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| What are you showing off? | |
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by Joginder Singh |
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The money not only makes the mare go, but also makes men go where they would not go in the ordinary course of things. Accumulating riches does not mean that the owner of wealth is a philanderer and does not care how he spends his money. Laloo’s daughter weds, Patna shopowners weep “Sixty new cars commandeered from showrooms. Three truck-loads of furniture ‘borrowed’ from dealers.” Show of love for daughter: RJD leader Laloo Prasad Yadav saw to it that his daughter's marriage was lavish to the last detail. From the expensive pandal to the deluxe feast, that was fit for a king, it was a wedding Bihar will talk about for long. | |
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A man arriving in a luxury car earns respectability instantly for the simple reason that people expect that his heart will be as big as his car or his house. Accumulating riches does not mean that the owner of wealth is a philanderer and does not care how he spends his money. But in actual practice, the rich are as careful about their money as ordinary mortals like you and me. However rich a person may be, his first consideration in spending money would be to consider the return on his expenditure. A news item says that a U. K. billionaire blew up £ 12 million at a party. Hans Rausing, Britain’s second richest man, blew a cool £ 12 million on a party for 600 guests aboard a luxury liner, newspapers reported. Worth an estimated £ 4.5 billion, the food packaging heir—who has a reputation for watching his pennies—treated his guests to a week of luxury living and exclusive entertainment, including a concert by Elton John. It amounts to spending almost Rs. 18 lakh per person. Such a huge amount can give a new start in life to even a poor man in the U. K. But in our country, people in power do not believe in spending their own money. A news item in a national daily says, under the heading: Laloo’s daughter weds, Patna shopowners weep. "Sixty new cars commandeered from showrooms. Three truckloads of furniture ‘borrowed’ from dealers. Chicken and fish markets raided. Confectioners and grocers relieved of their stock. Large-scale robbery? No, just Laloo Prasad Yadav’s supporters preparing for his daughter’s wedding, which will take place on Friday. Thursday wasn’t a business holiday, but by 11 in the morning most shops in Patna decided to call it a day. Car dealers were the first to be raided. Laloo’s lumpens allegedly attacked four car showrooms from where they drove off with 60 cars. They first stormed Mithila Motors and reportedly showed the manager a letter from Laloo’s brother demanding cars. They said the vehicles were needed to transport guests to the wedding. Another gang of supporters entered a Daewoo showroom, abused the employees and smashed windows. As the news spread, car dealers around the city downed shutters. The lumpens then went for the furniture shops on Nala Road. They raided six shops and loaded three trucks with beds, almirahs, and so on. The shop owners were told that their stuff would be returned in three days. All this happened in the presence of a deputy superintendent of police. Nobody dared complain. One of the dealers told HT he would be driven out of business in no time if he protested. Most of the action happened in the presence of police officials. A police officer said what happened was nothing new. "It happens, and it will happen. Who will say no?" he asked Nobody knows whether any of this happened at Laloo’s behest. Said Minister of State for Power, Shyam Razak: "How can I say anything about others? I don’t have any knowledge of this." Many VIPs, or so called VVIP’s, attended the wedding and might have possibly travelled in one of the stolen or forcibly taken cars. In our country, the status of a person covers many sins, which is bad for all of us. It is saying good bye to morality. It is a sign of decay, that instead of standing up to evil, most of us either succumb to it or make a compromise. It is time to remind our leaders what Rousseau said: "Great men never make bad use of their superiority; they see it and feel it, and are not less modest. The more they have, the more they know of their deficiencies." |
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