The Sangeet Natak Akademi Recipient Qasim Khan Niyazi & Sons, the finest custom crafters of Tablas and other Indian percussive instruments. The Indian Tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument which is used in Hindustani classical music and devotional music which is comprised of a pair of hand drums known as the Dayan ( treble drum made of wood) and the Bayan ( metal bass drum) ranging in different pitches and sizes. The playing technique of this instrument involves extensive usage of fingers and palms in varied configurations, thereby creating different sounds which can never be mimicked by any other instrument in the world. Qasim Khan Niyazi & Sons have devoted their entire lives in crafting the finest Tablas for some of the greatest Tabla maestros of the 20th and 21st century. Their instruments are made from the highest quality of organic red and black woods grown from the Dalbergia Sissoo also known as Indian Rosewood or Sheesham) trees which are extremely durable and resistant to decay. The acquired blocks of wood are seasoned in the elements and properly cured for a number of years before taking birth as the Qasim Khan Niyazi & Sons Dayans and other Indian percussive instruments. The Bayans made by Qasim Khan Niyazi and Sons range from Brass, Nickel and Copper materials, with different weights from 3.5kgs to 5.0kgs, and all metals have different timbres and resonances.
Qasim Khan Niyazi & Sons are also appeciated in the world today because of the high level of care and craftsmanship they put into their instruments. Excellent in design and finishes, QKN Tablas are desired by professionals for their superior balance of tone, high sustain, crisp and clear sound, precise tuning of the Siyahi or tuning paste on the highest quality of pudda or skin, excellent bass tonality and high sustain and softness of the Bayan. There is no comparison to a custom made instrument from the shop of Qasim Khan Niyazi and Sons.
Their talents don't stop only on traditional instrument design, QKN & Sons are also innovators of Tabla design by introducing the Reverse Siyahi Tabla and the Niyazi Special Tabla as well as other innovations soon to be released to the world.
Qasim Khan Niyazi, born in Hyderabad, India, learned the art of Tabla crafting from Ustad Akbar Mian Hyderabadi from a young age and showed vigour and commitment in learning the nuances of Tabla crafting before heading out on his own to making a living by crafting Tablas. Qasim Khan Niyazi, extremely intelligent and innovative, set out to creating a new recipe for the Siyahi or tuning paste to increase sutain, tone and longevity of his instruments. This became a 40 year journey to innovating and improving the quality of his instruments as well as a tone matched by no other maker.
After settling in Delhi, Qasim Khan Niyazi continued to craft Tablas for many professional Tabla players who not only appreciated Qasim Khan Niyazi for his high quality instruments, but for his honest and endearing personality as well. Such was his hard work ethic, that on October 28th 1976 he was honoured by the Gandharva Maha Vidyalaya Award as a great Tabla maker as well as from the Faculty of Music and Fine Arts on November 23rd 1976. in 1997 at the Vishnu Digambar Jayanti Samaroh he was awarded by the Gandharva Maha Vidyalaya as the best known Tabla maker of Delhi.
Tabla players such as the late Padmashree Ud Ahmadjan Thirakhwa, the late Padmashree Pt Samta Prasad, the late Ud Shafaat Ahmed, Pt Dal Chand Sharma, Pt Anindo Chatterjee, Ud Zakir Hussain, the late Pt Durga Lal, the Late Ud Ameer Hussain, Fateh Singh Gandhi, Ud Akram Khan, Ud Hashmat Ali Khan, the late Ud Faiyyaz Khan as well as many others have honoured Qasim Khan Niyazi for the great service he has done for them in Tabla making.
On October 9th 2012, and unprecedented event took place at the Rashtrapati Bhawan when for the first time in history, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award was bestowed to Qasim Khan Niyazi by the Honourable President of India, as the World's best Tabla maker. Such an award has never been recieved by an instrument maker.
Qasim Khan Niyazi has trained his three sons, Mahmood Niyazi, Mujeeb Ahmad Khan Niyazi and Gulam Hasnain Niyazi to continue innovating and improving the quality and sound of their instruments. Currently, the QKN & Sons Tablas are being played not only in the four corners of India, but also the world. Their Tablas are now being played in almost every country in the world today.
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