Captivating music delights children

NBF holds 12th session of its initiative to promote book reading.

ISLAMABAD:

Following a book reading session by renowned TV personality Qavi Khan, children were treated to a tabla and flute performance during the 12th session of Summer Book Club at the National Book Foundation (NBF) on Thursday.

The session began with narration of stories and poems for children, who listened with rapt attention and profound interest. Children were also asked to comment on the lessons they had learnt from the literature.

The book reading session was followed by a segment on book music, during which children were entertained with a tabla and flute performance by Sunny Javed Shad and Afzal Yousaf.

Javed explained specifics of the tabla to the children, while Yousaf showed them how to manipulate lung and breath capacity to hit different notes on the flute. “It is a novelty to perform for such a young audience; they were very receptive and patient considering their age,” said Javed. In addition to that, the 12th session brought nearly 20 children from Ghonsla, an orphanage for girls in Farash in the outskirts of the city,

The girls, dressed in green uniforms, were engrossed in the readings and were the most vocal about what they had learned.

Eleven-year-old Arooj, 14-year-old Muqadas and 11-year-old Laiba said their favourite stories were “Faith of an angel”, “The fly and the spider” and “The woodcutter’s take”.

“I learnt that greed never pays off and patience is a virtue,” commented Arooj, while Muqadas said her story’s moral was that tattle telling is a bad practice.

Aiming to instil love for reading, NBF has initiated the reading programme for children. It has been gaining popularity with each session.

Children are invited to the NBF premises and given books, snacks and an opportunity to express themselves. The next session will take place on Monday at 11 am. Registration can be done on the spot at the venue.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 21^st, 2012.