Music of the Mountains
Sabrina Shah and Manal Mirza
Barefoot Books

This story is set in the Northwest mountainous region of Pakistan where, taught by her Neeka Baba (grandfather), young Roohi, a Pashtun girl, is learning to play the rabab, a lute-like folk instrument. Eid-ul-Adha is approaching and she yearns to become sufficiently proficient to play well in the school concert. When she tells Neeka Baba that she’ll never be as good as he is, he responds thus: “You must feel the rhythm, feel the beat of your people … “You must believe in yourself … You must play with the courage of all those who came before you.” Every day she has a lesson but one day Neeka Baba is coughing and despite his reassurance that all is well, he cannot teach her as he has to rest in bed.
So great is the pressure of letting everybody down Roohi feels she just can’t pick up her rabab. “I’ve heard you play. We are all so proud of you” reassures her Mama … “Maybe play like yourself.”

Come the day of the concert, Roohi bravely walks on the stage and begins to strum. Can she find courage within herself to continue after a fumbled first note? Can she now at this vital moment find her own rhythm?

A lovely interweaving of family bonds, music and culture. Sabrina Shah’s rhythmic text conveys so well Roohi’s feelings and with richly-hued illustrations by Manal Mirza, capture the cultural setting beautifully. I love the patterns and detail on the clothing. (Backmatter gives additional information about the rabab, the Pathan/ Pashtun people of northwest Pakistan, as well as Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha,, and on Roohi’s kamees partug. There’s also a short Pashto glossary.)