MINGORA: Teenage students of a music band here in Swat have said that involvement in folk music keep them away from bad environment and crimes in the society.

The folk music band consists of young students of grade seven to nine who belong to the same family in Shagia village.

`When I was in grade seven I came across rabab players and listened their music which inspired me and I started learning it and learnt it completely in two years. Now, I can play everything from classical to modern songs. The more I play this instrument the more I become fond of it,` Yarullah, a rabab player and vocalist who leads the band, told this scribe.

Mr Yarullah said that his mother was against his music passion, but he could not refrain from it as he loved it. `Music has not only given me mental and spiritual satisfaction, but it has also protected me from bad companies and drugs,` he claimed.

His younger brother Ameerullah, who is a grade-8 student and plays tabla (drums) in the band, said that he learnt to play the instrument from his cousin and joined the band.

`We gather either at our betak (guestroom) or in our shop in the evening and make music for ourselves.

People visit us during our evening performances, but very few people understand music,` he said.

The young musicians said that sometimes they performed music to their family members and felt happy when they lauded them.

Suliman, a 9th grader and cousin of Yarullah, said that he could play drums, but loved singing. `I have mastered playing tabla, but I love to sing Pashto ghazal and tappa,` he said. The band comprised of about six students who did not want to adopt it as a profession in future. They often perform in their school during national days celebrations where their teachers and fellow students applaud them.