“Beating At The Stables Of The Manor” Is an humorous insight to being an Estonian: a part of a nation for whom singing and suffering walk hand in hand. We have been taught to think of suffering as something sacred. Yes, we can take it all – we swallow the biggest injustice without a single word of hesitation ever crossing our lips. But is life really such a struggle all the time? How much do we want and can endure? In our history, suffering was inevitable, but sense of humor was a choice. Which one of those actually saved us?

The welfare we have in today’s Estonia is unprecedented for us. But we have not  forgotten our proverb: ‘Who suffers the most, lives the longest’.

Photo author Maris Savik