Sialkot Highlands: Chasing after a pipe dream
Sialkot bagpipe industry is the 2nd largest exporter of the instrument.
SIALKOT:
The unique sound of bagpipes generally conjures up images of the chilly moors of Scotland, but this British colonial legacy also echoes in the plains of Punjab.
Not only do Pakistanis play the instrument but a large variety of bagpipes are manufactured and exported from Pakistan. “Pakistan is actually the largest exporter of bagpipes after Scotland,” said Imperial Bagpipe Manufacturing Company owner Farooq Ahmed. Ahmed said that he shipped nearly 6,000 ebony and rosewood bagpipes every year.
“Many of our clients prefer Pakistani bagpipes because we sell good quality ebony wood bagpipes for $400, which would cost nearly 1,000 pounds ($1,632) in Scotland,” he added. The wail of bagpipes had often been mocked in popular culture but Ahmad’s 25-year-old son Ibrahim has been brought up on a musical diet of little else. “My son also took great interest in learning traditional Scottish tunes to play on the bagpipes,” he said.
His home, the industrious town of Sialkot, has made Pakistan one of the world’s top manufacturers of bagpipes and other musical instruments in an industry worth $6.8 million a year. “Guaranteeing the export of high quality products is something that requires meticulous craftsmanship and finesse,” Ibrahim said checking over bagpipes at his father’s factory, which churns out nearly 200 bagpipes every month.
“We receive export orders mostly from the United Kingdom, the United states, Australia, France, Germany, New Zealand and China,” Ahmed said. “I love playing the bagpipes... the music can be very soothing if played well,” said Ibrahim, who is also a member of a local pipe band in Sialkot.
“This industry has great potential,” he said, adding that the business was thriving against all odds despite a Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked insurgency that has killed more than 4,410 people since July 2007. “Generally we would have been scared about making musical instruments in times like these and such a dangerous environment but we are lucky few people even know what these pipes are for,” Ahmed said.
“I have just received 147 queries by email from different countries including Britain, with buyers showing interest in importing ebony wood and rosewood bagpipes, jackets, caps and shawls for bagpipers,” he said. Showing off his talents, Ibrahim played some Pakistani, British and Irish classics including ‘Highroad to Gairloch’, Scotland’s ‘The Brave’ and ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ on a rosewood bagpipe.
Sialkot, which is also home to a vibrant export industry in products from footballs to surgical instruments, has more than 20 private bagpipe bands, run mostly by students and businessmen.
“Bagpipes are still a popular musical instrument in Pakistan,” said Zafar Iqbal Geoffrey, bagpipe exporter and owner of MH Geoffrey and Company. He said there were seven big and 100 small factories in Sialkot currently manufacturing bagpipes, musical instruments, bagpipers’ uniforms and other accessories.
“The art is not dying... it is quite popular in Pakistan, as well as in the UK and other countries.
This is a traditional instrument and its demand is on rise both domestically and internationally,” he added.
“We exported bagpipes and related musical instruments to the tune of $6.8 million in 2010 as compared to $5.1 million dollars in 2009,” he said.
The history of bagpipe production in Sialkot dates back to 1920 when a trader from Scotland came to explore whether the city was a possible outlet. “We have been manufacturing bagpipes and other related musical instruments in this city since then,” Geoffrey said.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 11th, 2011.
Correction: Pakistan is the largest exporter of bagpipes after Scotland.
The unique sound of bagpipes generally conjures up images of the chilly moors of Scotland, but this British colonial legacy also echoes in the plains of Punjab.
Not only do Pakistanis play the instrument but a large variety of bagpipes are manufactured and exported from Pakistan. “Pakistan is actually the largest exporter of bagpipes after Scotland,” said Imperial Bagpipe Manufacturing Company owner Farooq Ahmed. Ahmed said that he shipped nearly 6,000 ebony and rosewood bagpipes every year.
“Many of our clients prefer Pakistani bagpipes because we sell good quality ebony wood bagpipes for $400, which would cost nearly 1,000 pounds ($1,632) in Scotland,” he added. The wail of bagpipes had often been mocked in popular culture but Ahmad’s 25-year-old son Ibrahim has been brought up on a musical diet of little else. “My son also took great interest in learning traditional Scottish tunes to play on the bagpipes,” he said.
His home, the industrious town of Sialkot, has made Pakistan one of the world’s top manufacturers of bagpipes and other musical instruments in an industry worth $6.8 million a year. “Guaranteeing the export of high quality products is something that requires meticulous craftsmanship and finesse,” Ibrahim said checking over bagpipes at his father’s factory, which churns out nearly 200 bagpipes every month.
“We receive export orders mostly from the United Kingdom, the United states, Australia, France, Germany, New Zealand and China,” Ahmed said. “I love playing the bagpipes... the music can be very soothing if played well,” said Ibrahim, who is also a member of a local pipe band in Sialkot.
“This industry has great potential,” he said, adding that the business was thriving against all odds despite a Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked insurgency that has killed more than 4,410 people since July 2007. “Generally we would have been scared about making musical instruments in times like these and such a dangerous environment but we are lucky few people even know what these pipes are for,” Ahmed said.
“I have just received 147 queries by email from different countries including Britain, with buyers showing interest in importing ebony wood and rosewood bagpipes, jackets, caps and shawls for bagpipers,” he said. Showing off his talents, Ibrahim played some Pakistani, British and Irish classics including ‘Highroad to Gairloch’, Scotland’s ‘The Brave’ and ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ on a rosewood bagpipe.
Sialkot, which is also home to a vibrant export industry in products from footballs to surgical instruments, has more than 20 private bagpipe bands, run mostly by students and businessmen.
“Bagpipes are still a popular musical instrument in Pakistan,” said Zafar Iqbal Geoffrey, bagpipe exporter and owner of MH Geoffrey and Company. He said there were seven big and 100 small factories in Sialkot currently manufacturing bagpipes, musical instruments, bagpipers’ uniforms and other accessories.
“The art is not dying... it is quite popular in Pakistan, as well as in the UK and other countries.
This is a traditional instrument and its demand is on rise both domestically and internationally,” he added.
“We exported bagpipes and related musical instruments to the tune of $6.8 million in 2010 as compared to $5.1 million dollars in 2009,” he said.
The history of bagpipe production in Sialkot dates back to 1920 when a trader from Scotland came to explore whether the city was a possible outlet. “We have been manufacturing bagpipes and other related musical instruments in this city since then,” Geoffrey said.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 11th, 2011.
Correction: Pakistan is the largest exporter of bagpipes after Scotland.