Where Did the Sitar Come From?

Above is a photo of legendary Ravi Shankar holding his Sitar

Where Did the Sitar Come From?

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The Sitar has the most surreal, beautiful, glowing sound that if you haven’t heard yet, will transport your ears into the heavens above.

The Sitar

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In the west, the sitar is commonly known as a musical instrument of India. The sound of this instrument evokes thoughts and feelings of the sub-continent. There are different theories which explain the emergence of the musical instrument. Many believe that it evolved to its present form in the 1700’s. This was the time when the Moghul Empire collapsed. Its evolutions are marked by the marriage between the Persian Setar and the South-Indian Veena using the characteristically resonant bridge of Tampura.

Persian Setar

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South-Indian Veena

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Tampura

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Amir Khusru

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It is believed that Sitar was invented by Amir Khusru. He is well known for the development of the North Indian Classical music in the 1300AD. However, there is no evidence to confirm this story. It is apparent that the musical instrument was non-existent until the collapse of the Moghul Empire.

Rudra Veena

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Another theory explains how the musical instrument evolved from the ancient Veenas like the popular Rudra Veena. However, it is clear that Rudra Veena is a stick zither while on the other hand, the sitar is a lute and thus the materials used in making the musical instruments are different. This means it is less likely that the sitar owes its history to this musical instrument.

Theory

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Another theory which seems to be right explains that the sitar was developed in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent at the end of the Moghul era. This means it evolved from the Persian lutes that where played in the Moghul courts. The “Sangeet Sudarshana” claims that the musical instrument was invented in 18th century by a fakir named Amir Khusru. A Fakir is someone who is self-sufficient and only possesses the spiritual need for God. Faqirs are Muslim ascetics (known as Sufis) who have taken vows of poverty and worship, renouncing all relations and possessions. This was different Amir Khusru to the one who lived in 1300. This Amir was a 15th descendant of Naubat Khan. He invented the sitar from the Persian Sehtar (below).

Masit Khan

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The grandson of Amir Khusru (Masit Khan) is considered the most influential musician in developing the sitar. He composed slow gats which were in the dhrupad style of the day, a style commonly known as Masitkhani Gat. There are other great personalities such as Rahim Sen and Amrit Sen are credited for modifying the sitar by tuning and stringing and introducing new techniques.

In Short

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Above is a Persian Setar

The sitar is a plucked stringed instrument used mainly in Hindu music, Traditional Nepali 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.

Steemians, do you like the Sitar? Does anyone know how to play it? Please upvote, comment, re-steem if you like the sitar and learned something from this post!