Beckett was Indian? Don?t be absurd!

The Irish are sure to consider us to be totally gobshite if we suggest that Samuel Beckett was a man who knew the warp and woof of the Indian way of life.

The Irish are sure to consider us to be totally gobshite if we suggest that Samuel Beckett was a man who knew the warp and woof of the Indian way of life. We understand their incredulity, considering that if anyone can claim ownership to the bleak’n’funny tradition of Beckett it is the Irish. And yet, we desi versions of the dustbin-dwellers immortalised in the play Endgame, celebrate Beckett’s 100th birth anniversary marvelling at how the great man depicted Life Hindustani.

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Take the most famous scene from Waiting for Godot. Estragon asks Vladimir, “Well, shall we go?” and Vladimir responds, “Yes, let’s go.” But what is the clincher is the stage direction: ‘They do not move.’ How many policy decisions, homilies, promises have our politicians made down the years and decades that replicate the same (in)action? Then there’s the other scene in the same play in which our two heroes/losers are discussing divine justice. Vladimir refers to the two thieves who were crucified along with Christ: “One of the thieves was saved. (Pause.) It’s a reasonable percentage.” In other words, being punished and being forgiven for a crime are completely left to chance. If anyone finds a vague parallel to the disparities in our justice system, well, the parallels are there for all to see.

As for the way in which a vast number of Indians still exist in poverty in a country that is grabbing global attention for its economic prowess, we can again return to Endgame: “Nothing is funnier than unhappiness.” If someone says that Ireland is celebrating the 100th birthday of its most talented son, don’t you believe it, Paddy!