Drama Sensation

Ever read a book and acted it out? Sure that some of you out there must have done so before. Well that was what my class did. We acted out chapter 10 of The Village By The Sea. Chapter 10 tells us about the struggles that Hari went through in Bombay and the benefactors that helped him along the way.( If you still do not know what I am talking about, you should refer to my earlier post "The Village By The Sea" to get a brief introduction of the story.

The story starts with Mr Panwallah the (owner of a watch repair shop) informing Hari about the arriving monsoon. Mr Panwallah then brings Hari to a festival and buys Hari a coconut and some other snacks.This made Hari feel like a young boy again, a feeling that he has not have for a while.Hari has been leading a very hard life so far. He has to take the role as the father of the family and make decisions that adults have to. Hard for a boy thirteen years old.This scene takes place in Bombay.

The next part of the story takes place in the village where Hari was from, Thul. The fisherman (my role) there were getting ready to set out to sea.They were very eager to get back to sea as they have not done so because of the unsuitable weather. The food in their houses and other neccessities were running out. They were then disrupted by a rich villager by the name of Biju. He is an arrogant man and looks down on the rest of the villagers. Biju also owned the first diesel-powered boat in the village.

The next scene is about Hari falling ill after working long hours in the hot and humid restaurant. Jagu, the owner of the restaurant then brought him home. Jagu lived in a slum area with his wife and children. Jagu later got into a quarrel with his wife as she was unhappy that her husband brought another person home to be taken care of. Their family was already very poor and Hari would only increase their burden.

Last scene, Biju saved some fishermen while some others drowned.Hari's family was also wondering about Hari. When will he come home? This was just one of the questions that they asked themselves, quietly.

I find that this activity is really something that allows us to understand the book well. This method of studying the book allows us to be the characters and react like them, think like them and have the feelings that they have. Learning has also become more interesting, instead of the normal way in which thhe teacher speaks and students sit on the chair, at the same spot, listening. Lastly, we would like to thank our teachers for the encouragement.