Subhasis Sabyasachi from Kolkata is giving a sustainable twist to instrument making!

A Tabla and Pakhwaj player and a music professor, Subhasis Sabyasachi has created 12 musical instruments including a mouth organ and guitar, and is also working on a gym where everything will be made of bamboo!

"I was 5 when I started playing tabla and learned it from my father who was a classical music enthusiast. He was so passionate about making me learn it that he wouldn't even let me eat my food if I hadn't done the Riyaz", says Subhasis who later learned to play Tabla and Pakhawaj with both his hands, made an entire set of instruments with bamboo and has been teaching Tabla to students in the Delhi University.

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He is a nature lover and believes we should save our earth and be more responsible towards it. With time, he got interested in music and continued learning. After completing school, he got the opportunity to be the student of tabla maestro Brajen Biswas who was also the guru of the legendary musician R.D Burman and even innovator of  'Brojo Tarang', a bamboo xylophone. " I was inspired by his creation so after his demise, I decided to take his legacy forward and made up my mind to create more such instruments", he said. 

He invested his own money and started studying more about it. His family and loved ones were confused about his mission and some even made fun of him but Subhasis did not have time to bother.

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Later he mastered playing tabla and was performing in different cities with his musical group. He was also teaching in a school which later he had to leave due to internal politics. " I had Rs.500 in my pocket but I knew I would make it one day".

And that's what happened! After struggling for almost 20 years, Subhasis was able to create a bamboo tabla. After many trials and errors, lack of resources, and financial support, he made a set of 12 instruments including a mouth organ, a Sitar, a guitar, a violin, a daf, and a congo. " Later I decided to make another set after losing a golden opportunity with Zee Media because I did not have the instruments with me in Kolkata", he added.

The process of making these instruments is pretty time-consuming and each piece requires a different type of bamboo. Once the bamboo is collected, it is cleaned, kept in a solution for a while, and then dried. After that, the carpenter works on it and turns it into an instrument. 

Taking his passion for bamboo instruments to the next level, he did his Junior Research Fellowship with the topic 'Innovational bamboo instrument and its impact and usefulness in the society'. " I am also working on making a bamboo gym where every piece of equipment will be made of bamboo. I want to open a bamboo academy where I'll teach how to make the most out of bamboo and make these instruments"