Waiting for Godot : My understanding of Beckett's play

There was a generation in mid twentieth century which realized – our existence is but an accident and our life has no purpose. We live but to die and both our living and dying is without meaning. Well “ nothing can be done” says Beckett in Waiting for Godot. The play was staged in London in 1955 and that time it said that we are doing nothing but uselessly “waiting” and passing the time since half past century. So , a century later , what should our generation feel? Well , generally I used to feel ‘good’ precisely ‘hopeful’ but after reading the play I felt ‘terrible’ as if someone has took off all my clothes , which I thought was my real skin and now I began feeling a pang in my heart for I wonder if all these years I was also ‘waiting’ (God’s grace) on the pillars of (faith) which is never going to come like Mr. Godot.

So the play has strength to shake your faith . But what gives it so much power? In my opinion , it does not talk much but it makes you feel what it wants to say. About setting the critics have said , the actions do take place once at everywhere and nowhere . About language , well , it becomes powerful because of brevity of expressions. I found one course of dialogue between two main characters – Vladimir and Estragon very impressive  - - -

(Estragon is eating a carrot) … Funny , the more you eat the worse it gets.

Vladimir – With me it’s just the opposite.

Estragon – In other words?

Vladimir – I get used to the muck as I go along.

 Estragon – Is that the opposite?

Vladimir – Question of temperament.

Estragon – Of character.

Vladimir – Nothing you can do about it.

Estragon – No use wriggling.

Vladimir – The essential doesn’t change.

Estragon- Nothing can be done.

So nothing can be done …  we are not essentially good or bad … we are what we make of ourselves … we are what we choose to believe.

One more speech moves me… to what I don’t know but it is impressive or at least you can make out some sense among senseless speeches – it is said by a slave , Lucky –

“ … God … loves us dearly with some exceptions for reasons unknown but time will tell …”

At one point or other we all doubt whether God exists ? or if yes , does He love us ? And if yes , then why do we have to suffer ? Surely God has some reasons unknown to us. In the Shakespearean world there is always a gleam of light at the end of the tunnel and we feel ‘gods are just..’ but in our world , here we are not sure of anything not even of our own existence. Characters feel lonely in the play. They need others to make them feel that they exist.  Estragon says to Vladimir “ We always find something ,eh Didi , to give us the impression we exist?” . So many times Estragon fells asleep because like death it  gives some relief if not permanent at least temporary. Estragon again and again says "I can't go on like this" in this I find the best expression of the feelings of our generation . One feels at one point that s/he can’t go on like this because sometimes it is too much – too much of boredom , of purposelessness , of hopelessness, of helplessness and so on. It is one of the characteristics of the play that it gives you many levels of interpretations. 

The subtitle of the play is again very striking ,  which says – A tragicomedy in two acts. What is a life if not a blend of tragedy and comedy? And what is a true literature if it can not present the life as it is? But truly , I don’t know if the world of Waiting for Godot is really what I would like to call a true picture of life? Is there not a tragic sense prevailing upon comedy ? As they said , Beckett removed ‘s’ from the word ‘cosmic’ and it became ‘comic’ … a comic world without ‘s’ – spirit/soul. This comedy is just an attempt to forget tragic nonsense of life. I cant help quoting Hardy here – happiness is but an interval in the tragic course of life.

But let us not be disheartened . I had my enough doldrums since yesternight no more now. I will listen to Vladimir than Estragon who sounds more hopeful than later … as he says “Tomorrow everything will be better”.

Rajmohan's Wife : Indian Dilemma and Bankimchandra Chatopadhyay

Literature is one which we read and one which we live. What matter if it is in Telgu? Punjabi? Gujrati? Latin? French? Hindi ? or English? And what matter if it is not in any language but Ellipsis? We watch the theater of Silence and mime ... don't we? We convey our feelings to our loved ones in words but sometimes we just let it be or show them . So how far it affects whether an author writes at full length or just gives a sign ...  ultimately the author's aim should be accomplished. One such an attempt made by Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay in his first debut novel in English , Rajmohan's Wife , can be called an unsuccessful success .Unsuccessful in attracting readers of his time but successful in accomplishing of author's aim through it.

The novel was serialized in 1864 in the weekly periodical , the Indian Field , edited by kishori Chandra Mitra. It is notable that he begun his literary career through English novel but then after abandoning English language for fiction,  he wrote fourteen novels in Bangla , among the most famous are - Durgeshnandini , Anandamath and Rajsingha. It is well known that Bankimchandra ji was the prominent literary figure of nineteenth century India. Who can forget his song in Anandamath - Vande Matram - which became our National Song after Independence. We can also not forget him for the realism he brought in literature through his novels. And for this particular feature Rajmohan's Wife becomes a very important study. 

As we know that Bankimchandra ji was one of seven in the first batch of graduates from newly established Calcutta University , he was well known with English literature as well as Sanskrit literature. In  this novel while he is directly influenced by Victorian novels which portray social realities with the aim of reformation , he is also unconsciously overpowered by Sanskrit poetic literature due to which he gives a romantic and poetic description of feminine beauty as in Sanskrit it is called "nakh shikh varnan".  Thus the novel is blend of many outer influences as well as his own unconscious. 

I had been always fond of Bengali novels for they present a different Indian world. For example if you read Sharatchandra chatterji's novel - Devdas , Parineeta , Viraj Bahu , Charitraheen etc. they are all great stories of love , loss , morality , sin and so on and so forth. Rajmohan's wife is not different from them but as it precedes them and still the Real World  seems so real we are full of wonder and appreciation for the bravery of novelist. 

My first impression of this novel was peculiar. Actually you don't realize,  when you began reading the novel and when it has finished. I suppose it is the biggest drawback of the novel . The author seems to be bored and burdened and ends abruptly though from the initial lengthy introductions of families and character it seems he had planned to write a long novel. Another problem is that of Deviation of Register , it is a technical term in English Literature which suggests that author deviates from the norms of register (mixing of dialects) . For example , Rajmohan speaking in the old English - "deceive me not . Canst thou?" "Thou" an archaic word is not expected from moder man in speech. Also Bankim time and again refers to English things or places to insert Englishness in his novel for it seems he wrote for English people of his time .For instance , a Bengali village girl refers to a destroyed Biblical city "Jericho" which is something weird. But lets digest all his faults because the novel is not all compact of weirdness it has substance and it has weight and it has many more things to remember - among which one is the strong character of Matangini , the heroine of the novel.

 It is noticeable that though Bankim follows unconsciously the style and pattern of Victorian literature he gives his female characters a unique distinction and especially to heroine -  a Strong and firm character that is rarely found in any Victorian novel . In most Victorian novels females were portrayed as submissive and passive , they did not possess unique qualities of their own . On the contrary . Matingini is brave and even braver than the hero himself - Madhav. She confesses her love for her sister's husband - Madhav. While Madhav also loves , he asks Matangini to forget him , he is even shy to express his love for her. We are told that Madhav appreciates Matangini's braveness and pure and firm character but no where we see him appreciating her in public. Surely women are more firm and determined in Bankim's novels than men. Most men are corrupt and loose - characters and women are sufferer. Whatever reality Bankim shows and sympathizes with women's fate and miseries , he is not that bold to give justice to women . He deliberately makes them say that they are sinners and they are bad and so they must suffer. Matangini at the end suffers  as her creator is in dilemma that what to do with her fate and he ends abruptly. Dilemma is the keyword of Victorian Literature - dilemma between Faith and Reason and it is also prominent in this novel. And here the dilemma is between author's inborn Hindu Samskara and his consciousness of rigidness of  Hindu society . He is well aware of bad practices of polygamy of Kulin Brahmin boys and also of corrupt characters  of rich males. But he is not able to answer the question he himself puts up - Why women is not master of her own destiny? The ready made solution is - she has to suffer which he has given. 

But the character of Matangini stands alone and shines in spite of her disappearance into cruel fate and even the attitude of other female characters like Kanak and Tara can not be forgotten.... in fact the whole novel can not be forgotten for its a beautiful example of early Indian English novel - it has distinct Indianness wrapped in a simple fresh English language.

- Ojasi Mehta

MA English 

A Magic Revived

One and a half hour of Romanticism !!! - - - the play Nagamandala , written by Girish Karnad and performed by Banasthali Students at Jawahar Kala Kendra tonight , was as charming as our Grandma's tales of nights. But the play is not just to entertain , the writer evokes many bad customs , practices and black realities of ancient India which in a vague sense have some relevance today also.

Once Shobha De had said , we don't need to write magic stories like Harry Porter , because Magic is imbibed in  our roots. India has been known as the land of snake-charmers. Why ! its not something to shame on as some people do feel . There are many sides of even this side of India but whole in whole , I feel we can never be stripped of magic. And it is for good only as it suggests that we Indians can never be defeated or destroyed because we have faith and belief on some supernatural force and it will save us from what so ever comes in our way.

The play is magical in the strict sense that it takes you away from your present world reality to an ancient Indian land of folklores and supernatural beliefs or in cruel words - superstitions. Playwright has mingled two Kannada folklores and the way he has presented the play before his audience with all his art,  is what makes him a great playwright. But no , I am not here to tell you about the play but about the performance of this play which I watched today.

Well , I have no doubts about the ability of Banasthalites ... no no its not what you may call "institutionalism" .. no partiality ! But yeah , its a big deal to Act and that too in English language. And what is more important is  to have fluency and clarity which was surprisingly there in the actors. Second hurdle , the girls playing the roles of male actors - but as always here also girls are multi- talented . They not only excelled in female roles but  well played the male roles with their attitude. Both male and female protagonists were superb , especially Rakhi Tyagi , the female protagonist , Rani , acted so naturally and prettily that it was impossible to take off eyes from  her. Even the girl who played Kalyaani , was so good in her acting that I was wondering if she is really that much old. Her Indian village "kaki" wala tone made audience laugh out loud. The Bollywood pattern dance in the Romantic scene of Rani and Maansingh also added charm to the play.

The play had so much Indianness in it that English no more seemed a foreign tongue. And about magic , well on me it had a transforming effect. I remember one scene very well in which Rani is telling "naag" (in the form of Maansingh) that her father told her about the Kobra in whose eyes birds see the changing colors and are enchanted by this. The scene was so enchanting when Rani without flashing her eyes looks into Naag's eyes that for a moment I had a vision of "naag" itself. I was transformed into some mysterious world .

The play no doubt abounds in symbols but the simplicity has not lost and one can enjoy even without understanding a bit beyond the tale itself. Charm and Simplicity are the two keywords for this play as well as the performance. Well well well .... I think I can write whole night on it but I think writing won't do ... I must off to my bed and experience it , otherwise the magic will be lost !

India : A Wounded Civilization

" The crisis of India is not only political or economic. The larger crisis is of a wounded old civilization that has at last become aware of its inadequacies and is without the intellectual means to move ahead."


V.S.Naipul , a Caribbean writer of Indian descent has written Indian Trilogy comprising three books respectively - An Area of Darkness , India : A Wounded Civilization , A Million Mutinies Now . Its was on his third visit to India , prompted by Emergency in 1975 that he came to write his second book - India : A Wounded Civilization.


The title itself shows Naipul's concern in his book - neither politics nor economics but emphasis is on the Civilization and that too A Wounded Civilization. Of course the work is critical and analytical as in the beginning he says that "I am at once too close and too far " from India as it is his home and cannot be his home. Well for him its a difficult country and for one who is not Indian , I think India becomes mystical and so difficult.


Its very strange that we are always guided either by "supernatural" or "inner voice". The magic , religion , caste , customs , samskara , karma n alike are so imbibed in our lives that they become us and we are lost in them . One's identity in India is described by them and not what they are actually. That is one reason why in most Indian novels or literary work author tries to find out his own "identity" . In West , individual is individual . So no further complexity.


What Naipul tries to show us is that - Rich Civilization was a past and now India should rediscover its past not by adopting it as it was but by creating something new by moving ahead. He is also critical of Gandhi , he said at one place that " Gandhi swept through India , but he has left it without an ideology." Tolstoy in the last year of his life , said of Gandhi " His Hindu Nationalism spoils everything." This Naipul calls a defect of vision and for it he says Gandhi could give something better and alive to Independent India.

What I most liked about the book is - it has a literary air about it which as Naipul wonders , lacks in Gandhi's auto-biography . It talks about R.K.Narayan's novels and his isolated world undisturbed by 1930s political environment and appreciates the novel Samskara by U. R. Anantha Murthy , as it shows the predicament of individual identity in relation with Indian culture and castes. It also talks about Vijay Tendulkar , a marathi playwright whose works are translated into English. His works are realistic and he is more harsh than other Indian writers. 


The book is thought-provoking as Hind Swaraj of Gandhi but as Gandhi takes us back a hundred years , Naipul shows us the truth of today's reality and dream of future Renaissance .

Struggle Continued ...

Like a horn , day in & day out , the word rings in my ear " Struggle".

Struggle around , struggle inside ! Everyone is struggling for one or the other thing.

When I am not given attention , I struggle to get it. When I am given , I struggle not to be proud or forget the realities of life by indulging in it. So , Struggle again , in the form of contradiction.

I am astonished to realize how everyone is struggling at one time , both with "something internal" and "something external". It seems we all are fighting two battles together , with a pressure to win both or left in despair.

He always says, " why! dear struggle is a good sign. You will learn something out of it. " Oh yes! positively,  I will at least learn to live with them . Struggles like problems contain its own solution. Escaping from one kind of struggle means entering into another struggle. And believing that you can come out of them simply means YOU CAN - after just a little struggle to find out - How?

I wonder whose struggle is more painful and distressing , youth's or elder's? Well , stupid question ! Of course everyone find his own struggle more painful , isn't it? But as I am at the dawn of my twenties , I feel like a baby full of energy to play with "struggles" like a toy , experimenting with them as well as learning from those experiments .  Try it - not a bad idea - to play with your struggle ! Really !

Man can die but never be defeated , is the theme of the novel The Old man and The Sea . So,  definitely you will never be defeated if you try to fight with your Struggles. Honest Warriors are never defeated . You might die but not in vain - you will be remembered as a Martyr !

So , better Struggle be Continued and you be a Warrior !

Have some Good Sense Please !

 "Where is the Life we have lost in living?

 Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?

Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?" 

A message had been forwarded by  ( I don't know whom) but I am pretty sure it passed through many so called "intellectual" or at least "educated" hands , and the message reads as - "Pray for Ram Temple's right in Ayodhya .  Court will declare the judgement on 15th September , 2010. Spread this message like Fire - 'Jo Hindu Ram ka nahi wo kisi kaam ka nahi' " .

What a crap! What has happened to Indian youth? Those Youths who call their previous generation conservative and backward ? Are we now not showing our own backwardness ? Sitting in an arm-chair , A.C. , eating pizzas what we will know of deprived families , murdered husbands , raped sisters , wives and bloody massacre … its so easy to sympathize and not sympathize with the past age , but to imagine yourself in that situation – I am sure then  you would shudder at least once before forwarding such messages.

Who is Ram? And who is Allah? Our poor people have no such God . . What a poor has to do with it? Why a child labourer will care for it? Are they getting food or education if there will be a Ram temple ? Or a Muslim women will have all rights which she deserves , if there will be a mosque? We fight on trivial things such as a right of temple or mosque which is not even a true part of religion … but why don’t we fight for the cause of humanity – for poverty , for the right of education , for women empowerment? Has India left with no noble cause to fight for?   

Ours is surely a Lost Generation. The elders are in their cozy caves of lost tradition and we young people are fighting a blind battle… When I think of India - my poor country - where politics is a dirty and religion a blind game. And where Youth are just hopeless intellectuals ...I pray - May God give them some sense so that they  pray for Mother India striped off necessities rather than for a structure of bricks and sand.  

- Ojasi mehta