Stringing together an ancient past

Rohit Ghosh

Despite being a small city in northwestern Uttar Pradesh, Rampur is not that nondescript. For decades, it has been famous, or rather infamous, for the knives produced there. Known as Rampuri, the knives were once frequently used by gangs as they clashed in their bid to gain control over what was once Bombay. The foldable knives have been much glamourised by Bollywood. Not many, however, know that Rampur also has a musical side to it. Of the handful of oud makers in the world, one is in this city. The oud is a musical instrument that was once played in the courts of the pharaohs.

“I am the only person in India and one of the few craftsmen in the world who can make the oud. And this story began some 80 years ago,” says Zamiruddin, who is in his seventies.

Zamiruddin’s father, Haseenuddin, was a renowned cabinet maker of Rampur and lived with his younger brother Ameeruddin. The latter visited Mumbai in 1942 and fell in love with a gleaming violin on display in a shop there. “My uncle returned home with the violin and would play it continuously,” tells Zamiruddin. One day, Ameeruddin accidentally dropped the violin and it became a messy ball of wood and strings. Violins were neither popular nor easily available back then. Ameeruddin sank into depression. 

Seeing his brother sullen for days, Haseenuddin carefully observed the broken violin and with the wood available in his workshop, designed a new one. As Ameeruddin rejoiced once again, Haseenuddin wondered why he couldn’t make violins along with chairs, tables, beds and wardrobes...

“The year was probably 1947. After some years, my father became the only person in India to make violins on a large scale and would make around 400 a month,” says Zamiruddin.

The violins were a big hit in states like Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu were music is a part of the school curriculum. The demands for his violins soared so much that Haseenuddin had to give up making furniture. He became well-known among those who dealt in musical instruments. Zamiruddin learned the skills of making violin as he grew and gradually started assisting his father in the business. 

It was in 1984 that the father-son duo saw an oud for the first time in their lives. “Some people visited our home and introduced themselves as exporters of musical instruments produced in India. They showed us the oud and asked my father if he could make the instrument on a large scale,” says Zamiruddin. “They said oud was much popular in the Middle East but only a handful of people there could make the instrument, its production was very low.”

The oud was a pear-shaped instrument and its structure was a bit complicated. “The exporters had approached us because every other maker of musical instruments in India had refused to make the oud owing to its complicated design,” says Zamiruddin. “But my father considered himself as a master craftsman. He took it as a challenge and made one. It was flawless. We then started making ouds too — 120 or so in a month. Most of them were exported to Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon.”

Haseenuddin died in 1996. He was 78 then. Zamiruddin being the eldest son inherited the family business. He says his ouds are better than the ones made elsewhere. “Wood is the basic material required for making an oud. India produces a varied variety of wood compared to the Middle East, which is a desert,” says Zamiruddin, who employs around 30 craftsmen.

An oud costs about Rs 20,000. When there is a demand, Zamiruddin sells them in bulk to exporters. Once in a while, he also has connoisseurs of music visiting his home in Rampur for buying the instrument. Ouds may be from ancient Egypt, but, moving with the times, Zamiruddin has now started selling them online as well.