaurants claim there’s a trend to eat late hence they have to remain open until past midnight.
Many chic restaurants on M M Alam Road in Lahore – an upscale food street – have names hard to pronounce. Therein lies the trick to relieve the rich and the fashionable of their money. The per head bill in any of these trendy places could easily run up to Rs1000 upward. This amount could take care of the food requirements of an ordinary small family for a week.
Those who oppose the decision of closing down businesses by 8pm should know that markets in many developed countries close around 5pm. They must realise the plight of the people living in rural areas where power outages often touch eighteen hours and more. The poor should not suffer because of the shenanigans of the rich and the idle.
The writer is a freelance columnist based in Lahore. Email: pinecity@gmail.com