Arshad Mushtaq’s play Su Yee brought Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot into Kashmiri through images tied to violence and memory. Its opening—a blast, smoke, a half-burnt chinar tree and a torn pheran caught in electrical wires—made the adaptation feel rooted in Srinagar rather than distant from it. Mushtaq later recalled audience members telling him, “They told me you showed everything – our story.”
What is Su Yee?
Su Yee is Mushtaq’s Kashmiri adaptation of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. It premiered at Tagore Hall in Srinagar on August 20, 2004, according to Scroll.in. The play retains the starting point of an international work but translates it through local language and visual memory.
In Scroll.in’s 2023 profile, Mushtaq connected the opening’s blast imagery to a childhood memory of a landmine explosion and a civilian killed by security forces. He described the blast site as a place where two Kashmiris would meet. He called the torn pheran and blast imagery “a collective experience for many Kashmiris”—his characterization, not a claim that every Kashmiri shares the same experience.
How did Mushtaq make the adaptation his own?
Language turned the play inward
Mushtaq told Scroll.in that translating the dialogue into Kashmiri made it begin to connect with his own life. He described the experience as cathartic. Rather than treating adaptation as a simple transfer of Beckett’s words, he used the new language and setting to bring personal memory into the work.
Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minutePC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11#1 Best Overall
Stage images carried the context
The opening scene, as reported by Scroll.in, assembled signs of rupture: an explosion, smoke, flying paper, a damaged chinar and clothing snagged in wires. These images give the audience a visual frame for the play before its dialogue unfolds. The meaning Mushtaq attached to them comes from his account of memory and violence; it should not be mistaken for a single, universal account of life in Kashmir.
What was the response to the premiere?
Mushtaq recalled that the applause lasted 15 minutes. Scroll.in also reported a standing ovation, and that audience members approached him afterward with the words, “They told me you showed everything – our story.” He interpreted the response as a sign that theatre carried a responsibility to its audience. The exchange is a reported recollection, not a measure of how all viewers responded.
In 2004, the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages recognized the production for direction and production, according to the same profile. The award recognition and the audience’s reported reaction helped place Su Yee among the works through which Mushtaq connected performance with viewers’ lives.
Where does Su Yee fit in Mushtaq’s work?
Mushtaq’s practice spans theatre, film and television, and includes both adaptations and original writing. The available accounts point to recurring interest in how a story changes when it is made in a local language or brought into contact with social experience.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches- Aalav (2006) adapts J. M. Synge’s Riders to the Sea, according to Scroll.in.
- A 2013 interview with Kashmir Life discusses his plays bea chus shaehid and Wattepead (Footprints), which the interview says was based on the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.
- Scroll.in reported that Mushtaq worked on a cultural film project that produced 150 short films over eight months.
These examples show a career across stage and screen, adaptation and original work. The cited accounts document historical projects; they do not establish current performance dates or where recordings or scripts can be obtained.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why does Mushtaq describe art as a responsibility?
In the Kashmir Life interview, Mushtaq said that art “reflects common man’s pain, aspirations and dreams.” That view helps explain why a Beckett adaptation could become, for him, a way to address experiences close to home. In Su Yee, he joined the form of an established play to images and memories he associated with Kashmir, then encountered audience members who recognized something of their own story in it.
Rank #4
That connection is documented through Mushtaq’s account and the reported premiere response. The sources do not provide a statistical study of the play’s reach or effects, so its significance is best described through the work itself and those attributed recollections.
Quick Recap
Best Value
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
