Asmatullah Saheb, once an heir to the famous Allan Saheb and Sons, ecstatically recalls the story of his beautiful workshop. It all started with Asmatullah’s grandfather; Allan Saheb. Based in Lucknow, Allan Saheb was a simple man who worked in a musical workshop called Bhondu and Sons. However, Allan Saheb was no ordinary employee, maybe others just worked to make a living, but Allan Saheb, not at all. For him, it was something much more and his passion for music was just simply unique. Bhondu and Sons was Allan Saheb’s sanctuary in which he could joyously make hand-crafted harmoniums, which were his specialty. When Bhondu and Sons closed, Allan Saheb was only 30 and decided to quench his thirst for musical creativity and decided to open his own workshop: Allan Saheb and Sons, little did he know how successful it would be. Considering what we know about Allan Saheb’s peculiar love for harmoniums, it makes sense that Allan Saheb and Sons started out solely as a harmonium workshop. Later; Allan Saheb and his dedicated employees decided it was time to expand the workshop’s products and start crafting other noble instruments such as tabla and sitar. These different instruments were hand-crafted by local karigaris, or, artisans. In this light, Allan Saheb and Sons became a very unique workshop in which all the employees were passionate about the instruments that they created. Due to the eye-catching beauty and euphonious sounds, the instruments at the workshop became very popular. There would be crowds of customers, interviewers, and vendors at the doorsteps of Allan Saheb and Sons. Allan Saheb’s son, Naseebullah Saheb, also had a love for music. He shadowed his father working in his workshop often, and through this, Naseebullah Saheb inherited his father’s shop after his passing.
It can easily be said that after Allan Saheb’s passing, his legacy has been simply immortal. Every day, no matter what state he or his body was in, Allan Saheb made sure that he saw his shop and all the beautiful instruments that resided within it. Naseebullah Saheb took care of the workshop just as his father would have liked him to, then, he decided it was time for his son: Asmatullah Saheb, to take over the shop. This brings us to today, where we see the great Asmatullah Saheb carrying on the legacy of his family through the beautiful workshop that is Allan Saheb and Sons. In modern context, Asmatullah believes that hand-crafting instruments is an old, delicate art. An art that must be preserved by the 100 year old workshop and its karigaris. Allan Saheb and Sons is a family affair to say the least, preserving the age-old art of hand-crafting instruments, and constantly contributing enhancements to Lucknowi culture. To carry on this legacy in the future, Asmatullah Saheb’s two sons: Faizullah and Farazullah, are more than delighted to take on the role of preserving their hereditary workshop.
