Watch: This alley in Meerut produces 90% of India’s brass musical instruments
There would be no ‘band baaja baraat’ if it weren’t for Jali Kothi.
Walk into Meerut’s Jali Kothi lane and you’ll be welcomed with the sound of music wafting out from virtually every shop here. It’s no surprise – there are over 100 instrument makers ensconced on this street, and all of them specialise in brass and percussion instruments manufactured specifically for brass bands.
India’s brass bands are one of a kind, and an essential part of every Indian occasion, especially weddings. The video above takes you through the part of Meerut where 90 percent of bands get their instruments (trumpets, cornets, euphoniums, tubas and more) from – as well as their distinct uniforms.
Ashraf Ali Bhai, a 70-year-old bandsman, told National Geographic as he shopped for a new clarinet, “Jali Kothi is the centre of the whole musical world.” India’s first brass band originated in this alley in 1900 with 24 members. The band was founded by Nadir Ali, founder of Nadir Ali and Co., India’s biggest manufacturer of brass instruments since 1885. The company also exports instruments, including to United Kingdom’s Royal Navy and Saudi Arabia’s Royal Guards. “Music is the elixir of life. When you play and you concentrate and you play a good tune or hear a good tune, you think you are out of this world,” says Aftab Ahmad, the third-generation managing director of Nadir Ali and Co.