Meet musician Joydeep Mukherjee, who has revived some ancient musical instruments

India is known for its rich cultural diversity and enduring traditions, the most fascinating aspects of which is the musical heritage that is ancient and varied, including a wide range of musical instruments. Among the instruments that Joydeep has recently revived are the 16th century Tanseni rabab, and the 19th century sur-rabab. Joydeep had earlier resuscitated two ancient string instruments — mohan veena and sursingar — that date back to the early 20th and 18th century respectively. During the 1880s, Ustad Abdullah Khan of the Senia Shahjehanpur Gharana conceptualised the Sur-Rabab in Bengal by blending three instruments — sursingar, sarod and Tanseni rabab. A new lease of life While an ebony wood bridge was used instead of ivory for both instruments, Joydeep Mukherjee replaced catgut strings with bronze and copper wires for the Tanseni Rabab.