Can you fathom a family of weapon makers transforming into musical instruments’ producers and becoming a hallmark name in the business with seven generations carrying the legacy forward? They are none other than, The Mirajkars of Mirajkar Musicals.
The iconic musical instruments’ manufacture and repair business first began in 1850 by Fareed and Mohiddin Sitarmaker. The duo was weapon craftsmen, who ran out of business, as there weren’t many wars and the weapon-making business was later banned.
The Sitarmakers were employed by Sarkar Patwardhan, the jahagirdar of Miraj, who hosted many singers. These singers would sing with a tambora, which if broken, could not be repaired in Maharashtra. The brothers then decided to repair these tamboras. They opened them and studied the structure to acquaint with their working. In the process, they learnt music and other instruments.
Thus, began the initiation of the Mirajkar clan into the business of repairing and constructing Indian musical instruments. The started making and repairing string instruments like the sitar, sarangi, dilruba, vichitraveena and tanpura. They also make instruments like the rudraveena (commonly known as been), taus and israj among others.
The Mirajkars operated out of Miraj for three generations. The fourth generation came to Pune along with the Prabhat Film company. Director V Shantaram requested Umarsaheb Mirajkar to come to Pune, as the Mirajkar family supplied and repaired musical instruments for the company. Of the Mirajkars, 15 families are still based in Miraj, whereas three families settled in Pune set up a shop on Laxmi Road.
Talking about the business, patriarch Yusuf says, “Our family has been in the business for generations. At present, our seventh generation has entered the business. Our instruments are respected and valued. We pay special attention to the needs and requirements of our clients.”
He also credits Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar with adding to the Mirajkar brand value, as he only used Mirajkar instruments in his Gandharva Mahavidyalaya. On the changing face of music, Yusuf says, “There has been a lot of change in the crafting of the sitar and the way it is played. Twenty-five years ago, people shied away from buying Miraj sitars, instead preferring the Kolkata sitars, as most of the sitar artistes were from Kolkata. Now, due to their exorbitant costs, people prefer our sitars.”
He says the satisfaction that he finds in his family business is paralleled by none. The Mirajkars have supplied their instruments to almost all music aficionados. They have also provided instruments to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Kishori Amonkar, Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan, Ustad Raeez Khan and others. They also supply to foreign customers, who especially come down to Pune to see and hear the instruments and state their specifications.
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