Assam

‘Village Rockstars’ finds place in school textbooks

Pratidin Bureau

'Dhunu's guitar' – a10-year-old girl living in poverty in a village, dreams of owning a guitar andforming a band with the local boys.

TheAssam government has added a chapter on Rima Das's 'Village Rockstars' in theschool syllabus so that children are inspired by the story 'Dhunu's guitar'.

Class VII students in thestate would now get to learn about Dhunu, a young spirited girl, growing up inpoverty and confronted by hostile natural calamities dreams of owning guitar!

Dhunu is the protagonist amidst a group of real village rock stars. Growing up in hardship, she cherished the aspiration of having her own rock band. Her life although engulfed by hostile natural calamities doesn't bar her from dreaming of owning a real guitar!

Ten-year-old Dhunu lives in Kalardiya village near Chaygaon inAssam, India with her widowed mother and elder brother Manabendra. Whilehelping her mother sell snacks at a local event, she becomes mesmerized by aband that's performing there. The part that's so delightfully hokey: the boysbelt out their hits with musical instruments made of Styrofoam. She proceeds tocopy them, carving a guitar.

Impressionableand tenacious at the same time, Dhunu reads a comic book and decides she wantsto form a band playing real instruments. Rupee by rupee, she begins to save forthe guitar. She reads an article in a scrap newspaper and decides that positivethinking can make the possession of the guitar materialize. But as floodsdestroy the family's crops, Dhunu must choose her priorities.

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