Music is the universal language of mankind; Musicians transmute the emotions into music;
Whereas the musical-architects shape the means through which the emotions emerged as music..
Oriental Musikraft is a musical institution based in Kolkata (India), specialised in the manufacture of wooden string instruments including Sarod, Sitar, Surbahar, Rabab, Tanpura, Veena (Traditional style, Saraswati Veena, Rudra Veena, Hansa Veena, Vichitra Veena, etc.), Mohan Veena (Radhika mohan Style), Sursringar, Sarangi, Esraj, Sarinda, and many other general and rare music instruments.
Shri Dulal Chandra Kanji (a.k.a. Dulal Babu) is the Founder and the Master expert of 'Oriental Misikraft'. He is one of the best and senior most architects of instruments making and considered to be the most eminent Sarod maker in Kolkata after the legendary Sarod maker, Late Hemen Sen.
Oriental Musikraft's manufacturing unit is situated in the own house of Dulal Babu, near Kolkata, in village Kamalpur, close to Falta Road, West Bengal, India. Dulal Babu has two sons who are also well developed in the field of instruments making. Currently, the youngest son Sri Ashok Kumar Kanji is assisting Dulal Babu in the entire work of instruments making and in running the business of Oriental Musikraft as his business partner.
Oriental Musikraft's Sarod is considered to be one of the best in the industry. Its art is endorsed by Padma Bhushan Pandit Buddhadeb Dasgupta, who always plays on Oriental Musikraft's Sarod. Other masters like Vidushi Sharan Rani, Pandit Naren Dhar, Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar and many more have used and appreciated the services of Oriental Musikraft.
Instruments like Sarodes are made primarily out of two kinds of wood: Teak and Toon. Traditionally, most Sarod players of the Rababiya lineages have always preferred Teak. It is the fact that Baba Allauddin Khan always used a Toon-wood Sarod while Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan and Pandit Radhika Mohan Maitra always used Teak Sarods. Even today, the house of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and his students play on Toon Sarods, while Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Buddhadeb Dasgupta and their students prefer Teak Sarods. Similarly in other instruments like Sitar, Surbahar, Rabab, Tanpura, Sursringar, Veena (of various types), Sarangi, Esraj, and many other general and rare music instruments, there are many differences in the woods used among different musical personalities.
In today's market good quality woods like Burma, Assam teak etc. is almost extinct, and so far available, it is very expensive. Further, before crafting, woods for instruments have to be seasoned for years. While making of the instruments, if stresses are given on individual users, instruments making become very slow, skilled and labor-intensive process. Sometimes, it may take up to ten months or even more to craft an instrument suited to individual's own needs.
Oriental Musikraft always gives special importance in selecting the best wood for the instruments and provide necessary attention in seasoning of the woods over years before crafting. Oriental Musikraft is always committed and devoted through years in providing the instruments with best quality, at the best affordable competitive prices in the market. Oriental Musikraft promises to provide the best products, best sound and the best lifetime satisfaction to the valued users of the instruments.