Roshan’s Road to Music
by Mamta Nainy and illustrated by Priyanka Tampi
“Roshan’s Road to Music” by Mamta Nainy and illustrated by Priyanka Tampi. Published by Penguin. A biography of Annapurna Devi showcasing how she began her magnificent journey into music and went on to become one of India’s greatest Surbahar players.
Roshan (short for Roshanara) had always had a way with sounds. The sounds of nature would prick her ears every time she heard them. Even mundane sounds such as the sounds of cooking, washing clothes and snoring of her grandmother interested her and made her react to them sort of involuntarily. The rhythm and the melody would make her drift off into the world of music. The one sound however that Roshan couldn’t get enough of always was the sound of the sarod that her Baba played.
Her baba would give lessons in sarod to her elder brother Ali. She would stand outside the room to listen to them. She would get so immersed in the music that she would imagine different scenes based on the notes being played. She would experience a wide range of emotions depending on the music that was played. She desired earnestly to make this music her own. But it didn’t seem so easy. She had doubts if her Baba would agree to teach her given his fiery temper which she was well familiar with. What if he denied her saying that girls shouldn’t be learning? What if he stopped her from listening to Ali’s lessons as well? Read on to know how Roshan embarked on her momentous musical journey.
My 8.5 year old and I enjoyed reading this book. We had already read a picture book called “The Magic in My Fingers” loosely based on a true incident from Annapurna Devi’s childhood and were familiar with her. On a recent trip to the fabulous Indian Music Experience Museum in Bengaluru , we were thrilled to see Annapurna Devi’s surbahar on display. Thanks to books like these, we get to know about such highly talented people who may not be so popularly known in public. The illustrations lend their life to the story and make it come alive. We found the personality of Annapurna Devi very enigmatic as she chose to remain away from the limelight despite being such a fine surbahar player. This book is the first of a new series aptly called “The Magic Makers”. We are now looking forward to the next set of books from the series as it sounds very promising.
Recommended Age
The book is apt for children aged 6 and above.
Reasons to Read
The book motivates children to follow their dreams and passion through the story of Annapurna Devi.
Disclaimer - We received this book from the publisher, Penguin India, for review. Thank you to Greeshma and Mansi, from Penguin, for sending across the book!