The great craftsman Mehdi Nazemi, who developed the most reliable, scientific and effective method of making Persian santoor, is the second child of his family among four brothers and two sisters.

His ID Card shows his birthday 1905, but a document written by his father shows his year of birth as 1910. These different dates arose because it was not usual to have a birth certificate in the Qajar era.

Nazemi says: “It was a local custom for rich families in Yazd that when a son was born in a family, a great party would be held. When my brother was born, among those invited to the celebration was an ensemble of the most famous singers and musicians of the region. They played instruments such as the Santoor, Tar (Persian long necked lute), Kamanche (Persian spike fiddle) and Arabane (a kind of frame drum), and the famous singer Reza Boland accompanied them. The Santoor player of the ensemble, whose name was Gholam-Hossein Nagharechi, most strongly drew my attention. I was a nearly eight years old and hearing the sound of Santoor made me feel very happy. After the end of party I went to Gholam-Hossein Khan and asked him to give me a Santoor, but I received only a smile. It was my first contact with the Santoor and a Santoor player”.

This Picture was dedicated to the author by Mehdi Setayeshgar