Peshawar, with its old bazaars and narrow lanes, makes history speak, and a sound is born which expresses the pulse of the Pashtoon nation, the Rubab. It starts as a humble mulberry log in the workshop of a woodcutter long before its warm tones can be heard in distant concert halls in New York, Riyadh, Toronto, and Beijing. In this place, in the dark, with the odour of new timber, successive generations of artisans are turning wood into poetry, carving, hollowing, and stretching goatskin, just as their forebears had done centuries before. The Rubab is not just a musical instrument; it is a cultural heritage, a link between the past and the present, and a testament to perseverance that crosses boundaries to bring the voice of Peshawar to the world.
How a Rubab Is Made
The mulberry tree is the beginning of the journey of the Rubab. Logs that are brought back from Afghanistan usually have the best tone, and they are durable. The log is sliced, allowed to dry, and carved. The bowl is hollowed out with chisels and hand tools; this is a slow process and requires patience and precision. The future sound is defined by each curve. The soundboard is then hand-stretched and glued with goatskin to provide the Rubab with its characteristic warm sound. Lastly, the neck and head are decorated with inlays of bone, ivory, or plastic to turn it into a creative piece of art.
Khurram, the oldest rubab maker, added, “My grandfather, Samandar Khan, made rubabs first in our family. I represent the third generation to live up to his legacy, and today I sell these rubabs to the world — the USA, Canada, Saudi Arabia, even China. It is our pride.”
Selling Rubabs to the World
The workshops and shops that sell, repair, and ship rubabs line these streets. Social media has helped these artisans reach buyers in foreign countries. Students, professional musicians, and cultural centres in Europe, the Middle East, and North America place orders. All the instruments are packed and marked for export, carrying not only music but a piece of Peshawar to the world. This trade supports hundreds of families of wood sellers, carvers, goatskin workers, inlay artists, polishers, shopkeepers, and shippers. In Pakistan, the production of rubab is a niche export business that earns valuable foreign exchange, enhances cultural tourism, and preserves an ancient tradition. It is a chain of livelihood from forests to workshops and into markets across the globe.
Ghazi Sher, a craftsman, added, “Making a simple rubab takes approximately 9–10 days, and longer if there is a special request from a client. We are four brothers doing this work in the Khyber Agency, the tribal area of Pakistan. Afghan mulberry provides the finest wood and produces the richest sound.”
Today, rubab music is celebrated at California music festivals and Dubai cultural nights, in Canadian multicultural concerts, and in Chinese conservatories. Wherever it goes, it carries the sound of the mountains and valleys of the Pashtoon heartland. The Rubab itself is available in eight to nine different types, and each type has its own size, tuning, and character. Most often, it is played by the Pashtun, Baluch, and Kho people of Pakistan, and it is loved both as a musical tool and as a cultural symbol. It is carved at the back of the head with a special curved hook, which allows musicians to place it on their shoulders and even play it during processions and celebrations. Mastering the Rubab is an affair of the heart, which may take one to two years to understand the fundamentals and a lifetime to experience the soulful voice of the instrument.
Bilal, a rubab player, added, “The Rubab is not merely a musical instrument; it is the mouthpiece of our culture. It is a kind of meditation and a way of finding inner peace for many of us who play it. Almost all distinguished Rubab masters are found in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the ancestral centre of this art. A typical Rubab has 19 strings, and each string has its own haunting note, giving the instrument its ripening, echoing quality. It is mainly made of mulberry wood, which is dense and acoustically rich, and is found in Afghanistan and the highlands of Gilgit, Hunza, and Swat.”
Why It Still Matters
These instruments are made in the narrow, crowded streets of Peshawar by hands that have practised this trade since time immemorial. Their music reaches far beyond the boundaries of Pakistan, travelling to festivals around the world from these lanes. The Rubab is a reminder that art has no passport; it begins somewhere, but it belongs to all who listen. The history of the Rubab is the history of Peshawar itself, proud, strong, creative, and without limits, showing that even in a small workshop, something can be made that reaches the entire world.