Plot
Set in rural Bengal of the 1920s, Pather Panchali focuses on the lives of Apu (Subir Banerjee), the young protagonist of the film, and his family members. Apu's impoverished family lives in the dilapidated ancestral home in the village Nischindipur. Apu's father Harihar Ray (Kanu Banerjee) earns a meager living as a priest, and dreams of a better career as an author of scholarly plays and poems. He is easily exploited in his work — he cannot even muster the courage to ask his employer for overdue wages, although his family is in dire need of money. Harihar's wife, Sarbajaya (Karuna Banerjee) takes care of their two children, Durga (Uma Dasgupta) and Apu, and her elderly aunt-in-law, Indir Thakrun (Chunibala Devi). With limited resources, Sarbajaya resents having to share her home with Indir. Indir is very old, toothless, and a hunchback cripple. Occasionally, she takes refuge in the home of another relative when Sarbajaya either forces her out or becomes overly offensive. Durga often steals fruit from a neighbour’s orchard and shares it with Aunt Indir, with whom she feels some filial affinity. Once, the wealthy neighbour blamed Durga for stealing a bead necklace. Sarbajaya bears the neighbour's innuendos blaming her for Durga’s propensity to steal.
Durga, as the elder sister, cares for her brother Apu with motherly affection, although she does not spare any opportunity to tease him. They share the simple joys of life, such as sitting quietly under a tree, running after the candy man who passes through the village, viewing pictures in a bioscope shown by a traveling vendor, and watching a jatra by a troupe of actors. In the evening, they can hear the whistle of trains far away. One day they run away from home to catch a glimpse of the train. The scene depicting Apu and Durga running through Kaash fields to see the train is one of the memorable sequences in the film. While returning from seeing the train, they discover their Aunt Indir lying dead there.
Harihar, unable to make a good earning in the village, decides to travel to nearby cities to search for a better job. He promises Sarbajaya that he will return with money to repair their derelict house. During his absence, the family sinks even deeper into poverty. Sarbajaya grows increasingly lonely and embittered. The monsoon approaches and storm clouds gather. One day, Durga dances playfully in the downpour for a long time. Soon she catches cold, and develops a fever. With scarce medical care available, her fever continues and eventually on a night of incessant rain and gusty winds, she dies. Harihar returns home and starts to show Sarbajaya the merchandise he has brought from the city. Sarbajaya, who remains silent, breaks down at the feet of her husband, and Harihar screams as he discovers that he has lost his daughter. The family decides to leave the village and their ancestral home. As they start packing, Apu finds the necklace that Durga had earlier denied having stolen; he throws it into a pond. The film ends with Apu and his parents riding a slow ox-cart to their new destination. Almost immediately upon their departure, a snake crawls into the house.
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