Stradivarius <i>of Nimtoli </i>

Babu Mia captivates with his music. Photo: Ihtisham Kabir

The first time I saw him was at the 2008 Chawk Eid Fair. A crowd of kids surrounded him, enchanted by his violin playing. A bag full of single-string bamboo violins rested on the ground. After he finished, his admirers lined up to buy the violins.
I ran into him again at the Muharram Fair in Azimpur this year. He told me his name: Babu Mia. He was, again, busy selling and invited me to visit his house. “Go to Nimtoli and ask anyone for the Violin Man (Behala-wallah). They will show you where I live.”
A few weeks later, finding myself in Nimtoli, I asked around. Sure enough, I was led to a six-story building. Babu Mia opened the door and led me to the third-floor flat he shared with his family.
Before I could say anything, he had an announcement. “After forty years, I have stopped making violins.”
“Why?” I asked, taken aback.
“I am getting older. My six working sons insist that I don't work anymore. I stopped a month ago. My sons will provide for me,” he replied.
Where did he learn to make those violins? From his father, Bacchu Mia. The violins are made from Muli Baash, a type of bamboo, and steel wire. Most months he easily sold a thousand violins all over Bangladesh.
I did a quick mental calculation. In his career, he had sold close to half a million violins!
“How much did you sell them for?”
“When I started they were two Paisa each. Last year I sold them for ten Taka. But now the raw material costs twenty Taka, and people don't want to pay so much for a child's violin.”
“What songs sell most violins?” I asked.
“That depends. In villages they prefer old movie songs like Rupban. Bashir Ahmed's song (Jare Jabi Jodi Ja) is also popular. City folks prefer more modern songs like Habib's.”
He said it takes him 1-2 weeks to pick up a new song.
Babu Mia hails from Dhaka. His father owned a family home near Nimtoli, but lost it following some financial trouble. His older brother, Monu Mia, is also in the violin business. So are Monu Mia's sons.
But Babu Mia's sons have not entered the family business.
I asked him about his health. He got up and returned with a stack of medical reports. I squinted trying to decipher the doctor's writing, then gave up. Helpfully, Babu Mia said he was mostly fine except for a problem in his kidney.
At the second offer of tea, I took my leave. As I walked away, I was reminded of the Stradivari family of Italy. They made violins in the 1600-1700s which are now worth millions. Stradivarius violins have been the subject of much research and speculation. And here was our local violin-maker who had made and sold half a million units. So maybe he is not Stradivarius, but he has surely made his contribution to music.

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