An Outsider in the Inside
Among the busy routine of social life and earning to fulfill the inner satisfaction through materialistic objects, we have forgotten the cultural and historical sides of Lahore.
Source: The News
Life has become all about spending time in huge malls, shopping at every other brand retail and trying out new restaurants that are opening up at the speed of light.
We have stopped maintaining our historical sites and left behind the festivals that represent Lahore in actuality.
In a nutshell, we have become the Outsider in the Inside.
Source: IBEX
I remember looking forward to Basant, Canal Mela, Jashn e Bahara, and multiple other colourful festivals that used to take place in Lahore. A lot of them still do, but they have lost the essence, mainly because people now prefer to go to humongous malls to celebrate by shopping on flat 50 percent off sales.
Source: The News
These malls that host several festivals are all commercialized and seem more like brand promotions rather than serve the actual productive or cultural purpose of the festival.
Source: Express Tribune
Status quo and class standards have also taken toll on the mentality of Lahoris, and a wide difference of that can be seen in the festivals that currently take place.
The whole concept of the festival only attracts a certain limited class, making people uncomfortable in the socialist environment.
Source: Express Tribune
Lahore has a detailed chapter of Mughal history that can be experienced physically, but unfortunately even the tourist guides there only repeat what they have read in a school textbook.
Source: The News
Children of today need to connect to the history and culture of Lahore as people before us were. The adoption of a new lifestyle does not necessarily have to mean that we forget what truly represents Lahore.
Source: Express Tribune
In a slight contradiction to my own opinion, I would also like to add that with the recent increase in tourism; a lot of youngsters and the government too, have started tour programs that give an opportunity to the locals to experience Lahore like they would never have thought of.
Source: Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab
This might help in changing your status from an Outsider to an Insider. And we shouldn’t waste this opportunity to revive back our cultural roots in Lahore.
Do you think you’re an Outsider in Lahore?