Indian music lover seeks to safeguard rare collection

More than 600 traditional instruments have been put on display at a private museum by a music lover in the Indian state of Rajasthan.
Abdul Aziz, the man behind the impressive collection of instruments, has spent his entire life looking after his collection – but has conceded that he may not be able to do so for too much longer.
Owing to his modest income and the space his collection now commands, Mr Aziz told the BBC that he may have to seek alternative arrangements.
Mr Aziz’s property is so overcrowded that he is having to store some of the instruments in his bathrooms.
“Many of the instruments in my collection are not seen widely because they went out of fashion, while some are on the verge of extinction,” he said.
”My only dream is to conserve, preserve and display this musical treasure trove.”
The music lover explained that as he has to live alongside other family members, there is no space for many of the other instruments not on display.
“I’ve used the space belonging to my brothers to store the instruments, but now they are all reluctant to look after them,” he said.
Mr Aziz has called on the Indian government to give him a plot of land to set up his own museum, warning that the future of the collection will be put in some jeopardy if they fail to do so.
Meanwhile, Santosh Sharma of Jaipur’s Trimurti Institute of Art and Culture has hailed the collection, explaining that it includes a “wide variety of musical instruments”.
“Most interesting in the collection are a tabla and a bayan – types of drums – that are made from cloth instead of leather,” Mr Sharma told the BBC.
Elsewhere in the collection are an Afghani rebab and a Ruhani rebab, which were found in Kabul, Afghanistan, and Kashmir in India.