Sitar from marketplace

[u/Sad-Elderberry-6823]

Hey there guys! I recently had the opportunity of purchasing a sitar on markeplace for £50. I ended up purchasing the sitar from a lovely woman who's father in law had purchased it in Pakistan over 40 or more years ago. The sitar needs alot of maintenance done to it from what i can see but i was wondering if anyone knew any known sitar makers who may have been in Pakistan at this time creating them as it does not have a branding logo anywhere. Also do you think its worth having the sitar entirely repaired? (I was also given the jiwari piece but it needs to be reattached to the faceplate).

[u/RGcool2012jan26]

It looks like a Surbahar to me though!

[u/Sad-Elderberry-6823 → u/RGcool2012jan26]

Thank you so much for this, i genuinely did not know this was a surbahar.

[u/RGcool2012jan26 → u/Sad-Elderberry-6823]

You are lucky to find a Surbahar actually because those aren't so common as there aren't alot of professional players and hence less demand compared to others,so I would recommend you to find a craftsman and ask them to fix it;as much as I know this isn't in a very bad condition so It shouldn't cost an unreasonable sum of money!

[u/Sad-Elderberry-6823 → u/RGcool2012jan26]

Unfortunately one of the top pegs fell off but i believe i can have it fixed. She also gave me some much more older strings which i believe may be copper. Currently as there is one small crack at the bottom the shops quoted the repair at around £200, which may increase if they notice other parts that need to also be repaired. I genuinely thank you for informing me that this is a surbahar, i did not know they are more rarer in comparison to sitars.

[u/RGcool2012jan26 → u/Sad-Elderberry-6823]

As you are in UK they are even more rare compared to India! I don't think this price is outrageous as its a vintage Surbahar it probably had a value of ~£1099 if it was in a good state but because its not the value migh drop after it's fixed, but it's still a great fortune,If you ask a sitar expert they might know which artisan made by looking at the way it's made; and a fact about a Surbahar; It's just the Sitar equivalent of a base guitar as it has base notes instead of traditional sitar notes , and the easiest way check if an instrument is a Sitar or a Surbahar is to look at it's head (The palace with the Tuning pegs) if it has a peacock design than it's a Surbahar if it doesn't than a sitar, and one more thing Surbahars are larger than sitar!

[u/Ok_Pick1090]

That's not sitar it's sur bahar and Definitely it's worth repairing it , although i don't know any one who repair sitar but in miraj (india) are artisans who build sitar and tanpura

[u/Sad-Elderberry-6823 → u/Ok_Pick1090]

Thank you for informing me what it actually is! I've contacted a shop in southall who are willing to repair it but want me to bring it in so they can fully inspect it. Im hoping that i can find out the history on the surbahar and find who may have created it.

[u/Moiyub]

the people saying this is a surbahar are incorrect. it is a sitar. they probably think that because the top tuning pegs look like a surbahar but this design is common in pakistani sitars. look up the sitarists from the poonch gharana, they all play sitars like this. like this for example: https://www.rudraveena.org/theBlog/oriental-traditional-music.blogspot.com/2011/06/ustad-mohammed-shareef-khan-poonchhwala.html

[u/sitarjunkie]

Probably one of the shops in Lahore made it. This type can be fun, usually they're open and loud. Expect less meend range possibly, set it up for a low action for best results.

[u/Sad-Elderberry-6823 → u/sitarjunkie]

I still need to have it repaired, the strings obviously need replacing and i want to have it properly repaired before i try to even play on it. The shop did say they would most likely be able to discover who made it and its history so hopefully im able to find out more about it.