Students rehearse at Gulmohur High School in Jamshedpur. Picture by Srinivas

Jamshedpur, Jan. 17: Students of Gulmohor High School will soon revisit the world of Apu and Durga.

This month, the students of the school will stage the English adaptation of Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay’s novel Pather Panchali.

Titled The Whistling Train, the one-and-a-half-hour play will be staged at Tata Auditorium on January 22 and 23.

Directed by school principal Sunita Sinha along with teachers Sujata Bose and Chandrashekhar, the play has been scripted with emphasis on Durga and Apu’s struggle with poverty.

“We have changed the title because the train is pivotal to the story as well as Satyajit Ray’s film. The train used to bring joy to the siblings. We have worked hard on the script and translating it into English was tough,” said Sinha.

The school had distributed CDs of Satyajit Ray’s film to make the actors understand the characters well.

Students of School of Hope, an institute for special children in the city, have also been roped in. Altogether 150 students are taking part in the play.

To give it a musical touch and up the entertainment quotient, the school will use Rabindrasangeet. Songs like Puraano shei diner kotha and Pagla hawa have been translated in English and used in the play.

As the principal said, the objective of choosing Pather Panchali was to make students aware of the sufferings of people due to lack of money.

“I hope, through this play, students take interest in theatre as well as learn to be compassionate towards the underprivileged,”said Sinha.

The art direction of the play has been adopted from the film and teachers and students’ choir will provide the music element.

There would be two shows on January 22, one in the morning for students of 22 city schools and the other in the evening for Telco residents. The January 23 show will be open to all.

The principal added: “The scene where Harihar (Durga and Apu’s father) comes back to the village with gifts only to know that his daughter is dead, will be the scene which the audience will take home. The scene was very moving.”