Dying Notes

Shehnai, the oboe of north india, has fewer takers, maker and players

- Arvind Jain

Mohammad Yunus, a shehnai-maker in Varanasi, shooed away his sons from his poorly-lit workshop. “Go and study! Get some education. There is no future here,” he told them, as he peered into the bell of the shehnai he was crafting. Not so long ago Yunus used to make a decent living by crafting shehnais. He now gets an order for one or two instruments a month and, hence, has started making percussion instruments like tabla and dhol tasha.

In the age of digital music, the extraordinary notes of the shehnai are no longer coveted in Varanasi, which once used to be filled with shehnai-vaadaks (players). The last few shehnai-vaadaks in Varanasi are facing penury, forcing them to seek other work. There is little initiative from the government or private agencies to help them and preserve the art.