Lighting candles

Being out of Pakistan now, it is difficult for me to tell if there has really been a deepening of the crisis in the last weeks as many foreign observers suggest. During my stay in the country, events had been unfolding at a fast speed too. Nevertheless, I had a strong feeling of detachment between what is going on on the political stage and the lives of the vast majority of the Pakistani population (especially in the villages). Having said this, there are a million ways in which the overall political context makes itself felt in sometimes quite subtle ways. One example are the rising candle prices that I read about in an article in the Pakistani newspaper The Post. One reason for this is that power cuts have been getting more frequent and longer forcing many people to use candles for lighting. Another reason is the (new) custom of lighting candles to remember victims of bomb blasts or express solidarity with detained lawyers and judges. Sad and beautiful.