Prabir’s New Flute

I love Asha Nehemiah’s stories, and I love Rajiv Eipe’s artwork. How could I not read a Hook Book created by the two of them?

Prabir’s New Flute is a lovely, gentle story about a gifted boy, whose music is part of every happy event in Munshipara. When his flute breaks, however, Prabir realises that only half the gift is within him. The other half is in the magic of his flute. And so begins his quest for the perfect flute, one that will help him create the best kind of music.

What I loved most about this slim little book is the whimsical element of magic. It feels almost real, and wholly believable, even if it is–at least for the time being–out of our reach. Each flute Prabir fashions creates music that is similar to the surroundings in which the bamboo grew. As a child, I would particularly have loved the possibility of it being true! As an adult, I couldn’t help thinking about the metaphor of each one of us being shaped by the world around us.

Through the expressive illustrations, we can hear people quarrelling, buffaloes mooing, children giggling and old aunties laughing. I also always delight in the ridiculous, such as in the level of hilarity affecting the way a child’s name is pronounced during a ceremony!

A joyful, yet gentle book, Prabir’s New Flute manages somehow to be a book full of sound that still makes space for silence and thought.