Modern High School for Girls put up a grand musical production on December 5 at the Ice Skating Rink in Ballygunge
Photographs by Soumyajit DeyAbout 327 students of classes IV and V presented ‘The Great Chase…a mystery solved hand in hand’ inspired by Erich Kästner’s novel ‘Emil and the Detectives’
The story narrates the ordeal of a young girl named Tara who gets robbed of her money on a train while travelling from her village to her grandmother’s house in Kolkata. All she remembers is a suspicious co-passenger on the train with a scar on his face
Set in the 1960s, the story takes a turn and Tara is left alone in the big city without money. She comes across some helpful footballers on the Maidan, who eventually become her friends. Together, they hunt for the ‘Scarman’ to recover Tara’s Rs 15,000
Cheerful dance and music performances linked the scenes. The songs used in the musical were original compositions and performed by a robust all-student choir. Each song had a message to deliver
The images cast as backdrops of the musical — train journey, the Maidan, hotel and bank among others — were made using Artificial Intelligence and some images of Kolkata were shot by the teachers of the school. The backdrop along with other period-specific props made the stage production come to life
As Tara and her friends go hunting for her money, they end up in a luxury hotel where finally the police arrive and arrest Scarman. Tara finally gets back her money
The parents and guardians in the audience were enthralled by the massive production that the students put up with the help of their teachers
The chairperson of the school, Nirmala Birla, and director Devi Kar were also present at the event besides Aban Confectioner, head of the primary and junior department, and department coordinator S. Chatterjee
Addressing the parents, Aban Confectioner said: ‘All you see on stage today is the outcome of the hard work of the students and teachers juggling studies and rehearsals for days’