Farooq Hassan

In one of my last articles in this newspaper (The First Lady) I had made mention of Reham Khan’s emerging ‘Kiss and Tell’ book. It’s now ready, to be launched like a cruise missile. But why all the hullabaloo. The threats, the blame game, etc. I have not read the book, but if it talks about the parties and social gatherings held at Bani Gala, so what’s the big deal? Parties are nice (not the political parties). I’ve never been invited to Imran Khan’s party as I’m not a member of PTI. But I wish I was. It would have given me a chance to size up Ayesha Gulalai. Gulalai apart I’ve always wondered how one has a decent conversation with a Pushtoon lady. Does one offer her Gurda and Chapli Kebab for dinner? Does one display, clandestinely, the latest purchase of a pistol from Darra Adam Khel – a perfect replica of a Beretta or Graz Burya (Pushtoon ladies are partial to Macho men). In any case, IK does not consume firewater. I hope he keeps ample stocks of Meth and ice. What’s a party without the “uppers”. If IK continues to host great parties, I promise to generate 2000 votes for him in Karachi.

In 1986, when I was considerably younger, an Arab diplomat was posted as Consul General in Karachi. He was from a Royal family, but a trouble-maker. The King posted him to Karachi to keep him away from the Royal family. Let’s just call him Sheikh K. When Sheikh K arrived in Karachi, he was not impressed with his official car. He immediately ordered an ‘E’ Class Mercedes Benz to be air freighted from Stuttgart, Germany. It was duly delivered. The house he lived in as a bachelor was palatial. Sheikh K was not fond of work. He would return home from the consulate by noon. He had formed a group of 4/5 friends, including Yours Truly. Drinking would start at 12 noon, leading to lunch at 3pm. Being a working man I only attended on Saturdays. In the evenings various shady characters and hanger-ons would appear (Pakis love free drinks and food).

One party started at 10pm on a Thursday night (Friday being a holiday). About 40 people were invited – no gender bias. The partying continued till 3 am Friday morning. Then some people departed. Others just stayed on. They slept in the living room, the carpets, the corridors, the deck chairs in the lawns. One enterprising lady decided to go to sleep on the well polished mahogany dining table. Being a sneak I had locked up a small bedroom for myself. The next day (Friday) the crowd started waking up at 1 pm. After everyone was awake and washed, lunch was served at 3 pm. Giant platters of shrimp paleo, roast legs of lamb, hummus, etc. At 5pm, the Partying started again. Guests dropped in. The dancing and partying continued till 2 or 3 am. Then the sleep-in routine was repeated. The party ended the next day (Saturday). Brunch served at 1 pm. Collateral damage: Many love affairs, crate+crates of firewater, kilos of meat, rice, cold drinks, desserts etc. Much later Sheikh K was retired and recalled to his capital. Once when I was in his city, I went to see him. He did not even have a driver. He died many years ago. RIP.

In the past the rulers of great empires are well known for their parties. The Chinese Emperors of the Ming Dynasty. The Mughal Kings. The various Sultans of the Ottoman Empire with their Harems. Louis, The Sun King of France held non-stop parties at Versailles. Hence the French Revolution. Emperor Nero fiddled while Rome burnt. Perhaps he was singing “On an evening in Roma”, a song made famous by Dean Martin.

But the greatest party of all time was held in our neighborhood. Next door in Iran. The Shah of Iran decided to celebrate his 50th anniversary with a royal bash in the city of Persepolis which dates back to 4000 years to the times of Cyrus the Great. The Shah did not like to be called by this title. His chosen title was “Shah-in-Shah, Aryamehr, King of Kings, Light of the Aryans”. So a party was planned at Persepolis. 1000 most important people in the world were invited. They all came. At that time the Shah was being groomed by the west as the policeman of the Middle East. He was buying shiny toys for billions of Dollars – jets, submarines, tanks, missile etc. Tehran was being groomed to surpass Paris as a pleasure and cultural capital. The contract for the Persepolis party was given to the great French catering house. The price tag at that time was US$ 50 million. A whole-tented city was set up. Fully air-conditioned. Even the adjoining bathrooms were air-conditioned. Food was mostly French, but also imported from all over the world. The Champagne houses of France sold all their accumulated stocks in advance. Call girls were imported from as far away as Brazil. The party lasted 2 days and nights. The Shah, in between partying, would pop into various tents for quick interludes with various ladies. After all, who would refuse Aryamehr? The President of Pakistan at that time (best not to mention the name) was also invited. The President was partial to drink. At the first dinner party he drank so much Champagne that his ADC had to bring him back to his tent, bathe him and put him to bed.

So, this was the greatest party ever. Soon afterwards the poor people of Iran started rebelling against the excesses of the Pahlavi regime. Eventually this snowballed into a revolution under Imam Khomeini. When the Shah fled the country in 1979, no one would give him shelter. Eventually President Sadat let him stay in Egypt at the request of the US government. Now, in a Non Descript street in Cairo is a small mosque that has a grave. This is the last resting place of “Shah-in-Shah, Aryamehr, King of Kings, Light of the Aryans”.

(The writer is the former Executive Director of the Management Association

of Pakistan)