Zooni’s Alarm Clock

MY THOUGHTS

We have just wrapped up the holy month of Ramadan, and there couldn’t have been a better book to read. Zooni’s Alarm Clock is the latest Hook Book to hit the shelves, and if you are a fan of Hook Books as I am, then you will be happy to know this is once again a lovely story with an introduction to an age-old custom.

Zooni lives in a tiny village in Kashmir with her parents, her brother (who is fond of beatboxing), and her grandfather, Bud Bab. Her grandfather has a very interesting job. Bud Bab has been waking up his fellow villagers for the Sehri, or the meal eaten before dawn by Muslims during the month of Ramadan, for forty years. He has been walking the streets of the village waking people up to the sounds of a drum he carries slung around his neck. His granddaughter Zooni loved this about Bud Bab, and she secretly hoped she could continue this legacy. But not everyone is a fan of the Ramzan drummer. Bud Bab’s son and Zooni’s father, Mol, wants him to stop. “Everyone has mobile phones. Who needs a Ramzan drummer these days?”

As Bud Bab readies for another Ramzan season, he notices his drum is torn. Can there be a Ramzan drummer without a drum? Will this catastrophe signal the end of this tradition? Zooni has a plan, but is it enough to save Ramzan?

Vibha Batra tells a heartwarming story of a family torn between tradition and rapid modernisation. She weaves a tale rich in local customs and how a community needs to come together to face adversity. She doesn’t dismiss modernity, instead, she shows Zooni thinking out of the box to help keep traditions alive. Pankaj Saikia’s beautifully detailed illustrations capture Zooni’s household and the landscape of Kashmir. The illustrations of traditional attire, architecture, and village life before dawn are breathtaking.