Energy savers

The week-long Eid break has its pros and cons. Hence, there are those who think that such a long holiday is a drain on the already weak economy. However, with profound apologies to Ayaz Amir, I belong to the camp that welcomes the holiday bonanza as a blessing.

A general air of insouciance prevails over the Indus lands. No need to wake up and get dressed early to join the daily hustle. A relatively relaxed lifestyle takes over. Those who still practice masochism by reading the morning newspaper cannot be helped. But as the men and women working in the newspaper industry are also allowed two Eid holidays, which result in no papers for two days, the incurable among us must find another instrument of self-flagellation.

More importantly, the greatest advantage of closing the government for a whole week is the considerable saving of electricity that is normally spent on lighting and cooling all those offices in summer. It should release more power for the people struggling to run their fans and water pumps.

You can be sure that this will not affect the bureaucracy’s productivity. Why fuss over closing premises that are mostly used for serving interminable rounds of tea and samosas? Most of our officialdom’s time is spent in opening and retying the red tape. Any significant decision is bound to annoy someone or cost the treasury buckets of money.

The state may be blind or deaf but not where its own interest is at stake. It tells the people to go and enjoy Eid – which is falling at the end of the month – without paying salaries in advance. I suppose the private sector follows suit. But imagine the predicament of all those enjoying the privilege of domestic help having to pay the latter advance wages because the servants are not going to celebrate Eid with their families without cash in their pockets.

This Eid presents a severe problem of liquidity for all those who will get paid after the holidays. Still, the capital and other big cities are emptying out fast as the scramble for bus or train tickets takes hold of all those who do not own vehicles.

The prime minister is staying back in Saudi Arabia. That enables him and the finance minister to stay clear of the mundane problems here. An added benefit is that they can seek spiritual guidance and divine help for this devout nation. The water and power minister was the first to guide the nation to pray for rain in order to overcome the missing megawatts. The timing of his call was well-planned as the skies have been more generous since then.

It is unkind to criticise the PM for being away when the country is facing pressing problems. Can the critics clarify when the nation was facing non-urgent crises? If that was made a condition, no premier would be able to leave the country for a week or ten days. Critics also fail to understand that a prime minister is never on leave. He works 24/7 through his tenure. But it would be better if the government could comfort the over-anxious citizens by revealing all the financial benefits we might get as a result of his extended stay in the Holy Land.

Had the prime minister consulted me before his voyage, I would have suggested to him to pray for granting this nation greater patience. Because these are people who show extraordinary road rage while rushing home for iftar. In other months, they suffer from ordinary road rage which is pointless because all they do at the end of a road trip is have another cup-a-cha or stretch on the sofa to watch another subnormal IQ television programme.

The nation and its leadership be praised for finding time from their busy schedule to consistently condemn Israel for massacring the Palestinians. Of course, we should condemn the mass killings of unarmed civilians particularly women and children. Let us not forget that Anwaar Sadaat and Yitzhak Rabbin who wanted to work for Arab-Israel peace were both brutally assassinated by extremists on both sides. And let this be known that democracies can throw up monsters and psychopaths, the latest being Benjamin Nethanyahu who in his rage to bloody Gaza once again reportedly drove his own psychiatrist to suicide.

We can continue to pray for the divine protection of all innocents but do not forget that guns and missiles are speaking in that often bloodied area. Any truce is to buy time for more vengeance, especially by the likes of Nethanyahu.

Tailpiece: Both the government and the PTI have acknowledged that they are engaged in a test series rather than T-20 or one day matches. Ordinarily, this development should have created a great deal of excitement for a home-series starved nation. Except that the two sides are engaged in a totally different ball game. Trust the interior minister though for ordering rain on the opponents led by his college days friend. Have a nice day, 245!

Email: saeed.saeedk@gmail.com