21 January 2005	Friday	10 Zilhaj 1425

KARACHI, Jan 20: Of all the sheep and cow breeders who descent from upcountry to Karachi-the city of opportunity--at least one man goes back laughing all the way (not to the bank) but to his village.

He is the one who has invested the most in his animal (cow or goat) so as to make the creature stand out as the king (or queen) among the herd. When appropriately decorated, the king is sure to catch the eye of the richest buyer at the 'Mandi'.

Names keep changing but the man for whom money matters less than the ostentatious display of wealth continue to make headlines in tabloids year after year. He is the one who is able and willing to pay the asking price for the tallest, the healthiest and the most handsome looking cow or the goat.

A year ago a "seth" (rich industrialist) put up well-lighted tents outside his bunglow and posted guards; the spotlight was on a goat that was the size of a cow.

People who thronged in hundreds from the low lying areas were awed not just by the sacrificial animal, but also by the price at which it was proclaimed to have been purchased: Just two hundred thousand short of a million rupees!

If the 'seth' wanted to impress the downtrodden; the neighbours or his business rivals, through the display of his wealth, the objective was achieved. But let the 'seth' be asked to contribute an equal sum for the tsunami victims fund, and he is likely to shuffle his feet and shift his gaze.

Surely, one would attract a lot of hate mail and public rebuke if all sacrifices offered on Eid-ul-Azha were to be termed as display of wealth. Hundreds of thoroughly religious people perform the ritual to please Allah and in answer to the divine commandment.

But this is just to throw a passing gaze at people who combine religion with the ways of the world. It is generally perceived that the community does not look down well on a person who has offered the sacrifice (quarabani) on one Eid and does not do the next.

"Poor fellow; his financial condition has deteriorated of late", whispers one woman to her neighbour, "maybe he has lost money at the stock exchange". In order to save the pride and ego, the wife and children would pressure the poor fellow to loosen his purse strings and get the animal even if his income has dwindled to half of what was the year before and the price of the goat has doubled this season.

And then there are the youngsters who take their cow or goat for a walk in the evenings and the boy who holds the reins of the best, strides with prize, anxiously observing to see if he is able to catch the attention of the prettiest young girl in the locality. His rivals are understandably very jealous.