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Recently, a news portal reported that our monarch was invited to attend Russia's 81st V-Day anniversary. If my knowledge of history does not fail me, Russia helped end the Second World War. It defended itself against the tyranny of the German Army, first in Operation Barbarossa and later in the Battle of Stalingrad. It was also the Russians who delivered the coup de grâce to Hitler as they approached the Führerbunker in Berlin, which decimated the Western Front.
So, yes. It was a big deal to be invited to such a gala. An invitation from the supreme leader of the former Soviet Union is equivalent to an invitation from the Czar himself. At the peak of its rule, the Russian Empire was the largest contiguous land empire.
During the installation of King George V in 1911, a grand ceremonial event, the Delhi Durbar, was held in Delhi. Everyone who was so-and-so, even remotely linked to the British Raj, wanted to be there. It was an opportune time for the members of Indian princely states to pledge allegiance to the colonial masters. The Gulf states, which were ruled by multiple small rulers and were also British protectorates, were deemed not important enough to receive invitations. The Arab royalties tried very hard to rub shoulders with the foreign dignitaries in the high-stakes display of British imperial power, but just could not get in. They were deemed unworthy of an invitation.
All that changed sixty years later, in 1971, when the insanely lavish, internationally attended festivities to commemorate the 2,500th anniversary of the Achaemenid Empire were held in Persepolis, Iran. By then, the Middle East was rolling in petrodollars, and Arab royal families naturally made the invitees' list. Conversely, India did not attend the function. It was not because it had become a republic or was poor. India was fighting a war with Pakistan and had stated security concerns.
Low lives like me actually feel relieved if I were not invited to attend social functions like weddings or birthday parties. The idea of getting dressed, putting on a mask, tolerating meaningless small talk, and trying to say politically correct things is simply too taxing. For the timid, it becomes an obligation trap to keep up with the Joneses.
For others, it is an opportunity to network, advance their careers, gain social validation, be part of a tribe, and allay the fear of missing out. It may be a hunting ground for some to prey on gullible, rich, and greedy entrepreneurs.
Psychologically speaking, living in the 'high life' is associated with emotional immaturity, a need for validation, impulsivity, and a struggle to face reality.
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Farouk Gulsara (asokansham@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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