Intern Highlight: Kashmiri Sitar displayed in Staff Picks!

Have you seen MOIFA’s Staff Picks: Favorites from the Collection Exhibit? If so, you may have seen one of this intern’s favorite pieces in the whole museum and the exhibit: The Kashmiri Sitar! In case you are unfamiliar with the Sitar, here is some interesting background!

The Sitar is a stringed instrument of the lute family, and has been around for a very long time. However, we don’t know who actually invented the sitar. Some scholars believe that poet Amir Khusrau invented it in the 12th century, while others believe that musician Khusrau Khan invented it in the 18th century. What we do know it that the sitar was developed from the Persian Setar, a 3-4 stringed instrument. The word “sitar” is derived from the Persian word Sehtar, meaning “three-stringed”.

In Staff Picks, the Sitar on display is a Kashmiri-style sitar. Kashmiri-style sitars are smaller than typical sitars and have 7 melody strings. However, the Sitar on display sports the typical 5 melody strings. Some things I appreciate about this Sitar in particular is its (most likely) mother-of-pearl ornamentation inlay at the top of the neck, and the wood-sculpted leaf and bird elements on the body and top of the neck respectively. It really makes the whole piece seem to be not just an instrument, but also a work of art. The Sitar was collected for MOIFA by Richard Alpert. He had traveled to India on a grant from the International Folk Art Foundation to collect instruments, and later after this trip returned as Ram Dass, the famous American guru.

Here are a couple of fun facts! The sitar was popularized in the 50's and 60's by Ravi Shankar, who performed his signature Hindustani-Western music blend for a global audience. He performed at Carnegie Hall with his daughter, Anoushka, who continues to perform this style. Did you know that Beatles featured the sitar in multiple songs. The sitar was played George Harrison, lead guitarist, on many songs. One of the famous of the Beatles sitar songs being “Norwegian Wood”?

The Sitar has many interesting characteristics. They are typically 4 feet in length, with a pear-shaped gourd body. The wooden neck is wide and hollow, with front and side tuning pegs. There are 20 convex metal frets along the neck, which are tied on so as to be able to move them. 5 metal melody strings and 1-2 metal drone strings run up and down the neck above the frets, while up to 13 sympathetic strings run underneath the frets. The sympathetic strings are tuned to raga, which is the melodic framework of the performance.

The Sitar is a fascinating instrument, with a rich history, varied styles of usage, and multiple influences on the state of music today. As an aspiring musician, and a player of mandolin and guitar, I find instruments (and especially instruments I haven’t played) extremely fascinating. Do you have a favorite instrument? This one could be your new favorite! Come and see the Kashmiri-style Sitar at MOIFA’s Staff picks!

By Flynn McGarrity, MOIFA Ecuation Summer Intern 2024 and local high school student and musician

Resources:

https://www.britannica.com/art/sitar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Jammu_and_Kashmir

https://musicbrainz.org/instrument/9290b2c1-97c3-4355-a26f-c6dba89cf8ff