Buying a car is a person’s second-biggest investment in life. It’s natural for anyone to take that investment seriously. Whether it’s taking care of the car or showing it off, Pakistanis take things a little too far. Let’s have fun looking at some of the things we are guilty of doing with our cars or have seen someone doing them.
1. Shaapar na utarna
When it comes to using things with care, we middle class Pakistanis can get a bit petty to a point where we are not even letting ourselves enjoy what we have. Keeping the plastic cover, aka shaapar, on car seats is one of those things. Most people do it to keep the car in good shape and maintain its resale value. Sighs!
2. Chappal latkana
If you think, “Oh no, people don’t do that anymore.” Yes, they do. Hanging an old shoe or slipper with the tow hook to keep evil eyes off the new car is still a practice among middle class superstitious Pakistanis. Eye rolls!
3. Rear window per naam likhwana
9 out of 10 Pakistanis have done this with their first car, and 10 bucks say you have too. Kids write things like ‘Jutt di Corolla’ and ‘Mani ki Mehru’, men write one-liner punches, and legends write heartfelt poetry on their car’s rear window.
4. Sticker lagana
Pasting stickers on your car’s rear window is common in Pakistanis. We have all seen university students driving with LUMS, GIKI, and other stickers. We have also seen people using car stickers of their workplaces and companies. But then there are batman, tiger, king, and all sorts of ridiculous stickers that make no sense.
5. Fake diffuser lagana
Every car has its unique design, but not every owner is happy and content with the looks of their car. So, what they do is they try to do a makeover with body kits and all sorts of things. Most people go for a fake diffuser and finish things up with chrome garnishes. Play with car’s looks, but don’t go crazy and play with its emotions.
6. Fancy number plate lagana
When it comes to showing off money and status, writings and stickers don’t cut it for some people. They take it up a notch with fancy number plates that say things like MNA, MEDIA, etc. Some even take it too far by installing police lights and sirens. Not cool, bro, not cool.
7. 500 k petrol mai hafta guzarna
Whatever the fuel prices are, most of us Pakistanis get petrol for Rs. 500 and then try to live on it for at least a week. Seeing where the petrol prices are headed, we are not guilty of being a little cheap. What else can we do?
8. Puncture na lagwana
We all have that one friend who does not get the punctured tyre fixed but instead keeps inflating the tyre. Whoever that friend is, please ask them to stop filling the tyre with air and get it fixed ASAP. Bhai hawa bharwana band kar, puncture lagwa lay, please!
9. Loud music laga kar ghoomna
Most millennials and Gen Z kids turn the music up before steering the car out of the driveway, and that’s fine. You can enjoy a song or two on your way to work or a nearby store. What’s not okay is playing that music so loud the noise is bursting out the windows, blowing the eardrums of everyone within half a mile.
10. Barat ki decorations laga kar rakhna
The last middle class thing people do with their cars is keep the wedding decorations for as long as they can. But this one is kind of cute since everyone notices the car and the fact that you are a newly-wed couple. We are not complaining.
These were all the things we middle class Pakistanis do when we get a car. How many of these have you done yourself? Anything crazy you’ve witnessed someone doing to their car? Let us know in the comments.
I do the tyre and filling fixed amount petrol thing.
I have adopted tyre repair delaying tactics only in the cases when air pressure is able to sustain for a period of week or more and the tyre pressure stops reducing after a certain point. In the case of latter scenario I have been delaying the repair of puncture for more than four months now.
P.S. a very good advice for songs author, though I might add that patients suffering from heart problems might be impaled with immediate death in the case some frivolous man drives by suddenly from around them.