'Pied Piper of Mangalore' Captivates Hearts with its Innocence

Pics: Brijesh Garodi
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (VM)

Mangalore, Nov 26: It was a memorable evening for all those who gathered at Nandigudda House, Attavar here on Sunday November 25, as tiny tots of Little Theatre troupe, consisting of children between 4 and 12 years of age, presented an entertaining play.

'Pied Piper of Mangalore', a play based on the children's classic story 'Pied Piper of Hamelin', was brilliantly staged by the little kids. It was the seventh production by the troupe.

In all, 22 children aged between 4 and 12 years presented the play and charmed the audience with their laudable acting and singing skills.

Aaron, Andrew, Alisa Saldanha, Abraham, Sasha, Meghan, Serena, Joanne, Diya, Goneri, Ramona, Parvati, Blossom, Hisham, Neil, Anubhav, Yohan, Jay, Darren, Alex, Ashna, Kevin and Ashmith were part of the little troupe.

The children donned the roles of mayor, corporators, ministers, citizens, and the Pied Piper.

The play revolved around the legend of Pied Piper, with the difference that instead of Hamelin, here the Pied Piper was of Mangalore. The story narrates how the town is infested with rats, and worried citizens approach the mayor for help. Pied Piper offers to get rid of the rats for Rs 50,000, but after he fulfils his task, the mayor pays him only Rs 20,000. Angered by this, he kidnaps the mayor's daughter and later gets married to her.

Addressing the gathering during the stage programme, Patsy Lobo, who is in charge of the Little Theatre troupe said that the play was dedicated to Malala Yousafzai, the young girl who had dared to challenge the Taliban in Pakistan in her fight for right to education for girls.

"The purpose of the play is to build friendship, and develop talents like public speaking, acting, confidence, dramatic skills, and so on in children. The children have put in two months of practice for the play," she said.

Derrick Lobo, husband of Patsy Lobo said that the troupe follows three main principles - not to put stress on children, not to aim at perfection and no presentation of 'best' award as every child gets appreciated. "This way the children gain self-confidence, which will help them later in life," she said.

Carol singing and Santa Claus added more fun to the occasion.