In over 40 years, the book ‘Totto-chan: The little girl at the window,’ has enthralled generations of people. It is the memoir of Japanese TV personality Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, who studied in the Tomoe Gakuen, a school run by Sosaku Kobayashi with a non-traditional approach to education. The children’s classes were held in old train coaches, they even learnt farming and every child would decide what she/he would study for the day.
Kuroyanagi, who is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, attributes her success in life to Kobayashi and the education she received at this school. Her book has sold over 25 million copies.
The book was translated into Marathi from Japanese by Chetna Sardeshmukh Gosavi. Now, director Jayesh Apte has brought Totto-chan to the stage. Actress Parna Pethe performs as the little girl at the window, while co-actor Siddhesh Purkar does not appear on stage, but is the voice of others in the story. The performance will be on March 8 at 6 pm in The Cube at the NMACC at Bandra Kurla Complex.
In an interview with The Free Press Journal, Pethe talks about the experience of playing the much-loved Totto-chan on the Marathi stage.
When did you first read Totto-chan and how did the performance come up?
I read it when I was in school and loved it. I feel the way the kids received alternative schooling, the way they were taught about everything is very important. For instance, the way children at the Tomoe school were taught — they should not have complexes, like between genders or regarding people with disabilities, even the way they were taught about the importance of having a balanced diet. Or how they were taught that reading is important. Tomoe showed how a school can educate children from life. The book also has the Second World War in the background and the children at the school were taught how to look at war. Our director Jayesh Apte is from Nashik and his daughter studies at an alternative school there. So he felt like bringing such education into focus. That’s how the show came about.
What does the performance contain?
The performance is a combination of acting, reading, songs, etc. Some parts of the book are read out and there are also voice overs.
Any particular incident in the book that appealed to you?
Yasuki-chan was a friend of Totto-chan’s who was polio-afflicted. Totto-chan helped him climb up a tree. Every student had his/her own tree at Tomoe. She narrates how everyone would ask permission from the tree to climb it, and only then do so. She has written beautifully how she did everything she could and helped Yasuki-chan climb up. It is such a touching chapter in the book. It reminds us of our many privileges and how we don’t share them.
What was tough to perform?
When each of us reads, we have a certain imagery that forms in our minds. Especially because today’s kids are exposed to a lot. They are on social media, they see many kinds of other media. I was wary of performing as Totto-chan before children because of this. But then, we are not only performing in theatres. We are also performing in schools, for NGOS before underprivileged kids, even in villages. In some cases, this is the first play ever the children are seeing.
What has been the response from children who watch the performance?
Often many kids are watching plays, films etc. on their mobile phones, tablets, etc. Here they are watching a live performance. It is also an interactive performance. I talk to the children in the audience during and after the performance. Many of the children draw about Totto-chan after the performance. They ask questions such as about Totto-chan’s dog Rocky who disappeared one day. The kids ask, “Did they get Rocky back?” Or they ask questions about the war. Some ask questions that sometimes their parents cannot answer, such as about gender, about their bodies. It is important that kids’ questions are answered. As for other audience members, many parents have read the book as children. Many are buying the book for their kids when we sell it at the performance. Many people are rereading it.
You had read the book as a child. What has it been like performing as an adult?
It makes one question so many things like our values, etc. What one feels about hatred for instance, or war.
