Saranghi in Hindustani Vocal Music

Video Transcript

"The instrument most commonly played to accompany vocal music are harmonium as I already showed and there is another very noble instrument called Saranghi. It is a bowed instrument covered with a skin and it is very difficult to play and there are fewer and fewer Saranghi players because Saranghi players were historically low status musicians even though they had great amount of knowledge and they often taught the women they accompanied. Because they were accompaniest moving from one place to another and often accompanying the singing and dancing women, they had a low social status and they got paid less and many of them continued to get paid less so there are less and less Saranghi players. This is an instrument that is so essential to North Indian music and to vocal music because this is an instrument that can imitate the human voice. "