ਸਾਰੰਗੀ

What does sarangi mean in Punjabi?

Sarangi (ਸਾਰੰਗੀ), pronounced saa-RUNG-ee, is a bowed, short-necked folk instrument carved from a single block of wood, with three main strings and a large bank of sympathetic strings that hum beneath them. Players prize it for sounding closer to the human voice than almost any other instrument, and in Punjab it is the lead melody voice of the dhadi ballad singers.

How is the sarangi played?

The player sits and holds the sarangi upright against the left shoulder, drawing a heavy horsehair bow across the three gut strings with the right hand. The strings are not pressed with the fingertips like a guitar: the player stops them with the nails, cuticles and the flesh around them, sliding along the neck. Those slides and shakes let the sarangi copy the bends and ornaments of a singing voice, while around 35 sympathetic strings ring in answer beneath the melody.

What is the sarangi's place in Punjabi music?

In Punjab the sarangi belongs above all to the dhadi tradition. A dhadi jatha is a small ballad team, usually a sarangi master, two players of the dhadd hand drum and a narrator who tells the story between verses. The tradition was fostered in the time of Guru Hargobind, the sixth Sikh Guru, and its singers perform heroic ballads called vaars standing up, with the sarangi carrying the tune. Beyond Punjab, the sarangi is also a respected accompanist in Hindustani classical singing for the same voice-like quality.

Is the sarangi becoming rare?

Yes, it is harder to hear than it once was. During the twentieth century the harmonium and the violin began to take its place as accompanists because both are easier to handle, and the sarangi, which takes years of practice to play well, lost ground. That is why a working sarangi master in a dhadi jatha is now treated as a keeper of a fading craft, not just a musician.