My Instrument

The sarode is a short-necked lute native to India. Its origins are quite recent, going back about 200 years, and the sarode itself can be described as an amalgamation of features seen in the rabab, which is native to Afghanistan, and a near-extinct Indian instrument known as the sursringar.

The story of the sarode is intrinsically linked to that of the migrant Afghan population that settled the plains of northern India over a period of 800-1000 years, and their socio-economic transformation from a martial community to one of musicians, craftsmen and small traders. An extensive treatment of this subject can be found in Adrian McNeil’s book, Inventing the Sarod: A Cultural History, and a concise vignette in my recent article The Story of the Sarod, published as part of the proceedings of a music festival organized in Delhi by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

The sarode on which I currently practice and perform has been in my possession for about three years, and was bequeathed upon me by my teacher, Professor Kalyan Mukherjea. It had once belonged to Murad Ali Khan, the founder of our gharana, and had been the main concert instrument of Ustad Mohammad Amir Khan, Murad Ali’s grandson, who was the guru of Kalyan-da’s guru, Radhika Mohan Maitra. Kalyan-da received this instrument from Radhubabu (as Maitra was widely known) as the latter considered him his musical heir, and thereby the symbolic custodian of the lineage.

So naturally, to play every day on an instrument that has been associated with such great names imparts a sense of privilege and is also a constant reminder of the responsibility that comes with it, not only to excel, but also that of seeking and eventually grooming a musician who would, in my view, prove him/herself worthy of receiving it. Acoustically, the Murad Ali sarode is truly unique. We must bear in mind the fact that it was built circa 1860, when artisans working in faraway Darbhanga, Bihar, did not have access to instrument prototypes created in the West, which has traditionally been far ahead of India in the art and science of musical instrument development. And yet, several experts have drawn parallels between the classic 19th century Darbhanga sarodes and the Cremonese violins from the 17th and 18th centuries. In terms of the clarity of its voice, acoustic sustain, and richness of timbre, the sarode of Murad Ali Khan stands out as one of its kind.

This ancient instrument is considerably longer than present-day sarodes. The vibrating length of its main strings is about 29 inches (as opposed to 26.5 inches of the modern variant), naturally lending greater sustain. Ergonomics are considerably more refined than those of a modern sarode, which clearly indicates that there has been a loss of traditional know-how in the arena of sarode-making. Finally, this sarode has only nine sympathetic strings, as opposed to 11 or 15 on contemporary sarodes. This could be the reason why the sound of this sarode is particularly clear, without unwanted harmonic interference.

Musicians who have played on this instrument are:

Murad Ali Khan
Abdullah Khan
Mohammed Amir Khan
Buddhadev Dasgupta (practiced and performed on it between 1943 and 1950 as a loaner instrument as he did not own a sarode back then)
Kalyan Mukherjea (between 1981 and 1995)

Radhika Mohan Maitra did not perform publicly on this instrument.

This is also available in: French