"I have heard of that hotel, don't recall where..."
"Tulip is a beautiful flower and red tulip symbolizes love, while purple tulip symbolizes royalty and need I add, either of the colours represent Mian sahib's triumphant return to his home town - the love of the people albeit a tad less than expected or shall I say promised, and he indeed is Pakistani royalty...."
"Nah, that's not it! Oh I remember now... the guy who accused Nawaz Sharif of accepting Rs 35 lakh bribe from the ISI to overturn Benazir Bhutto's government later denied it and said he gave it to the owner of a hotel who was also named Sharif..."
"See that's wrong of the ISI. I mean they have no right to use public money to manipulate our political system..."
"I agree, but what about the one who accepted! And need I add, you spoke like a true Nawala."
"Did you notice that those of our media friends who favoured Mian sahib were referring to jiyalas coming to welcome his rally and not nawalas."
"Nawala translates into a bite of food and our former Prime Minister's supporters do like food and get angry when they wait for hours for his arrival and are not provided with food and shelter from the heat, while jiyala is someone who is dedicated to the leadership and doesn't care if he /she has food or shelter..."
"I get it, so the rally was not well organized given the character of the Nawalas!"
"Agreed, but as Mian sahib left Islamabad and its environs there was a distinct change."
"Yes, the numbers of those who welcomed him declined and..."
"No, I am referring to another change."
"Mian sahib looked increasingly hassled and was perhaps reminded of the time he came to this country in defiance of the deal with Musharraf and was sent right back and none of his supporters made any significant impact on the authorities of that time..."
"Nope, not that either."
"I give up. Tell me what was different?"
"Well, in the twin cities there were pictures of the former Prime Minister with his daughter - hell even the accompanying container had prominent pictures of Nawaz Sharif and his daughter while as soon as he entered the heartland of Punjab, the First Daughter's pictures disappeared and Shahbaz Sharif's appeared."
"Mian sahib should accept that his brother is more qualified and liked by the people than his daughter; besides his daughter is not likely to be his successor unless supported by his brother; and he should recall that Benazir Bhutto took over 20 years to establish herself as the undisputed leader of the party, I mean you can't hand over power to your chosen..."
"Remember what you said about purple tulip. That's it!"
"I give up."
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017