Project Description

“Pather Panchali: The Little Train Of Dreams”

In Saidpur, beside the railway lines, lies a forgotten corner—abandoned train carriages and rusting bogies near a busy station, surrounded by slums. For the street children who grow up here, the train is both a daily backdrop and a distant dream. Just as Apu and Durga, in Bibhutibhushan’s Pather Panchali, felt wonder and longing when they first saw a train, these children too carry a quiet fascination for it—watching it pass, imagining where it might go. Yet, the idle bogies before them are lifeless, often misused, turning the area into a negative, unsafe space.

This project aims to reclaim this space through a modest, modular design using local materials, reimagining the bogies as vibrant play and learning environments. Without heavy construction, the design will convert each carriage into a child-friendly zone—walls becoming colorful art canvases, discarded wheels becoming swings, reclaimed wood shaping slides and seating. The transformation will offer not only a safe amusement space, but also an emotional link—restoring the magic of the train as a vessel of stories, dreams, and adventures. It can be placed as a modular design on other stations having same condition.

By naming it after Pather Panchali, we bridge past and present: a story of children, journeys, and the railway, reinterpreted for today’s urban reality. Here, the modern “Apu” and “Durga” will not just watch the train pass—they will step inside, play, create, and dream. From rust and neglect will rise a space of color, connection, and joy—where the tracks no longer lead away, but towards hope.