Making post-war musical instruments for UK’s Royal Navy in Meerut

A workshop in Meerut churns out brass band musical instruments that are famous the world over for their quality and craftsmanship making them prized possessions even in the famous Royal Marines Band of the United Kingdom.

Updated on: May 09, 2017 9:04 AM IST

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About seventy kilometres from Delhi, in a dusty bylane of Meerut is the small factory of Nadir Ali & Co. which has been manufacturing musical instruments for over a hundred years. Chances are that a lot of the instruments played by musical bands of the Indian armed forces have been made here in this modest workshop. This relatively unknown workshop has also made musical instruments that have made it to collections held across the world including the famed musical wing of the Royal Navy. (Ravi Choudhary/HT PHOTO)

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Nadir Ali, a musician from the British Army setup the music trade in Meerut, first making instruments of scrap and then manufacturing these instruments in India on a large scale around the second World War. (Ravi Choudhary/HT PHOTO)

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A close up detail of a beautifully finished French horn musical instrument with circular brass loops belonging to the Indian Army. (Ravi Choudhary/HT PHOTO)

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66 year-old Karimuddin who has worked here for 35 years helps put a drum through a manufacturing process. (Ravi Choudhary/HT PHOTO)

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A master craftsman checks the brass tubes and bends them into shape to create music. (Ravi Choudhary/HT PHOTO)

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Brass trumpet valves being fit before final assembly of the instrument. (Ravi Choudhary/HT PHOTO)

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83 year-old Yusuf Khan, one of the oldest employees of the company inspects a trumpet in the fitting room at the Nadir Ali & Co. factory in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. (Ravi Choudhary/HT PHOTO)

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Soldiers part of the armed forces bands seen rehearsing for the Beating Retreat Ceremony at Rajpath, New Delhi in January 2017. (Ravi Choudhary/HT PHOTO)

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A worker takes a tea break at one of the assembly rooms at the factory. With changing times, the rise of EDM(electronic dance music), and a decreasing number of musicians who can actually play these instruments, the future of Nadir Ali and Co. is in question. (Ravi Choudhary/HT PHOTO)