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Waiting…
For the youth of Punjab, caught between helplessness and despair in the tumult of the separatist movement and insurgency, waiting for justice is like waiting for Godot.
Waiting is a complicated process. It is bred by hope, sustained by strength and motivated by a dream. We wait for something that is certain to happen one day or something that has a possibility to happen someday or something that won’t happen ever. Sometimes, it becomes our reason to survive and at other times, it is the only choice we have.
Waiting as a motif has been explored by authors, film-makers, photographers and painters alike. One such example is a recent (2016) Punjabi film, Vaapsi, directed by Rakesh Mehta. The film poignantly depicts the urge of the protagonist to return home. It is set in the Punjab of the late 1980s when terror, uncertainty and fear prevailed in the state. It was a dreadful phase when sudden disappearances, illegal detentions and fake encounters, especially of the youth, were common occurrences. Caught in the quagmire, the protagonist manages to shift to a foreign country. As the film begins, he is desperately waiting for the right opportunity to return to his village.
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