A Child Prodigy Analysis

Her story sounds like a fairytale from the Arabian Nights. It starts in a poor Egyptian village, where a family 's youngest child is born blessed with a mesmerizing voice. Disguised as a boy, she sings at weddings and festivals. Wherever she goes, her fame grows. After conquering the provinces, she moves to the capital. The village girl, who is barely twenty, transforms into a sophisticated princess. Records and radio waves spread her voice far and wide. She is no longer a star of Cairo, but the Star of the East, the most magnificent singer of the Arab world. And she is no longer just a voice, but a presence on the silver screen. If this was really a fairytale, she would live happily ever after. But, eventually, she dies. And millions of people

Umm 's father, Ibrahim, was an imam and her mother, Fatmah, was a housewife. Umm and her older sister and brother were raised in a small village in the Nile Delta. The family was poor, so her father sang religious songs at various celebrations in the neighboring villages. Umm overheard her father 's music lessons to her brother and learned all the songs herself. When he realised that she had a great memory and an unusually strong voice, her father decided to teach her too.

When Umm started singing in the neighboring villages, she became a minor sensation. Everyone was impressed by this child who sang with a powerful and beautiful voice. Sometimes she had to pretend she was a boy, as girls were not allowed to sing religious verses in public. As years went by, the family toured the entire Delta, often on foot. The inhabitants of the Delta would remain her most ardent followers throughout her life.

As Umm 's fame rose, the family fortunes increased. They were able to earn the equivalent of 50 dollars in a single evening. It was time to think bigger. After several years, her father was finally persuaded by his friends to move to Cairo, where a booming new entertainment industry was taking