A River Sutra

Tariq Mia goes on to narrate the story of how the record came into his hands. He says that Master Mohan is a music teacher near Calcutta. He struggles to make enough money to support his wife and two children. When Master Mohan was a child, he had an excellent voice, and his father tried to get him a recording contract. However, Mohan’s voice broke before he could record, and his father’s last attempt at giving Mohan a good life was to get him engaged him to a woman from a wealthy family. Mohan’s father dies after the wedding, and Mohan’s wife, whose father loved music, also dies, leaving all his money to his sons. Mohan’s wife blames him for their poverty, and she and their two children abuse Mohan every day, isolating him from the family.

One evening, Mohan attends a Quawwali (Sufi Islamic devotional singing) performance with his friend Mohammed, but Mohammed leaves early. A blind boy joins the singers, and Mohan is transported by the boy’s voice. After days of performances, at which the boy performs occasionally, the boy’s sister introduces him to Mohan. The sister is leaving to work in the north, and she asks Mohan to take care of Imrat, her brother, and help him continue his singing.