An instrument is a story you can hold. I met mine at school, one careful adjustment at a time: where the hand rests, how the bow finds a string, how a note begins.
Follow the story
A place to begin
The rabab has often been seen and passed on through men’s hands. That tells us who has had the chance to be visible with it; it does not decide who can learn it.
Unheard Amritsar is bringing rabab classes into school so girl students can learn the instrument themselves: to hold it, listen closely, practise, and make music. The lesson is part of the tradition too.
In the classroom
Watch the small work that makes a song possible: setting the instrument, finding a comfortable position, and trying again.
Two histories, held apart
“Rabab” and “rubab” are used across regions. Their related names do not make every instrument the same.
The Afghan rubab is a plucked instrument with a distinctive hollow body. Museum examples show carved wood, skin, and inlay; details and strings vary from one instrument to another. Makers and musicians continue to shape its sound.
See an Afghan rubab in The MetUNESCO: the craft and playing of rubabIn Sikh tradition, Bhai Mardana is remembered playing rabab alongside Guru Nanak. Janamsakhi stories tell of the maker Firanda, a carpenter and musician. These are living traditional narratives, not a single surviving blueprint.
Read the Firanda story · Asian Art MuseumAnād Foundation: instrument-making heritageKeep listening
Explore the instruments in the UA collection, or see how PMRS connects music with recognition for the people who make it.
Instrument reference: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Sikh narrative: Asian Art Museum. Craft: Turquoise Mountain and UNESCO. School photographs and video supplied by Unheard Amritsar; videos are silent excerpts.