Pather Panchali

A classic story of poverty and sibling love set in a remote Bengali village at the beginning of the twentieth century. The life of a poor Brahmin family is seen through the eyes of young Opu and his older sister Durga. With their father, Horihor, often away from home in search of work, tension mounts as their mother, Shorbojoya, struggles on her own.

It is the vivid and moving story of life in a rural village on the brink of change, seen through the eyes of two children. The novel deals with the relationship between destruction and creation, and is an uplifting tale of growth and love. It is a beautiful and atmospheric novel that inspired an iconic film by Satyajit Ray in 1955. The heart of the novel and this dramatisation is the love between brother and sister. It charts family life through a collection of daily events that cumulatively create a vivid and unforgettable world. In Tanika Gupta’s dramatisation Opu, now a grown man narrates the story, looking back on his childhood and to the people he has loved, in particular his older sister Durga.