Plucky young graduate hits right note with Tibetan guitar business

Many young Tibetan college graduates long for a stable job in the public sector after graduation, but Samdrub Norbu is an exception. The 23-year-old founder of Yangchak Art has been running a Tibetan guitar business for more than half a year since getting his degree from Tibet University last year.

Samdrub Norbu, born to a Tibetan family in Lhokha, dubbed as the birthplace of the Tibetan people and a cradle of Tibetan civilization in the Xizang autonomous region, is captivated by Tibetan culture.

He has a distinctive dual motive: earning a profit while preserving Tibetan musical instrument culture.

"The Tibetan guitar is what I love. That's why I chose this business," Samdrub Norbu said. "I don't know what the results will be in the future, but I am happy every day about what I have been trying so far, and I don't feel tired at all even though I am busy all the time."

As a college student, he majored in music and had the opportunity to learn piano and the Tibetan guitar — or dranyan in the Tibetan language. During this period, he apprenticed with one of his music teachers, Jamyang, and also learned from his classmates, especially those from the region's Ngari prefecture, which is famous for the Tibetan guitar. Since then, the guitar has become one of his best friends in life, and it almost never leaves his side.

Despite finally achieving success, Samdrub Norbu's business activities in Tibetan instruments got off to a shaky start. While still studying in college three years ago, he opened a shop in his home county selling musical instruments.

However, the business failed and he lost almost 500,000 yuan ($69,000), which had a huge impact on him and his family.

"The most pain I suffered while having difficulties was not physical, but mental," he said. During his darkest days, his relatives — apart from his supportive mother and father — friends and even his girlfriend, abandoned him.

Despite the failure and setbacks in life, his strong determination to fulfill his dream emboldened him once more and supported him in the success of running the same business again after his graduation.

According to him, the majority of his classmates chose to find stable jobs in the government, with a few also starting their own businesses, selling clothing, coffee and local products.

In just a few months since opening the first shop in Lhasa last year, his business has already expanded, with a second shop opening in Lhasa four months ago. The number of staff in his workshop has grown to 10.

Besides selling various Tibetan guitars, he also operates a workshop to produce them himself and runs Tibetan guitar learning courses for beginners.