Each year Ganakrishti squeezes a few children’s plays into the main line-up of shows for its annual theatre festival. This year was no exception. And those who decided to sleep instead of make their way to Sisir Manch on the drizzly Sunday morning of July 23 for the children’s slot, missed out on a chance to experience a truly entertaining and engaging production with an extremely relevant message for adults — don’t cheat others because there is someone out there who can do it better.

But by and large, Berhampore Chharpatra’s Boka Manusher Goppo, directed by Monojit Sengupta, is a production for children and is sprinkled with all the ingredients of a traditional children’s story — mystery, mirth and, most importantly, a moral, which, unlike the plethora of stuff churned out in the guise of this genre, does not degenerate into a didactic harangue.

A poor village granny is duped into parting with whatever wealth she has stashed away — some rice and sweets — by a visitor, who promises to have it delivered to her departed husband in heaven. Her grandson goes on a recovery rampage, bringing back more loot than was lost.

While schoolgirl Gayatri Sarkar is delightful as the doddering granny, 10-year-old Avijit Mondal as the conniving grandson Panu is clearly the star of the show.