History and Evolution of the Sitar and Its Gharanas
This domain covers the sitar's origin stories, the 18th–20th century changes to the instrument, and the gharana lineages you must name and keep apart.
Origin accounts
Traditional accounts credit Amir Khusrau (13th century) with creating the sitar from the tritantri veena. No contemporary source supports this; the stronger answer describes gradual evolution from the Persian setar and the Indian bin/veena, with tied movable frets and the gourd resonator as Indian features.
From court to gharana
The instrument matured in the Lucknow courts, where Masit Khan and Raza Khan shaped the vilambit and drut gat types still named after them. Gharana identity later hardened around families:
- Imdadkhani (Etawah): Imdad Khan → Inayat Khan → Vilayat Khan and Imrat Khan; the gayaki ang and the Vilayatkhani sitar with a small second tumba.
- Maihar: Allauddin Khan and disciples Ravi Shankar, Nikhil Banerjee and Annapurna Devi; tantrakari with a dhrupad-dhamar repertoire.
- Jaipur–Senia and Bishnupur: bin-ang lineages, linked to Mushtaq Ali Khan and Manilal Nag.
Instrument change
Across the 19th–20th centuries the sitar gained 11–13 sympathetic tarab strings, a curved jawari bridge and heavier playing strings; amplification and overseas touring after 1950 reshaped concert format and length.
Worked example
Asked who invented the sitar, write: Amir Khusrau is traditionally credited, but the instrument is best explained as a slow fusion of Persian setar and Indian veena that acquired tied frets and tarab strings over centuries. Naming Khusrau earns part marks; adding the qualification earns the rest, because the question tests historical judgement, not legend.
Traps
- Placing Vilayat Khan in the Maihar gharana; he belongs to Imdadkhani/Etawah.
- Treating Allauddin Khan as a sitar specialist - he was primarily a sarod player and teacher.
- Reading a Persian-derived name as proof of purely Persian origin.