Latest
09:53 AM
Bikram Vohra
JournalismPakistan.com
September 14, 2013
They were not on the A list in social terms. More like a B or B plus. Not rich enough, not famous enough, not powerful enough. So, while they were pretty active on the city circuit they were never at the best places. Just second best. Sort of like there but not there, second stringers at best, desperately seeking the front row.
This irked both husband and wife so they devised a strategy to get themselves into the 'in' parties. They gatecrashed. If it was a top shelf gathering they'd be there.
Not in the clumsy or crude manner you might expect of barging in but with a little bit of panache. They'd call the hostess and say, awfully sorry, we were out of town and must have missed the invitation, but don't worry we'll be there, wouldn't miss it for the world.
Once they called a friend of mine and said, our houseboy is such a nuisance, he never gives us the messages, no good help these days, hahaha, so sweet of you to be giving this dinner for the visiting MPs, sure you don't need any help, we could get our cook to make something.
On another occasion they gate-crashed a private dinner by explaining how they had just landed from the airport and how they are so fortunate they got back tonight, right in time. And they always carried gifts or a bouquet of flowers to soften their entry.
The A list crowd were cruel in their comments but the ridicule was in private and even though they joked about the couple they never really came out and said, get lost.
Over the months the gatecrashing continued and the game took on a new twist. There was now speculation over whether the gatecrashing husband and wife would fetch up at a dinner or not.
And then one evening at a small dinner party for 20 of fairly important people the hostess looked distraught and uneasy. Guests asked her what was wrong but she wouldn't say.
Finally, she couldn't hold back and she blurted out what was on her mind. The gatecrashers hadn't gatecrashed. It was way past ten o'clock and there was no sign of them.
They didn't come, she whispered.
Maybe they don't think we are good enough for them, said someone half-jokingly.
And a legend was born.
Almost immediately the gatecrashers had been lionised and turned into society barometers. If they gatecrashed your party you were to the manner born, if they stayed away you were a has been, not worth the bother.
The whole ludicrous scenario was further validated by the tacit approval of the giddy page 3 social circles. There was even an honor system that evolved in that true test of your party's worth and your standing lay in their gatecrashing you. If you invited them it did not count, it was a natural disqualification. They had to fetch up on their own.
Things came to such a pass that the hosts would sweat with suspense until the couple fetched up or have a completely wretched evening because they had been dumped. Very soon the A list had been transformed according to this arbitrary yardstick and the gatecrashing couple had become famous and very powerful indicators.
If they didn't come to your party the message flashed across the city. These are yesterday's people, not even worth gatecrashing.
So there is this conspiracy afoot to cut them to size.
Ah, how the rich live.
You think I jest. You think wrong. This is a true story.
(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.
Read more... | Archives