Sarod

The sarod is a popular Indian classical musical instrument. Sarod is similar to the Western lute in structure. It is one of the most important musical instruments amongst followers and connoisseurs of Hindustani classical music. According to many scholars the source of the Sarod seems to be the rebab, a similar instrument that is said to have originated in Afghanistan and Kashmir. It is believed that the sarod is essentially a bass rebab. The multi talented and multi-faceted Amir Khusru modified the rebab in the 13th century. Many of the scholars of Indian classical music believe that sarod is a combination of the ancient chitra veena, the medieval rebab and modern sursingar. However, some scholars contend that a similar instrument may have existed about two thousand years ago in ancient India.

Amjad Ali Khan's ancestor Mohammad Hashmi Khan Bangash, ancestor of Ustad Amjad Ali Khan can be said to the first notable rebab player, who came to India with the Afghan rebab in the seventeenth century. The tradition was carried forward by his descendants notably his grandson Ghulam Ali Khan Bangash, who transformed the rabab into the modern day sarod. The sarod, in its present identifiable form dates back to 1820, when it started gaining recognition as a prominent and serious instrument in Rewa, Gwalior and Lucknow Gharanas of music. Ustad Allauddin Khan is credited with giving the Sarod some finishing touches and its modern form.