Strings of Identity: Kashmir’s Fading Music Endures

In a modest workshop imbued with the fragrance of seasoned wood, 78-year-old Ghulam Mohammad Zaz continues a craft his family has preserved for eight generations: the making of the Kashmiri santoor.

Surrounded by tools that have outlasted artisans, Zaz works with careful precision, each strike and polish echoing centuries of tradition in crafting the musical instrument.

“Seven generations have worked and I am the eighth; I have no guarantee anyone after me will do this work,” he said softly, speaking in Kashmiri.

Once, several of his family members shared this craft in the heart of Srinagar, the main city in Indian-administered Kashmir. Today, Zaz is the last in the city producing these instruments entirely by hand.

“If I tell anyone to make something, they won’t know what to do or how to make it,” he explained. Zaz produces around eight to ten instruments a year, each selling for approximately 50,000 rupees ($565).
“It is not as simple as just picking some wood — one needs to find the right kind of wood.”

The santoor, a hundred-stringed zither-like instrument played with small hammers, has long been central to Kashmir’s musical identity, giving the Muslim-majority region its cultural distinctiveness.

Kashmir, a contested Himalayan territory, has been divided between India and Pakistan since independence from Britain in 1947. Militants have fought Indian rule, demanding either independence or merger with Pakistan, while tensions remain high between New Delhi and Islamabad.

In May, clashes between the nuclear-armed rivals sparked the worst fighting since 1999, resulting in over 70 deaths from missile, drone, and artillery exchanges.

Historically, the santoor formed the backbone of “sufiana musiqi”, Kashmir’s mystical music tradition. Its hypnotic and reverberating sound brought tranquillity to audiences.

“Musicians used to come from Iran to Kashmir, they would play santoor and other instruments,” said Muzaffar Bhat, a music professor at a government college in Anantnag.
“They used to sing in Persian… we adapted the santoor from them and assimilated it into our music.”

The instrument experienced a revival in the 20th century. In the 1950s, celebrated Indian musician Shivkumar Sharma, born in Jammu and Kashmir in 1938, brought the santoor into the realm of classical Indian music.

“Due to that, this became popularised in classical circles throughout India,” Bhat explained.

Suddenly, the santoor was no longer confined to Kashmiri sufiana gatherings; it had become a celebrated voice in Indian classical music.

Despite its recognition, tradition faced challenges as Western instruments and global music trends began to overshadow local sounds.

“A lot of our traditional Kashmiri instruments became sidelined,” Bhat noted.

For craftsmen like Zaz, this shift meant fewer patrons, fewer students, and the slow decline of a centuries-old family profession.

Zaz sells his instruments locally in Kashmir, but also receives orders from Europe and the Middle East.

There is, however, hope for the tradition. A revival, modest but tangible, is taking root.

“Since the last few years, a new trend has started,” Bhat said.
“Our youngsters have started to learn our traditional instruments.”

This cautious resurgence offers the possibility that Kashmir’s musical heritage — and the painstaking craft of families like Zaz’s — may yet endure.

Summary Table: Kashmiri Santoor Craft and Cultural Context

Sources: AFP, Reuters, Interviews with local artisans and music professors