The Good Life
Confessions of a lawn crazy lady

Confessions of a lawn crazy lady

As I purchased my SanaSafinaz suits I considered how many women at the exhibition fell within the tax net.

Nusrat Munshi March 26, 2011

If you live in one of the metropolitan cities in Pakistan, there is a high probability that you have been infected by the dreaded but highly contagious lawn virus.

The virus can manifest itself in the form of an empty wallet, being mauled in a stampede by other victims or being caught out in a highly frustrating traffic jam around the lawn exhibition areas.

What I witnessed at the Expo Centre in Karachi a few days back was truly a thought provoking experience. As I stood in what could only be termed as a “lawn crazy mob”, pushed and shoved from all directions, waiting patiently for my turn, my thoughts turned to an article I had come across in a newspaper which had statistics published by the Federal Bureau of Revenue.

According to this article, of the total population of 170 million in Pakistan only 1.7 million are taxpayers, of which around 1.6 million pay about Rs21,000 each as income tax every year. This means their annual income is under Rs500,000. So officially, there are only 100,000 tax payers in the entire country who earn more than Rs500,000 annually.

It was reported that this particular lawn exhibition was attended by about 30,000 women on a single day. Although the exhibition was originally scheduled for three days, they had to close shop after just one day as their entire stock was sold out on the very first day.

These are the figures coming from just one of the exhibitions in the city this season. Depending upon the popularity of the brand, the average price of a single lawn suit ranges between Rs3,000-4,000 at these exhibitions.

At the exhibition, I looked around bewildered as I saw each woman walking away with 8-10 suits on an average. One lady was resting on the floor; exhausted and jubilant with what seemed like everything in the catalogue.

“Is that all?” the cashier at the checkout counter asked as he looked at me pitifully, a mocking smirk on his face, handing me my meager purchase of four lawn suits.

“Yes brother, I’m amongst the 1.7 million!” I said, as I walked away with my skinny shopping bag.

WRITTEN BY:
Nusrat Munshi An MBA graduate working in the pharmaceutical industry in Karachi

The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS (50)

His Majesty | 12 years ago | Reply I was also amazed when last winter ended and came the "lawn season". I was shocked to see that the designer gods had enough money to cover almost all billboards in clifton and defence area of karachi. I was shocked that enough people had thousands to spend on a piece of cloth but still cry over soaring rocket high prices. I was shocked that when these same ladies when asked to donate an amount in charity towards education gave a mere 100 rupee note?

Junior | 13 years ago | Reply mind blowing.... how technically and successfully you have wasted my time :-/

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Majeed | 13 years ago | Reply With the Khawateen buying so much Lawn, Mian-saabs will be lying flat on the lawn. :P =========== Reminds of a quote from none other than Albert Einstein: If most of us are ashamed of shabby clothes and shoddy furniture, let us be more ashamed of shabby ideas and shoddy philosophies.... It would be a sad situation if the wrapper were better than the meat wrapped inside it. =========== Ostentation is another social 'aspiration' we are fast acquiring from our larger neighbour to the East. They can barely afford their profligacy. We know our budgets to be in far worse conditions than theirs. Yet, we splurge. Don't say it too loud though, because it is all supposed to be good for the economy. Nobody calls out, how unbalanced this is to the flow of funds in the economy, with eventually most of the money velocity, and the gains of the multiplier effect of transactions, only traveling from and to only the moneyed elite. What else is new under the sun?

Sid | 13 years ago | Reply Cant say much about the article... couldn't guess was it more about the lawn craziness or tax paying??? anyways as for lawn exhibitions please... can someone convey Sana & safinaz to be a little more reasonable in charging and stop having the same marketing strategy of finishing the stock in one day.... either they are extremely bad planners or using the same strategy each year... Advice please change the strategy for next year....

Saima | 13 years ago | Reply The Lawn Mania this year is just mind boggling! Who is buying all this lawn and where is all the money coming from in our supposedly poor country???!!!!

Zain | 13 years ago | Reply If only the educated and enlightened women and men of Pakistan could infuse the same passion that they have for clothes and cricket, respectively, to resolve issues of substance such as tax evasion, corruption, intolerance and fanaticism etc ; our country could really go places

seeker | 13 years ago | Reply yes she is right , we are going crazy for nothng, but I guess a true tax payer cant even buy four suits

Farhat | 13 years ago | Reply I think this article is very well written and has commendably highlighted a very serious issue which plagues our society. We complain day and night about rising grocery bills and education bills but when it comes to purchasing clothes, all our sanity goes out of the window.... why pay 4000 rupees for a lawn suit which will no doubt be worn just a few times when this money could be used for something much more productive! Rich people poor country is what comes to mind... I think the title is no fault of the writer, credit or rather blame for that would go to the tribune... and people who have said that their time got wasted by reading it.... well .... use your brains and try and write something as thought provoking yourself instead of criticisizing people who are trying to bring such issues to light! Well done to the writer!

A Tax Payer | 13 years ago | Reply Hope the tax regulators figure out a way soon enough to bring all this black money in the tax net, lest the documented salaried class will have to keep on carrying more than our share of the load. Yes I'm one of the 1.7 million as well:(((

SK | 13 years ago | Reply Good one!

Saba | 13 years ago | Reply Well-written and highlights the major menace of tax evasion- title is a little misleading, don't know if the credit for that goes to the writer or to ET!?

Male Victim | 13 years ago | Reply Our monthly house budget has been really hit with these unending exhibitions!!!Please make them stop:((((

Yasir, Karachi | 13 years ago | Reply Liked your 'hut k' views on the lawn mania!

Sidrah Moiz Khan | 13 years ago | Reply I seriously doubt your confession skills :D.

rija | 13 years ago | Reply spending 4ooo pkr for a suit which is going to last this summers only,is not only madness but a criminal act when u see underclothed people and almost naked street urchins wandering around the same xhibition center in karachi.i wish the enlightened women of our country, like sana and safeena, could inspire us in a more constructive manner than this.of course they r doing business but now a days even west is raising the question of social responsibility while earning profits.

AK | 13 years ago | Reply correction: 10 lakhs = 1 million rupees for one shadi event :)

AK | 13 years ago | Reply I sometimes think I live in another world. I only got to know just last year that Karachi is having lawn exhibitions every season for quite a few years. Since then, I planned with my female friends in office that we'll check out some exhibitions this year just for the heck of it. I went to only one of them this year and right now, I can't even recall who the designer was! All I remember about the exhibition is that it was in PC and was disappointing for me at least. Reasons being: 1) I did not like the prints. 2) I was not ready to pay 4,000 bucks for such a 'weird' lawn print. I don't wear such "bara bara flowery print" in office! And why would I spend 4,000 for a dress I'm gonna wear at home as a night suit? 3) I can easily get a better looking chiffon or cotton suit for almost the same price (and at times, even lesser) ready made from Bahadurabad and Nazimabad! Translates to not having to run to tailors and spend time thinking about 'designing'. 4) We finished our "viewing of the prints" session in 15 minutes and had 45 minutes remaining before our lunch time ended. So I and my friend stood in a corner and started observing the ladies. My friend observed, very rightly indeed, "are all these women working women? They seem to be housewives. And there, I can point a few school girls too in their uniforms!" And we, the working women in their early twenties, were bewildered at this huge wastage of money by ladies who even didn't earn it! Anyway, we decided to leave after another ten minutes of observing others. So we went to PC reception and asked how much a wedding function costs. We took their rates etc from their office. Later, in our own office, all of us determined that an average shadi event of about 500 guests would cost around 10 million rupees! This one experience was enough to teach me not to waste my time and my car's fuel for any such event again. What the hell???? Where is all this money coming from??!

Imran Iqbal | 13 years ago | Reply The writer has tried to highlight a veru seriious issue which was somehow twisted as some crazy confessions. I agree with the writer that in a country with only 1.7 million tax payers and out of those 1.6 million pay a tax of only Rs. 21,000 in taxes where is the money coming to these tax evaders to buy these expensive lawn suits ranging from Rs. 3,000 to 6,000. These people can spend thousands on lawn buying and entertainment but will not care to report their ernings and pay due taxes!!!!!!!!!

M | 13 years ago | Reply The Sana Safinaz formals exhibition was enough of a warning sign for me to not bother with the their lawn exhibit. Heard it was crazaaay! Also, heard it was disappointing...one friend was missing the kapra for her sleeves. A couple of friends said the there were misprints on the pieces they had picked up. I'm all for spending but not if it means bad quality...lucky for them they're Sana Saf and can get away with anything!

Seher | 13 years ago | Reply I think it is the free loading tax evaders who are finding this lame and senseless LOL!!!! Made perfect sense to me!!!!5/5

Faiz,DHA Karachi | 13 years ago | Reply Thumbs up for sarcastic depiction of very real issues in our country!5/5 from me

Ahmer | 13 years ago | Reply Good read!

Iraj | 13 years ago | Reply Wow an original take to the lawn madness - liked it a lot

Sajid | 13 years ago | Reply Great satire!!!5/5

Faria | 13 years ago | Reply LOL!!!!Good one:)))I sure was infected by this virus - got a bruised ankle with all the pushing at the Sana Safinaz exhibition.

A Karachiite | 13 years ago | Reply Good one!!!My question is when will the governing bodies sit up and take notice of the obvious to bring the tax evaders to task???

An honest tax payer! | 13 years ago | Reply I think all the tax evaders are finding your article lame and senseless. It made a a lot of sense to me and I often ask the same questions that you have aptly alluded to in your writing!!!!Bravo for that!

Nadia Khan | 13 years ago | Reply Excellent and to the point - just the title can be a bit misleading. 4.5/5

Imran Wahid, Karachi | 13 years ago | Reply Very well-written; hit the nail on the head:))) The readers who will find this lame and senseless are certainly not amongst the 1.7m!!!!!!

Umair Waheed Sheikh, Khayban e Hafiz,Karachi | 13 years ago | Reply Pls get a life and try to contribute something which makes some sense. U wasted my Sunday morning!

Taha Kehar | 13 years ago | Reply Excellent satire.

Hussam | 13 years ago | Reply Terribly boring and bland article. 1/5.

Faiza | 13 years ago | Reply I went to the Sana Safinaz exhibition and really wondered the same thing-we are apparently a poor country when it comes to dishing out taxes but look that these exhibitions and you really get a shock about the buying power of the consumers!!! and you go huh what did I miss here!!!!

Ali | 13 years ago | Reply Imagine if regulating bodies could use simple statistics and come up with methods of widening the tax base our country will never have to extend the begging bowl again. Instead what do they do a 15% surcharge on the already taxed lot. How much will they squeeze the squashed lemon!!!!

Saqib | 13 years ago | Reply Hey no wonder we call our country "Rich people, poor country!". The title of this blog is rather misleading - quite likely no fault of the writer in this as by my experience titles of the blog are posted by the site not the writer, who is simply trying to highlight a major problem in this country.

Sehba | 13 years ago | Reply The issue that the writer is trying to highlight are very real and in your face - however there are people with vested financial interest in this country who will never let the tax base widen despite these very visible statistics around us of a parallel undocumented economy

Neelma khan | 13 years ago | Reply nice one....i really like the way you written:)

Marium Kaludi | 13 years ago | Reply Wow, I doubt many Pakistanis would have an approach like yours to the lawn-madness! Well written and to the point. Only the title was a bit misleading, but I guess the credit for that goes to ET.

Sane Voice | 13 years ago | Reply Well.....this is all marketing which has turned an ordinary clothing attire fabric into a fashion statement.

Habiba Younis | 13 years ago | Reply ok, this was lame.

TightDhoti | 13 years ago | Reply As long as people can justify not paying taxes they would rather ridicule you, then to acknowledge the issues you have highlghted.

shehryar | 13 years ago | Reply where are the confessions? likhna bhool gaein kya??????

khawar | 13 years ago | Reply comeon woman next time you write an article try making some sense!!!

HZA | 13 years ago | Reply Mindless trends!

wahwah khan | 13 years ago | Reply what is this..lolzz

sophia ahmed | 13 years ago | Reply Sanity must prevail. The society is in decadence and it simply manifests itself in these events. For another perspective please read: http://lurkinginambush.blogspot.com/2011/03/blood-cotton.html http://lurkinginambush.blogspot.com/2011/03/blood-cotton-part-2.html

Mariam Khan | 13 years ago | Reply i believe its a big spin...."designer lawns" women are just crazy to get their accessories labeled....yes its a communicable virus.

Noreen Shams | 13 years ago | Reply good one... A week before I simply caught by traffic jam as I was already hurrying for my office.I found Hassan square fly over jam packed... i thought there is some mishaps on the road...but I lost my temper when I saw aunties,girls.rushing to expo and a long que of cars.. All were as excited to run to exhibition as lawn suits were being distributed for free..hell madness

xyz | 13 years ago | Reply WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY must express tribune always twist the title into something which is completely misleading from the point the writer is trying to make just because it's more eye-catching and will get more hits? she's not a crazy lawn lady and yet it's been rated 2 out of 5 by people who probably didnt even read the post after seeing the title.

abc | 13 years ago | Reply There are no confessions here, dude! Lol. Lame!

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Confessions of a lawn crazy lady

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