In Perpetual Slumber

OCTOBER 2004 - In a country like Pakistan where work ethic dissipated long ago, much like a drop of water would hiss off a hot rock, the arrival of the month of fasting heralds the advent of everything, which is everything but work. It is the nation’s holy license to drop all tools, be they shovels or be they pens and slip into stupor. Anyone, loony enough to think that life must continue as it usually does and where necessary, effort and hard work be put in, needs to have his head examined. No one is remotely interested in doing anything other than playing dead.

Anyone who has had the misfortune to work here and wants to get things done can readily understand the curse that afflicts the large body of what we still call, the work force. It is neither a force and as for work, the sooner that particular viral infection is abandoned, the better. In pockets, there are still people, men and women, who work hard and with great diligence to achieve results usually against heavy odds, but they are the rare exception. By and large, this is a country peopled by a species that seems to find a genuine revulsion in doing things right the first time. Most administrators re-invent the wheel every day. Wherever, men and women are in positions where they have to get work out of others, run into the same stony wall that seems to grow stronger day by day. We exhibit a wonderful ability not to follow any system, never to take the initiative and hardly ever feel pride at what we do. It is a strange mindset that spreads all the time and it afflicts the blue chip companies just as much as the small indigenous operation.

There is for instance the business of adherence to time. Various companies cook up ingenious schemes to get employees to show up on time and many impose penalties. Even punch-in cards fail, dodged by crafty employees, who are almost always sure to find a way to beat the system. Elsewhere, the miserable attendance records bear dismal testimony to an attitude that can only be self-damaging. It is equally amazing that along with a fundamental belief in never being punctual, there is an equal if not stronger facility of lying with a straight face. Habitual late arrivers can’t even bother to create credible stories to justify their fault because creating a fib too requires work and that is against their ethics. So, the stories play out like bad records. ‘I had a flat tyre.’ is a perennial favourite. ‘There was a traffic jam,’ is another. ‘ My bike wouldn’t start,’ is a dependable one as well. ‘My aunt had to be hospitalized,’ and ‘There was no water in the house.’ All can be perfectly plausible reasons but how can the same man have a flat tyre every third day and that too always in the morning? The motorbike, which refuses to start most mornings, seems to undergo a miraculous transformation every evening when it starts even before it is kicked and takes off like a bat out of hell. Or why is the aunt ready for a hospital trip every other day? Why does she never fall sick on holidays or after office is over? The traffic jam is perfectly acceptable but if the same person is held up by the same traffic jam every day, would it be unreasonable to expect him to start a little earlier or that being too radical a thought and against his ideology of life, could a variation on the route be a possibility? Of course not. Suggestions like these are met with frowning and sullen looks. Water disappearing is not uncommon but why always in the morning? Hardly any one will ever tell the truth such as having overslept, a thing that happens often.

The reason to avoid the truth is that lying is now our second nature. It is my opinion and mine alone, that most people no longer have any qualms about lying and don’t even consider it a serious matter. Lying is a perfectly acceptable and extremely popular way of life and it is applied across the board, from the biggest deal to the smallest scrap. It is accompanied by a wonderful absence of remorse, which makes it even more attractive and it is practiced by all sections of our country. The head of the land, whoever he or she may be at any given time, resorts to lies, half-truths and other devious means without the least burden on their conscience and on cue, this is practiced right down the ladder till you arrive at the lowest rung and find it is flourishing just as well here too. Probably the only people who don’t lie in Pakistan are the animals, but then they don’t call the shots. Pity.

Along with that rise other equally engaging pastimes like responsibility, where its absence more than its presence is now the accepted thing. It is not possible to brief anyone and leave it at that. With few rare exceptions, getting anything done requires constant drumming in a style that most parrots would approve of. It is simply not possible to believe that having given the instruction you can rest assured it will be followed through. Those who indulge in this fancy pay very heavy prices for their stupidity. Unlike other places in the world – and they too have their faults, the general rule that works there is the instruction is seen through. Not here. Till it is done, the matter has to be watched over with the same dedication that hens exhibit when sitting over their eggs. If you have the patience and the time that hens have, then there is little to worry about, but that usually not being the case, there is chaos at most time, wringing of hands, tearing of hair and throwing of things. In short, sheer frustration. The pity is that by natural inclination, Pakistanis are smart and fast learners but they are afflicted by this death wish that seems to have a vice-like grip on their souls. It may not explain all that ails Pakistan today but it damn near takes care of most things that prevent us from rising above ourselves.

Which brings us to the holy month and the practical closure of the country for 30 days and more. It is not for the likes of me to preach the real spirit of fasting but when it seems to become a national affliction that is picturised by zombies trudging wearily through a day that is shortened to ridiculous levels, something is seriously the matter. The attitude that no work is possible because people are fasting is just about as ridiculous as expecting the President to doff his uniform just because he said he would. Not known exactly for our spell binding speed, efficiency and determination to get things done, what we have is little piety and plenty of stupor for a month. Once the month is over, it will be time to celebrate and that will continue long after its stipulated slot is over. It will be at least another week before we will stumble into life’s mainstream and flail about in our given flip flop manner creating a great deal of commotion but achieving precious little.