Last night I went looking for a gift for someone whose spouse had recommmended the purchase of a Tom Ford cologne. I have never purchased cologne in my life, so when I arrived at Shams (an old high-end import shop in F6, currently very Christmassy) I was thrown by the finding that there were at least four different types of colognes available by Tom Ford. I pointed at one, and was told it cost Rs 50,000. This so shocked me that when I learned another was Rs 20,000, I bought it without hesitation, forgetting that my budget was a quarter of that amount. Very distressing, and I felt very stupid afterwards. It was far more than I had planned to spend, and while I don’t mind being extravagant for this person, I do object to paying for brands rather than genuine quality. These mass market luxury brands are repugnant to me. I also felt foolish for relying on the spouse’s advice, who has a long history of asking for difficult gifts (expensive, too heavy or bulky to carry, requiring long journeys, often all these things together). Well, it’s done and I hope the person likes it. They threw in gift wrapping by one of their multitude of staff, all from Gilgit or thereabouts, oddly, with those high-mountain features.
When I return to Pakistan I do find the consumerist turn rather ugly. I daresay I have become a pinched-face type over the years, but I do enjoy spending money, buy expensive things, and think I am moderately generous, but it feels excessive to me here. I imagine part of it is that there is no real way to save or invest here, other than in land, so people who have cash spend it. I just feel bad about it, though, as I feel forced to spend similarly whilst here, and contrast the amount spent on fancy meals or clothes or these imported gifts to the amount I give to those who genuinely struggle to purchase food.