The Sitar is one of the most versatile and popular instruments in Hindustani music. Over the period of its evolution, it has become a very mature instrument, capable of expressing the raga form completely without any loss of the finest shade of the emotional expression. There are several theories regarding its origin. 

 

1. The Sitar evolved from the Sehtar, an instrument brought by Yemanuddin Abdul Hasan better known as Hazrat Amir Khusro [13th century], from Iran. Seh meaning 3 and Sehtar meaning the instrument with 3 strings. According to this theory, it is believed that the Sehtar was modified to suit Indian musical requirements to become the Sitar in the 13th Century, and that Amir Khusro was its originator.
2. According to some scholars, the Sitar was the modified version of an older Indian plucking instrument called ‘Tri-tantri Veena’, which was once a popular instrument. It is contended that this instrument was modified by Amir Khusro in the 13th century. 
3. Recent studies suggest that the Sitar is more likely to have been developed in the 18th century, and was developed by Fakir Khusro Khan, a relative of  Sadarang, a landmark figure in the evolution of the Khayal form of vocal music. 

Although the 13th century Amir Khusro attribution still claims a following, this theory has been questioned on several grounds. 

 

There is no reference to the Sitar in any of the well known and acknowledged treatises until 18th Century. In fact, the Sitar does not appear in any of the paintings, sculptures, etc., pertaining to period prior to 18th Century. In literature pertaining to Akbar’s darbar, we note the names of many eminent musicians and musical instruments, but no mention of the Sitar or it’s exponents. It is therefore surmised that Sitar could not have been invented prior to 18th Century.

 

The sitar cannot be a modification of the Iranian “Sehtar”, considering that the two instruments are completely different in character, shape, size and technique of playing. It is difficult therefore to accept the theory that the Sitar was a modified version of the “Sehtar”.

In view of the above, informed opinion is obliged to accept the view that the Sitar is a relatively recent invention i.e., 18th Century, and it could well be that Fakir Khusro Khan, a brother of Nemat Khan Sadarang, a pioneering Khayal singer and composer, who lived during this period, was its inventor. This historicity is supported by the fact that the family trees of present Sitar players cannot be traced beyond 200 years. This theory therefore seems the most plausible and acceptable.

 

Physical evolution

 

The evolution in the design and construction of the Sitar relates to the shape, size, the material used, number and quality of strings used, methods of tuning, number and quality of frets, etc.

 

1. Some musicologists believe that until the later part of the 19th century, the instrument was totally made of wood. In some regions of the country, Sitars made of papiermache have also been found. However, later on, dried pumpkin was used to make the tumba, or the chamber-resonator. For the purpose of amplification, a second, and smaller, chamber-resonator was added at the upper end of the “dand”, or stem. With recent developments in amplification electronics, the second chamber-resonator has, once again, tending to fall into disuse in the latter half of the twentieth century. Over the years, considerations of weight and acoustic quality have also led to changes in the quality of wood used in the construction of the instrument. 
2. Originally, the Sitar apparently had three strings. They were tuned to ‘Ma’/’Sa/Sa’ or ‘Ma’/’Sa’/’Pa. Later on, two more strings were added which were tuned to ‘Sa’ and the higher octave ‘Sa’, or the chikari. During the second half of the 18th Century, two more strings were added and the complete 7 strings tuning was in the order of Ma, Sa, Sa, Pa, Pa (lower octave), Sa and Sa (higher octave). 
3. It is believed that, by the beginning of 20th Century, eleven to thirteen additional sympathetic or “taraf” strings were introduced. They are located underneath the main strings in a parallel direction to the main strings over a small, flat bridge. These are tuned to correspond with various notes of the raga to be performed. In accordance with the principle of resonance, the taraf strings vibrate in tune with the vibrations of the notes played on the main strings. Thus, the resultant sound is enriched in terms of volume and acoustic sustain. By varying the size of the tumba, and a specific jowari [timbre control] treatment of the bridge helps the performer to meet the desired acoustic requirements of his style.
4. Until the 19th Century, two different types of fret arrangements were in vogue. Sitar with ‘Achala-that’, or arrangement which did not require the movements of frets, had 24 frets tuned to half steps from ‘tivra madhyam’ [sharp fourth] of the lower octave to the ‘madhyam’ [natural fourth] of the upper octave. ‘Chala-that’ (requiring movement of frets) had 17 frets. By the end of the 19th Century, the number of frets was increased to 20 on the ‘Chala-that’ Sitar. This change was accompanied by the introduction of  frets tuned to ‘Komal Ni’ [flat seventh] in both the lower and middle octaves as well as the fret tuned to ‘Komal Ga’ [flat third] in the middle octave. At this stage, apparently, there were also changes introduced in the thickness and the metallurgical features of the frets. 

These changes have been influenced by the desire to improve the acoustic capabilities of the instrument, and to make it suitable for progressively greater sophistication in melodic execution. 

 

Stylistic evolution 

 

Research into the history of the instrument suggests that, like several other solo instruments of today, the Sitar started as an accompanying instrument to Qawali performances. The left hand rested on a particular swara [tone] while the right hand played bols [strokes] like dirdir, dara dara etc., in quick succession, to fill the silences between the melodic phrases sung by the performing vocal musician. This style was known as ‘Poorak [filler] baj’ [idiom].

 

As musicians discovered the melodic potential of the instrument, the Sitar emerged as a solo instrument, and pre-composed melodic-rhythmic melodies [gats] were introduced in its repertoire. Gradually, pakhawaj [the barrel drum] bol-s [rhythmic patterns] were incorporated into the Sitar idiom. The melody was played essentially by the left hand while the right hand executed the bol-s creating rhythmic patterns inspired by the percussion idiom. 

 

During the next stage of development, small “Fikre” [Persian for strings of phrases, or episodes] were introduced to aid improvisations around gats [melodic-rhythmic compositions]. With this feature, melody executed by the left hand became slightly more significant, though it still remained subsidiary to that of rhythmic patterns created by the right hand delivering the strokes.

 

Gradually, as the instrument evolved acoustically, small meend-s [melodic execution by deflecting the strings on the same fret] were introduced to embellish the melody. As a result, the importance of the left hand was further elevated. However, the acoustic sustain available on the sitar was still inadequate for doing full justice to the “alap” [free-flowing, anarhythmic prelude] which was, until the middle of the 19th century, of simple melodic construction, and was executed primarily by moving the fingers of the left hand along the frets, aided by bol-s executed by the left hand.

 

Around this time, it is believed, that the great masters of the Rudra Veena or Been, who wanted to keep their art within the family, developed the Surbahar [a magnified bass-sitar] for imparting to “outsiders”, the skills of presenting the “alap” presented traditionally on the Rudra Veena. The Surbahar combines the acoustic features of the Rudra Veena with the playing technique of the Sitar. Thus emerged the practice, amongst leading sitarists, of performing the elaborate Dhrupad-inspired Rudra Veena style alap on the Surbahar and post-Dhrupad compositions on the sitar.

 

The idiom of the sitar flowered with the durable success of compositions [gats] of fixed stroke format – one for vilambit [slow tempo] rendition, and another for drut [fast tempo] rendition in Teental [16 beats]. The vilambit gat format stabilised around the compositions of one Masitkhan, and hence came to be known as Masitkhani gats. The drut gats are attributed to one Ghulam Raza Khan,  and hence called Razakhani gat-s. The Razakhani gat-s were adapted primarily from the “Bandish-ki-thumree” form of vocal music, during the reign of Emperor Mohammad Shah II , an eminent patron of classical music. The “Bandish-ki-thumree” was a vocal form composed for accompanying the footwark-dominant expressions in Kathak dance. Due to their dance-related origins, they were originally composed in the lighter, romantic ragas like Khamaj, Kafi, Pilu, Zila, etc. Hence their nomenclature as Razakhani gats. In later years, the Razakhani stroke format was used for fast-tempo compositions in all ragas. 

 

In the twentieth century, several formats, other than the Masitkhani and Razakhani, and composed in tala-s other than Teental, were developed for vilambit and drut rendition on the sitar. They were inspired by a variety of other sources in vocal and instrumental music. The dominant influence, at this stage, was of the Khayal, by now the dominant genre of mainstream vocal music. Despite these developments, the Masitkhani and Razakhani formats in Teental [16 beats] have remained the essential core of the sitar idiom. 

 

Also during the 20th century, with further improvements in the acoustic capabilities of the instrument, the sitar was able to take over the elaborate three-tier Rudra Veena style alap from the Surbahar. Thus emerged the present raga-presentation format on the sitar, consisting of the alap-jod-jhala solo, followed by percussion-accompanied vilambit [slow tempo] and drut [fast tempo] gats, and ending with the jhala, a climactic movement representing a structured use of melodic and rhythmic patterns deploying the melodic and the chikari [drone] strings. 

 

Techniques of melodic execution        

 

The techniques of melodic execution on the sitar can be divided into two categories: (a) fretwork in which the fingers of the left hand move from fret to fret and (b) deflection, where the fingers are static on one fret, and tonal transition is achieved by pulling the string without movement between the frets. 

 

Fretwork techniques belong to the traditional sitar idiom, developed before the sitar acquired sufficient sustain to audibly deliver an array of swaras executed under a single stroke. The deflection techniques developed along with structural improvements in the sitar, and their maturation enabled the evolution of the vocalized idiom.

 

Fretwork techniques: In addition to the straight forward execution, there are mainly two types of fretwork technique: krintan and ghaseet.

 

Krintan  requires the dexterous movement of two fingers over the frets. The first swara  executed  with a right-hand stroke  supporting one  left-hand  finger resting  on  the  fret-board. The  subsequent swaras  of  the  phrase  are executed  with  the  second finger hitting the  appropriate   fret  in   a hammering motion, but without further right-hand stroke support. With this technique, a phrase of upto  four  swaras can be executed.

 

This technique is unique to the sitar, and  originated even before the sitar acquired  sympathetic  strings, and has remained an essential feature of tantkar ang of the sitar. 

 

Ghaseet (lit: dragging) does precisely that. It executes a phrase, usually flat-out and unidirectional, by dragging the left hand finger along the fret-board over at least half an saptak under the impact of a single stroke. This is accompanied by feather-touch left-hand pressure over the string, so that the resultant glide delivers an aural impression of a fretless instrument. 

 

It is not uncommon for the ghaseet to span a full saptak unidirectionally, as it can do on the rudra veena. The ghaseet on the sitar is inspired by the soonth technique practised on the rudra veena which, in turn, is inspired by the vocal idiom of dhrupad music. 

 

There are three principal deflection techniques (a) meend (b) murki and (c) gamak. 

 

The meend is a simple execution of a phrase by pulling the string from a single fret, and executing a phrase under the impact of a single stroke. Three-swara meends were common in siatr music upto the 1930’s. The contemporary sitar, because of enhanced sustain, can deliver a five-swara meend. 

 

The murki is a special type of meend, where the phrase involves a wrap-around execution with a jerky motion. The contemporary sitar can support a murki of upto eight swaras under a single stroke. 

 

The gamak creates a pulsating or quivering effect — a magnified vibrato — by repeatedly attacking a swara from a fret at a lower pitch. The gamak is generally used for distances of upto two, and occasionally three swaras. 

 

Masitkhani and Razakhani gats

 

The language of the sitar is built on four basic syllables/ words, represented by strokes of the mizrab [wire plectrum] on the melodic string:

 

1. Da: the inward stroke
2. Ra: the outward stroke
3. Dir : the inward and outward strokes in quick succession
4. Rda: the outward and inward in quick succession

 

Any permutation or combination of these strokes creates a rhythmic pattern, which interacts with the beat structure of the rhythmic cycle performed on the percussion accompaniment. This interaction acquires an aesthetic value based on the manner, in which it builds and releases aesthetic tension. 

 

Masitkhani format:

 

Beat               1    2     3      4        5    6     7    8    9    10    11    12    13    14    15    16

Stroke:                                                                                            Dir   Da    Dir  Da    Ra

                        Da  Da  Ra  Dir   Da  Dir  Da  Ra  Da   Da   Ra

The Masitkhani format for this interaction is built on the basic stroke pattern of Da-Dir-Da-Ra corresponding to the four-beat subdivisions of the 16-beat Teental. However, in order to build an aesthetic tension into the interaction, the Masitkhani format answers to the 4-4-4-4 symmetry of Teental with an asymmetric 5-3-5-3 stroke pattern, while incorporating the symmetry through acadentially synchronised use of the Da-Dir-Da-Ra stroke-set. This 16-beat structure is a mere repetition of an 8-beat stroke-set: Dir-Da-Dir-Da-Ra-Da-Da-Ra, with a 5-3 subdivision: Dir-Da-Dir-Da-Ra / Da Da Ra. 

 

Traditionally, gat-s of the Masitkhani format were performed at a tempo of about 60 beats per minute. In recent years, with the growing influence of Khayal vocalism, and the improvement in the acoustic sustain of the instrument, the tempo has slowed down. In his most leisurely renditions, Ustad Vilayat Khan is known to have performed Masitkhani gat-s at a tempo as low as 40 beats per minute. 

 

The Masitkhani format has been so successful for Teental  gat-s composed for the sitar, that it has now become the preferred slow-tempo format  also on comparable instruments, such as the Sarod, and the Santoor. Interestingly, the popularity of the Masitkhani format now extends even to the bow and wind instruments, such as the sarangi, the violin, and the flute.

 

Razakhani format: Ghulam Raza Khan is believed to have developed several stroke-patterns for gat-s performed on the sitar. However, the most popular and the most durable has the following stroke format: 

 

Beat               1    2     3      4        5    6     7    8    9    10    11    12    13    14    15    16

Stroke:                                          Da   Ra  Dir Dir Da  Rda  Ra   Dir   Da   Dir  Da    Ra

                        Da  –    Da    Ra

 

The tempo at which this Razakhani gat-s were initially performed, and the ragas in which they were composed lead to the belief that these gat-s were adapted from the “bandish-ki-thumree” form of vocal music, composed for accompanying Kathak dance. Relative to the Masitkhani format, it incorporates a weaker notion of symmetry, and a higher stroke density. In contemporary sitar music, the Razakhani gat is performed at a tempo starting at about 120/ 180 beats per minute, and accelerating, in the appended jhala, upto 480 and even 600 beats per minute. 

 

In historical perspective, the Masitkhani and Razakhani gat formats began the process of liberating sitar music from the legacy of the Rudra Veena, the primary plucked instrument of the medieval Dhrupad genre, and set it on a path of independent evolution and status.