Gopalganj’s Sunirmal has made over a hundred local musical instruments by hand, quietly safeguarding folk instruments

Photo: Collected

The small room of Sunirmal Das Bapi, a young man from Gandiasur village in Boultali union of Gopalganj Sadar upazila, is like a living museum of Bengal’s folk culture. Musical instruments are arranged in rows on the floor: a dotara here, an ektara there, elsewhere a dhol, khamak, flute or sarinda. He himself is the craftsman behind this realm of melody, shaped by the touch of wood, bamboo, leather and metal.

He does not only make musical instruments, he also enchants people by playing them. The various instruments made of wood, bamboo and leather seem to come alive and speak in his hands. He has been working quietly for many years to preserve Bengal’s vanishing folk instruments. His deep bond with music goes back to his childhood; there was an environment of music practice in the family itself. He took his first lessons in making musical instruments from his father as a child. Over time that learning turned into skill, and that skill became his identity. He was first initiated into making the dotara and the violin by Bijoy Pandey, an elderly craftsman in the neighbourhood. Then came attempts at making one instrument after another, and success came too. Today he is not merely a craftsman, but also a silent guardian of folk heritage.

Sunirmal Das Bapi has nearly more than a hundred types of musical instruments in his collection. There are the ektara, dotara, sarinda, khamak, dhol, mandira, flute, kartal, dugdugi, violin, damaru and shinga, along with many other local instruments. Many of these are now nearly extinct; many of the new generation do not even know the names of these instruments.

The technique of making each instrument is different. Some require dry wood, some bamboo; some again are made of clay or coconut shell. Later, with a combination of leather, strings, nails and various materials, an instrument reaches completion. Making one instrument sometimes takes a few days, and sometimes even takes a few weeks.

Sunirmal Das Bapi said rural Bengal’s palagan, jatra, Baul songs or folk events could not even be imagined without these instruments in the past. Because of modern technology, the use of folk instruments has now declined greatly. But he wants this melody of the roots not to be lost.

There is regret in his voice, and there is hope as well. He believes that with proper care and patronage, folk instruments can once again find a place in people’s hearts. Sunirmal does not only stay busy with his own work; he is also working to bring knowledge of folk instruments to the new generation. He shows children and adolescents the instruments, plays them for them, and tells them about the history and use of each instrument. His dream is to one day build a centre where there will be regular arrangements for preserving and teaching local musical instruments.

Rakhal Kishore Thakur, a renowned singer of Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar and founder of Tribeni Sangeet Academy, Gopalganj, said Sunirmal Das Bapi is making various vanishing instruments of the country through his own efforts, and through this lost heritage is being preserved. More young art lovers like him are needed to uphold Bengali culture. He also thinks it is essential to patronise and assist them.

Md Nazmul Islam, president of the Gopalganj district unit of Udichi Shilpigoshthi, said Sunirmal Das Bapi is a great lover of the arts who does research on Bengali culture and heritage. So that these are not lost, he has built a collection by making musical instruments with his own hands. If his work can be supported at government and private levels, he will be able to play an even bigger role in protecting Bengali culture.

Farhan Kabir Sifat, cultural officer of Gopalganj Shilpakala Academy, said Sunirmal finds melody even in bamboo, wood or coconut shell. He searches for the designs and melodies of Bengal’s own musical instruments in various folk tales and stories. Adding his own feelings and designs, he has made more than a hundred traditional musical instruments. It is people like Sunirmal who have kept Bengal’s cultural heritage alive. He is not only making musical instruments; he is preserving history, culture and the identity of the roots. Patronage is needed to sustain such an initiative of his.

In this fast-paced age of modernity, many traditions are being lost. Amid that, people like Sunirmal Das Bapi are quietly reminding us that the bond between Bengal’s soil, people and melody is still unbroken. This craftsman of a hundred instruments is therefore not just an artist; he is also a devoted sentinel of Bengal’s vanishing melodies.

This young art lover obtained his master’s degree from Gopalganj Government College in 2017. He is currently working at the Bherarhat union land office. In 2017 itself, a three-day exhibition of his artworks was held at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka. Besides this, his artworks were exhibited at Gopalganj District Shilpakala Academy and the digital fair of Gopalganj Sadar upazila in 2014, at the development fair at the Poura Park in 2015, at various schools and colleges in 2016, and at the folk fair held in Tungipara in 2022.