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08:26 AM
Bikram Vohra
JournalismPakistan.com
May 1, 2013
I drove up to a 5-star hotel in my cheap and cheerful 1.4 litre car and was interrogated by the gestapo at the gate. Who, why, what, wait. My daughter drives up in one of those 4-wheel mobile houses and the wooden pole goes up with a salute to add to the injury.
Yes, you are treated by the measure of the car you drive. You could be an absolute twit behind the wheel with no redeeming features but if your car has a price tag you are eloquent as Shakespeare.
The other day we are standing in the customary cluster outside one of these fancy hostelries and there is this Indian family (my guess is they were but maybe not) very quiet, very low key, politely handing over their tag to the valet guy and being ignored as people of little consequence. Simple folks, with their children, one of them probably under special care, just not making a fuss and not too flapped by the fact that others were getting more attention than them.
About 10 minutes into this tableau in patience comes this car, a Fisker Karma (did you even know there was a car with that name?) which is what Justin Beiber drives and it is worth a million bucks in Finnish automative genius and you have to be someone to have one.
The family moves towards it. Have you ever seen, and I mean, seen, a change in the dynamics. Suddenly, the staff's cold shoulder melts, they are all gravitating towards them and there is this opera in obsequiousness and they are falling over each other in opening doors and slamming them and if it wasn’t so sad it would be funny.
Sad, because everyone of your guests should be equal.
Funny, because if I have to like you by your car, why would I like you at all…I’d take the car out to dinner.
(The writer is a Senior Editorial Advisor of Khaleej Times and the paper’s former Editor. He has also been the Editor of Gulf News, Gulf Today, Emirates Today and Bahrain Tribune)
If my call is so important to them, why don’t they answer it for 22 minutes?
How come when I want to, but something specific online is the only item out of stock.
When I get into a queue or lane going fast, the moment I get in, it becomes the slowest and refuses to budge.
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