Waiting for Godot

WAITING FOR GODOT.

The best time pass of Pakistanis now a day is to indulge in discussion or debate over the probability of Revolution in Pakistan. Electronic media or print media, all are keen to spend time on this political phenomenon, haunting various Arabic countries like Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen and Libya so far.

People believe that there are all the factors available in Pakistan, matching the circumstances in countries having revolution, besides their deep desire to have it now as their ruling elite has betrayed them time and again. The survival of common man is becoming tough, bad governance, lawlessness, unemployment, and increase in poverty, meaning there is a complete recipe to cook a revolution to serve these common people who are suffering in the hands of ruling elite.

In spite of all above logics, I have the opinion that there will be no revolution in Pakistan what so ever. This whole situation reminds me of one play; I studied in English literature. It was the most significant English language play of the 20th century, waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett in which two characters wait endlessly and in vain for someone named Godot. Though initially it was written in French as En Attendant Godot but later translated in English by Beckett himself as Waiting for Godot.

The play metaphorically depicts the situation where society has ever been blighted by a greedy ruling elite keeping the common people passive and ignorant by whatever means. A brief of the play will let you be convinced with my opinion for no probability of revolution in Pakistan. Waiting for Godot is a play which revolves around two characters, two old men. They have apparently known each other for years. Once perhaps respectable, they are now homeless, debilitated, and often suicidal. They wonder out loud why they did not kill themselves years ago; they consider the possibility of doing it today but they defer it because they are waiting for someone they call Godot. While they wait, they share conversation, food and memories.

They wait for their Godot the whole day and when they are about to turn hopeless, a boy arrives. He tells both of them that Godot will not be there today, but will be there tomorrow. He leaves, and they continue to wait. Next day again the boy arrives. He has the same message as before. Godot will be there tomorrow and ultimately that tomorrow does not come but both men keep waiting for Godot in vain.

Now just visualize our situation with that of play; the two characters resembles us, the common people who were once respectable, prosperous, peaceful and happy but then we were gradually forced into a fiasco, courtesy our ruling elite. People, who are at the acme of hopelessness, start considering giving up their struggle to survive. None of us finds courage to challenge the exploitation by our ruling elite, rather we keep waiting for someone else, Godot, to come and lift us out of this worst situation but in vain. Then comes our so called political leaders like a boy in play who sooth us while saying, Godot will come tomorrow, and we again start waiting for our Godot which is never ending continuous process of waiting but in vain.

Another dilemma with us is that when our Godot does not appear, we start believing in every one as our Godot whose rhetoric does amuse us. People in all those countries, where we believe that revolution has erupted, have no Godot to wait for and they took it at their own to act, therefore they are on streets, fighting tyrannical forces. We can not have revolution because we have lot of Godots whom we are waiting for. We find leader of one party as our savior and when he or she comes to power. We sit and wait that now we are going to be provided with all our rights, then couple of years pass and we again feel betrayed. We are again waiting for yet another Godot, another leader comes in uniform or in three piece suit, we are again happy that now the real Godot has come but it proves once again false. Our ruling elite is intelligent enough to have hidden agreement to keep changing their position as rulers and opposition unlike dictators of those countries having apparently revolution who clung to power for decades, so that people should not infer them as exploiters and above all, people should keep dreaming about them as their Godot who will one day appear as their savior. It is quite evident that if we want to pave a way for real revolution, then we, the common people will have to relinquish our habit of waiting for Godot, there is no Godot to appear for our rescue.

Smile

Now a days in Pakistan, you may find only those people smiling whom photographer says before taking their photograph, " Smile Please"