Evolution of musical instrument - Sitar

Of the many string instruments currently in vogue in the sub-continent, sitar is perhaps the most popular musical device for venting creative melodic expressions. It is sophisticated instrument, which is in fact an improvement on its ancient form 'seh-tar' that has resulted from a process of trans-cultural pollination.
The greater part of the appeal of this graceful string instrument is the extraordinary range of sounds that can be coaxed out of it, from deep guttural sighs to piercing melodies. Equally adored by the professional and the 'ataayee' musicians (more so by female aspirants), a sitar has six or seven playing strings, 14 sympathetic resonating strings placed beneath the frets, so sensitive that often they are re-tuned during a recital; and two gourds at either end of the sound boxes.
In Pakistan, where natural gourds are not available, a sitar generally has only one wooden sound box at its lower end. The number of frets on stars varies from 16 to 19. Played with a plectrum worn on the index finger of the right hand, sitar often has seven upper strings, which are actually touched by fingers during a performance. The resonating strings placed below the frets serve to enrich the timbre of the sound of this instrument, thus furbishing its sonic appeal.
Unlike a 'veena', its frets, tied on with gut or silk threads, are movable. Before sitar's transformation into its current shape the frets on string instruments were fixed with wax, which could not be moved. Presently, three different-size sitars are manufactured: large, medium and small, each with a different tonal range and character.
Difference of opinion exists among historians and musicologists about the origin of the sitar. According to one view, it existed long before Muslims came to India. They consider its modern prototype a continuation of the old 'veena', which was in vogue in different regions of pre-partition India. Of course, it had various kinds and shapes, and was variously called 'trintantri veena' (three-stringed); 'chitra veena' (seven-stringed) and 'parivadini', etc.
Others attribute the invention of sitar to Amir Khusrau, the 13th Muslim genius. Muslim musicians especially cling to this notion, although a close scrutiny of historical records fails to substantiate the claim. It is quite possible that because of his multi-dimensional personality and the high positions he held during the reign of several Muslim monarchs, historians of his time over-glorified the Amir. In their exuberance to highlight his achievements, they credited him with some inventions, which he did not make.
Another account of this story is that sitar is an improved version of 'iktara' (one string instrument), which the Amir invented by adding two more strings to it. Hence, the name seh-tar. (Persian for three strings) The resonating strings, the story goes on, were fixed beneath the frets during a much later period in history.
Ravi Shanker, well known Indian sitar player in his book "My Music, My Life" agrees that sitar is a continuation of veena and admits that the Amir played a significant role in remodelling it. "It is an undeniable fact", he has written, "that Amir Khusrau did make certain alterations and gave the instrument a new name she-tar. One of the innovations that he brought to the sitar was to reverse the order of the strings, giving the instrument the present-day universal arrangement of the strings".
"Another ancient string instrument the 'been' of 'veena', he adds, "still has its strings sin the old 'inside-out' order - that is, the main playing string is on the inside and the bass strings are on the part of the instrument that faces towards the hand and the wrist of the musicians as he holds the instrument".
Achariya Kalish Chandra Barhespati, a noted Indian scholar and musicologist, has a totally different view. In his book, "Musalman aur Bhartiya Sangeet" (translated into Urdu by the Classical Music Research Cell) he claims that until the reign of Muhammad Shah Rangeela, stiar and tabla were not in vogue in India.
(A similar view has been expressed Ms Miner, an American research scholar and a sitar player in her book published in the US about 15 years ago). Khusrau Khan, the father of vocalist Adarang, Barhespati asserts, was the real inventor of sitar.
"After 49 years of the death of Muhammad Shah Rangeela", he writes, "we find a mention of sitar on page 87 of Naadirat-e-Shahi, a book authored by Mughal King Shah Alam Saani, the first copy of which was written in his own hand in 1797. There is no mentions of 'tabla' in his book either..."
Several families of professional musicians have produced a number of great sitar players during 20th century.
Those still revered and remembered include such treat names as Inayat Husain Khan, the father of world-class sitar player Wilayat Husain Khan, Bhai Mehboob Khan of Kapurthala, Muhammad Sharif Khan Poonchwaley and many more. Pandit Ravi Shanker, Abdul Haleem Jaffer Khan, Shujaat Hussain Khan are dominating the musical scene in India whereas, Raees Khan and his son Farhan Khan are the topmost sitar players in Pakistan. There are other sitar players in Pakistan, who have not yet won recognition at international level