: With Sheer Passion, Daily Wager Turned Bengal Village Into a Sitar-Making Hub #IndiaNEWS #Inspirational Despite the freezing temperatures of West Bengal’s Dadpur village and lack of sunlight, a

With Sheer Passion, Daily Wager Turned Bengal Village Into a Sitar-Making Hub #IndiaNEWS #Inspirational
Despite the freezing temperatures of West Bengal’s Dadpur village and lack of sunlight, a couple of men, wrapped in shawls, are intently working in different corners of the Tarapada Sitar House at 6 am.
Surrounded by materials like lao (bottle gourd), toona wood, cellulite paper and bamboo splinters, their work to make a fine sitar is accurately driven by clockwork.
The man with glasses is carving intricate patterns of golap pata (rose plant leaves) on the sitar gourd while humming to the tunes of bodhu kon alo. Sitting diagonally opposite him is a senior artisan, who is playing the same tune on a newly-made sitar. Meanwhile, another artisan is placing bamboo splinters inside the sitar’s hollow structure to keep the inner layer of the sitar gourd stable.
The scene is something out of an art film — the flakes from wooden carvings settle on the floor, sympathetic strings entwine on an artisan’s palm and the bold red paint comfortably slides on the instrument’s neck.

These artisans don’t hold a bachelor’s degree nor have they undergone any formal training in music, yet their knowledge on differentiating between an ordinary sitar and a high-quality one is phenomenal.
This is all thanks to years of strenuous hard work and an extraordinary commitment towards the process of making sitars, and of course, their guru — Tarapada Halder.
The late Tarapada, fondly known as ‘Tara babu’, is the man behind making this small village of Dadpur one of the prime manufacturing sitar hubs of India.
His passion for making sitar and empowering the other villagers by training them, starting from the 1960s, has improved the overall financial situation over the years.
According to his son, Shyamal, who took over the business in 1990, Tarapada has taught around 1,000 craftsmen, many of whom have gone on to start their own business.
The sitars made by his disciples are mainly sold to vendors in Varanasi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Lucknow. From here, they are rebranded and further sold to customers across India and the world.
But the man behind it all came from a past filled with struggles.
A Wage Worker’s Humble Beginnings

Tarapada lost his father when he was barely five and the family slipped into poverty. His mother took up menial jobs at construction sites and people’s houses. Tarapada was forced to grow up fast.
At the tender age of 8, his hands were lifting bricks instead of books. At 16, he migrated to Kolkata with a hope to improve his condition. Little did he know the short trip to the city of the joy would be life-changing.
After working at a tea stall in Girish Park for some months, he joined the Radha Krishna Sharma and Co, a music company.