Sometimes we all need a helping hand or as the old song said ‘someone to lean on’. Fortunately our people, despite their myriad faults, also have an immense propensity for charity and kindness, especially our businessmen. There is, one believes, a strong correlation between economic uncertainty and religious charity. In cases where a fixed income is not ensured there is a propensity to seek divine help.

This piousness manifests itself twofold. In most cases it is genuine. In others it is a bit more precarious. A balancing act if you may. Where one hand giveth and other taketh: a precious balance between deceit and charity, with religion as the fig leaf. Take for instance the case of a leading real-estate mogul. His generosity towards charitable causes is noteworthy but then so are his transgressions. This extends to a significant portion of the trading and business classes.

Despite the many unscrupulous the picture is not all bleak. There are numerous instances of true generosity. There are other businesses and individuals feeding, educating and attending to medical needs of vast number. For instance another local real-estate and textile tycoon is operationally supporting the dialysis centre at a local government hospital. The cancer hospital of the prime minster is entirely run on donations. There are local food concepts and various charitable institutions which feed thousands on a daily basis. Then there are the individuals who are replicating this on a smaller scale through sponsoring needy students, paying for patients and distributing food in the local community. What we lack is a coherence and integration of these efforts.

The recent initiative by the government in establishing, ‘serais’ or caravanserais in the city are a step in the right direction for creating a social safety net, where none exists. This needs to be extended to all corners of the city and eventually the country. A concerted effort regulated and led by the government, needs to identify the appropriate services, which need to be supplemented and are in actuality the state’s responsibility. These need to be cross-matched with donors and nature of sponsorship they are willing to provide. Apart from food for which only sufficient space needs to be earmarked, education and health would target existing facilities.

In the next stage new initiatives can be targeted, like the current concerted efforts for the ‘dam’. As a religious community we did once define the concept of social welfare by the state. Perhaps we can invert the model and create another first: a country where no one goes to sleep on an empty stomach.

Since we started off on song today, another song which seems to be stuck in the head is a Beatles classic: “I wanna hold your hand.” Say what you may about the ‘naya’ prime minster, his old charisma, a little weathered, still lingers: a traditional greeting of kisses on the cheek by Sheikhs in the Middle East; a very warm welcome accorded by the Chinese; and on the recent trip to Malaysia, a request by the first lady to ‘hold his hand’. The Kaptaan’s acceptance abroad seems to a warmer than at home. Hopefully all this diplomacy turns to providing us with a much-needed helping hand.

Finally for the past week Lahore has been bathed in glorious sunshine, without a hint of smog. Alas, with the days steadily shrinking, it does not last for long. By 3:30 or so the sun starts wrapping shop, in an hour it is on its final descent to rest for another day. Yet, during this short window the panorama presented is striking. Light sifting through the trees, gently rustling in the breeze; striking and splintering of rooftops and building; the clouds taking on translucent hues of the spectrum, particularly pinks and blues; the presence of two heavenly bodies, the sun setting, the moon ascending, simultaneously, pointing to the duality of nature. Lahore in its full glory! — AM Lahori (AmLahori@gmail.com)

Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2018