19th Cent. Sindhi Sarangi Indian Rajasthani Museum Quality (Chikara)

A beautiful vintage (probably mid-19th century) SINDHI SARANGI folk stringed instrument from the western part of the Indian province of Rajasthan. This is an exceptional example of this type of instrument. It is entirely hand-made and freehand painted with a real goatskin head. Nothing like the factory-made ones that are widely available now. It's a higher level of quality than the 19th Century one in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

Item Description:

This sindhi sarangi is a short-necked bowed fiddle, carved from a single block of tali or seesham wood in a half-cylinder body shape. It closely resembles the Kalawati Sarangi or the Chikara. There are three hollow chambers: pet (stomach), chaati (chest) and magaj (mind). The hollow stomach (pet) is covered with painted goat skin.  This sarangi has four bowed steel strings on the top layer and 9 sympathetic strings underneath feeding through holes in the elephant-shaped bridge (sundari).  All the strings are fastened to the tailpiece (targahan.) Sarangis have a range of about 32 notes: the range of the human voice. The sindhi sarangi is played while sitting and is held against the left shoulder vertically. It is played with a bow (a bow is NOT included). You can also use a violin bow. Small bells (gungroos) are attached to the bow to produce rhythmic jingle along with the notes. The player holds the bow in an underhand grip in the right hand, while the left hand fingers press against the strings to shorten the vibrating length of the string to change pitch. Colorful paintings adorn this sindhi sarangi.

About The Sindhi Sarangi in West Rajasthan:

The Sindhi Sarangi  is the traditional instrument of Langa professional caste musicians in western Rajasthan known as sarangiya langa. The music of the sarangi resembles the sound of the human voice. Sarangis have a range of about 32 notes: the range of the human voice and the ability to imitate vocal ornaments, such as gamaks (shakes) and meends (sliding movements). It is used to accompany singing. The Sindhi Sarangi is one of the rarest known Rajasthani folk string instruments.

Decline:

Around the 20th century, the harmonium and violin began to be used as alternatives to the sarangi due to their comparative ease of handling. In Pakistan specifically, since the 1980s, the decline in sarangi playing has also been attributed to the deaths of several masters and high purchase prices for the instrument.