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Street flute sellers are becoming an extinct bunch in the capital as people are losing interest in bamboo flutes due to the growing popularity of modern musical instruments.
Though official data is not available, vendors carrying flutes of different sizes in a bag on one shoulder and playing the instrument with both hands as they move around Dhaka streets have become rare.
Goni Mia is among the few who is still involved in this dying profession. The 70-year-old was playing a flute while walking on a footpath near Doel Chattar on the Dhaka University campus. He was carrying around 80 bamboo flutes for sale.
“I used to play the role of a shepherd during jatrapala (a popular form of folk theatre) in my village when I was a teenager. I have developed a close relationship with flutes since then,” he told The Business Post.
His hometown is in Satkhira of Khulna, but he now lives in Gulistan with his son, who is a vegetable trader and
runs the household. He left Satkhira after the 1971 Liberation War and never returned.
He said he loves playing flutes a lot. When he was 18, he used to play it while sitting on the road near the Dhaka University campus. People of different ages would gather around him and make a big crowd. “They would praise my performance and also give me money, but today’s scene is different. People do not pay attention to the tune of my flute now, and they ignore my existence as well,” he said.
Reminiscing about his younger years, he said his wife had fallen in love with him hearing the tune of his flute. She died 12 years ago, but the tune he plays now makes him feel that she is still around him.
Though he sells flutes, he refuses to describe himself as a trader. He says he is an artist.
“If I were a businessman, I surely would have changed my profession. I walk all day, play the flute, and try to entertain people. But as I said, the tune of flute does not entertain the city dwellers anymore,” he said.
He also said he feels overwhelmed when young men want to buy flutes from him. “I would love to keep my flute with me till my last breath.”
Another flute seller near Dhanmondi Lake Abdul Motin said he sells bamboo flutes at Tk 80-350 depending on the size. But the 59-year-old added people nowadays do not buy bamboo flutes anymore.
“I came here in the morning and it is now afternoon, but I could not sell even a single flute so far,” he said.
Music students buy flutes from him but not frequently. He said people now prefer visiting instrument stores and paying more for flutes rather than buying from street vendors.
“This is a threat to our existence,” he added. Labu Mia, owner of Labu Flutes at Alpana Plaza on New Elephant Road, told The Business Post he had got huge response when he started the business in 2016, but now he was incurring losses.
“People visit my shop mostly for uploading photos or videos on social media platforms, but the number of real customers who buy flutes is very low,” he said.
His father was a flute seller. He has been running the business since his father’s death. His son also assists him.
Music teachers and students, singers, and instrument players are among the few who buy flutes from his store. “It is hard to accept, but the truth is our flute tradition is heading towards extinction.”
Mohammad Shoeb, an assistant professor of music at the Dhaka University, told The Business Post the modernisation of instruments was growing nowadays while the dedication and patience required to learn an instrument was decreasing.
That is why the appeal of bamboo flutes was also waning, he added.
