Instruments at the Museum

Surbahar

The surbahar is a large-size bass sitar, with a flat rather than rounded gourd at the base, and an optional rounded sitar-type, gourd-resonator at the top. In its contemporary form, the surbahar has a string-count identical to the present-day sitar, the difference being in the thickness of the strings, the pitch at which the instrument is tuned, and the tuning system covering four octaves. Its construction gives the surbahar a deep, sonorous, long-lasting sound. The extra width of its stem enables the execution of ‘meends’ of up to a full octave. The purpose of developing the instrument was to enable sitar-players to present the elaborate dhrupad-style alap traditionally performed on the rudra veena.