Maker of his instrument mourns the silence

“I couldn’t believe it,” says Thakur. “I couldn’t believe that our over 40-year-old association with a great human being had just ended.” Behind his toy shop counter, Thakur quietly wipes the dust off his albums and relives the moments he spent with Khan, discussing music and fine tuning the shehnai.

In 1960, Khan wandered into M/s Damodar Govind Thakur’s toy shop and placed an order for two shehnais. “He came in and told us that he had heard a lot about our skill and specially ordered two,” recalls Thakur, holding back tears.

“We sent him both and he wrote back saying they were wonderful.

Since then, I have made over 50 for him, using Burma teak wood. The last one I gave him was in 2003.”

Ignoring the rattle and hum of street noise, Thakur can easily close his eyes and transport himself back to “baba’s” concerts and the time he spent with him. “Others called him Khan saheb, but I called him “baba”because he was like a father to me,” says the winner of Swar Sadhna Ratna and Sangeet Research Academy awards. “He often talked about keeping the faith and told us to never forget God.”

Flipping through letters Khan wrote him, Thakur says he was initiated into the art of shehnai making by his father. “It is just a hobby, our main business is toy making. But some of my best hours are spent crafting a shehnai and making one for Baba was always more special. He always said that we set the sur perfectly for him.”

Besides the shehnai, Thakur also made a sandalwood rosary for Khan. “Once I joked about the tacky rosary in his hands and then made a nice one for him and sent it. He wrote back saying half the blessings were mine. And then when he lost it, he asked me for a new one. He always carried it with him.”