About Sitar

The sitar is a plucked stringed instrument used mainly in Hindustani music and Indian classical music. The instrument is believed to have been derived from the veena, an ancient Indian instrument, which was modified by a Mughal court musician to conform with the tastes of his Mughal patrons and named after a Persian instrument called the setar (meaning three strings). The sitar flourished in the 16th and 17th centuries and arrived at its present form in 18th century India. It derives its distinctive timbre and resonance from sympathetic strings, bridge design, a long hollow neck and a gourd-shaped resonance chamber. In appearance, the sitar is similar to the tanpura, except that it has frets.

Sitar has been in use since 700 years and is the most popular stringed instrument of India. It is fashioned from a seasoned gourd, teakwood and has twenty mental frets with six or seven playing strings and nineteen sympathetic strings below. It is played with a plectrum which is worn on the finger. Sitar has a long and complex heritage as its origin goes back to the ancient Veena. In the 13th century, Amir Khusru made the instrument more flexible, reversed the order of the strings and made the frets moveable. Ravi Shankar, the great musician and mastero-artist brought changes and a new perspective.

About Santoor

The santoor is a trapezoidal-shaped ancient string instrument. It was originally known as Shata Tantri Veena which means an instrument with 100 strings. It has come from Himalayan Valley of Kashmir. It was earlier used in Kashmir but now with some modifications, it is used in various parts of the world.

Depending upon the region, it is known by different names such as Yang Quin, Santoori, Cymbalom, Hackbrett, Hammer-Dulcimer etc. It can be played Solo as well as accompaniment in a musical style known as Sufiana Mausiqi. It is considered that Pt. Umadutt Sharma introduced it into the Indian Classical Music.