An interesting incident took place the other day at one of the wedding halls in Karachi. The hosts at a wedding party were informed by one of the waiters that their party has been gatecrashed by a family. How did the waiter know about the intruders? It seems that this family frequently, but maybe you can say even daily, gatecrashed at weddings at this hall. The inquisitive waiter wondered how popular was this family that they were invited to every wedding at this venue and also attended promptly every day without fail.
The host was informed who also consulted other relatives who all agreed that these were gatecrashers, and they were approached and confirmed that indeed they were regular gatecrashers and every evening would dress up and go to this wedding hall to enjoy the wedding and specially the food. Don’t get me wrong they were gatecrashers but not free loaders as every evening they carried an envelope with five hundred rupees which they duly deposited with the bride and groom on stage. The family was also properly dressed as in a wedding and behaved appropriately to the occasion. Any way, they were shown the door and departed with their offering of five hundred rupees.
Like everything else that is interesting or worth debating, this incident has caught the eye of those who love such debates in the electronic domain. There are two distinct opinions on the subject. One that feels the actions of the host were appropriate and the other that thinks a few more mouths should not have mattered as after all in most weddings at the end of the day there is a lot of wastage with the hosts sending leftover dishes to near and dear ones and even large amounts to charitable organizations. Personally, I am with the lobby that believes that they should have been allowed to stay and share in the offerings of the evening. I am compelled towards this opinion by the presence of little children in the ranks of the gatecrashers. Children are very sensitive, and they were probably the ones most looking forward to the evening meal. What a blow to their plans and the effect it will have on their little minds.
A more gracious host could have just ignored the waiter and told him to mind his own business and went about the evening as usual or to be even more gracious approached the family and welcomed them, indicating that he knew they were not invited, but now they were and could feel free to enjoy the evening.
Gatecrashing has different meanings as far as weddings are concerned in different countries. In China, for example, it has a totally new meaning where it means a last minute test of the groom and his close friends by the bride and her friends who offer various challenges to test the love of the groom for the bride. It is believed that this gatecrashing practice became popular as a result of its promotion by Hong Kong TV dramas in the 80s and 90s. Over the years, the intensity of this practice has been toned down in order to reduce the discomfort to the groom and his friends. This reminds me of somewhat a similar practice known as “Hiding the shoe” practiced even now on a large scale in India and Pakistan. This is only targeting the groom not his friends unlike the practice in China and involves in recovering cash from the groom to return his shoe which money is used by the bride’s friends for a feast in some local popular eatery.
The gatecrashing at this wedding hall in Karachi was not part of any festivity but driven by that very basic of needs commonly known as hunger. Our streets are full of children begging to satisfy this same craving. Here was a whole family who were probably not living too far from these glittering halls that throw out the aroma of fresh tasty food and could not resist the temptation any longer so they dressed up and walked in. No idea for how long they were indulging in this practice or will they continue it, but it does demonstrate the depths of desperation of those living in hunger surrounded by glittering halls emitting aromas that are hard to resist.
(The writer is a well-known columnist)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
The writer is a well-known columnist