The Surasree story: A 56-year-old family business, an oasis for musicians
Family business is not always an easy affair. This is the story of how a family-owned business expanded, got divided and continued to sell their love for music to Dhaka city over five decades through waves of change
Twelve years ago, on a February morning, I decided to bunk my college classes. But the problem was, I had no idea what to do with the six hours of free time I suddenly had on hand.
So I started walking.
I came across the city corporation cleaners sweeping the roads in the early morning hours at 7:30 am. And then as I was passing through college street, the delightful fragrance of incense found its way to my olfactory system. I started looking for the source and found New Surasree - a music instrument store standing before me.
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A middle-aged man was chanting some mantras and spreading incense smoke around the store.
Suddenly it felt like I was standing on Varanasi ghat that I had seen in the movies so many times, and a priest was performing his morning rites. I don't know how long I was standing there, but I realised someone was addressing me as 'Maa' (mother). Someone was inquiring if I needed anything. Later I learned his name - Ramchandra Barui, an employee of the store.
I replied, 'I need a harmonica', something I always wanted but never had. I had Tk10 in my bag, and yet, I started browsing through the Swan and Hohner harmonicas. Ramchandra said, "You are our 'Bouni' (first) customer today, our Laxmi ( the Hindu goddess of fortune). I'll give you a special discount. Choose whatever you want."
When I said "I don't have any money for this purchase," I could see the instant disappointment sweep over his face, the gleaming light in his eyes went out, and with a dry smile, he said, "No worries, come back when you have money. I will give you that special discount."
Twelve years later, on a rainy day in May, I revisited New Surasree, which is named Adi Surasree now, and still had Ramchandra.
After all these years, he failed to recognise me. So I never got my 'special discount.' Instead I got something even more fascinating - the story of a family who has been selling musical instruments to the Dhakites for the last 56 years.
From Surasree (1966) to New Surasree (1978) and then finally Adi Surasree (2020), the original family music store has experienced waves of change. It also branched out to new stores such as Melody and co in 1987, New Golden Music in 1989 and Surasree in 2013 - and all remained in the family. The new ventures were a result of family members splitting up and starting separate businesses.
I spoke to Suman Sarkar, the director of Adi Surasree and Shankar Sarkar, the director of Melody and Co. And it seemed to be an authentic and unique family story - with a happy beginning, painful separations, and most importantly, love for music.
A humble beginning in a workshop
So it all began in the 1960s, when Baikuntha Sarkar, a middle-aged guitar artisan decided to build a guitar-making workshop. Baikuntha was living in the Shakhari Bazar area of Old Dhaka at the time.
Later in 1966, Baikuntha decided to open a musical instrument store in his neighbourhood seeing his workshop's success. That is how Surasree was born.
Harmonium, baya-tabla, guitar, flute, etc were made in Bangladesh, mostly in his workshop and then tanpura and sitar were imported from India.
The business was thriving but it all came crashing down during the 1971 Liberation War. Sankar Sarkar, the director of Melody and co and grandson of Baikuntha said, "During the war, the situation became terrible. My grandfather, father, uncles, and their families all fled to Keraniganj, our ancestral home. Everything was closed."
But they survived, and in 1972 Baikuntha decided to relaunch his shop. In 1978, Baikuntha's three sons - Rambhakt, Mangol and Manoronjon Sarkar - thought it was time to expand the business to the new city and name the new outlet New Surasree.
After Baikuntha Sarkar's death, his oldest son Ram Bhakta Sarkar and second son Mangol Chandra Sarkar took over the business. During the 1970s and the mid-1980s, the business performed really well. Another brother Manoranjan Sarkar moved to Mohakhali and started his own business called 'New Golden Music' in 1989. All his sons are still operating their respective stores.
Water under the bridge?
Sadly, disagreement regarding profit distribution caused a rift in the family and the Sarkar brothers drifted apart. Eventually, in 1987, Mangol Sarkar started his own business- Melody and Co, which is currently managed by his son Sankar Sarkar.
"This is our family business, and although we don't get along very well now, my uncle and my cousins decided to open businesses in the same place," Suman Sarkar, son of Rambhakt Sarkar, said. Sumon is currently the director of Adi Surasree.
These stores have a wide range of instruments, from classical instruments to modern electric guitars. "During the 1980s, we imported keyboards and guitars from Japan, and they were really high-quality instruments. They were expensive, but we knew the customers wanted them," said Suman.
Japanese brands Roland and Kord were the favourite brands, but now various Chinese brands like CGM, SCO, Chord etc. are in the market. "Earlier artists wanted quality, but now people want inexpensive instruments. So we keep a range of products depending on the customers' needs," echoed both Sankar and Sumon.
For guitars, they have brands like Signature, Gibson, Givson, etc.
All these years, with so many ups and downs, the Surasree dynasty has amassed a number of loyal customers. So much so that college street in the capital's Science Lab area is iconic for two features- one, the college students, as the name suggests, and second, various Surasree instrument stores.
Md Reza, a musician and singer has been a loyal customer of this family for the last 40 years. "In the 1980s, I along with some of my friends started a band and back then New Surasree was where I found the latest electrical musical instruments.
From keyboards to electric guitars, it was an oasis for us musicians", said Reza.
And still today Reza visits their store for buying, customising and also repairing his instruments. "I even took my nephew there to buy his guitar."
Sumon said, "Earlier we had fun doing business, artists came, and people understood the value of a good product. Now as the quality has fallen on one side [musicians], the business too is suffering."
Before the pandemic, Adi Surasree made sales worth Tk5-6 lakh each month, which has now fallen to Tk1 lakh a month.
Things perhaps seem a little disappointing now but, someday someone will perhaps stand in front of these stores and buy that harmonica I never bought and the music will live on.
