SANTOOR

The santoor is an Indian stringed musical instrument. It is related to the Indian of earlier times and has strong resemblances with the Persian . It is a -shaped often made of walnut, with seventy strings. The special-shaped mallets (mezrab) are lightweight and are held between the index and middle fingers. A typical santoor has two sets of bridges, providing a range of three . The Kashmiri santoor is more rectangular and can have more strings than the original Persian counterpart, which generally has 72 strings. The santoor as used in Kashmiri classical music is played with a pair of curved mallets made of walnut wood and the resultant melodies are similar to the music of the , or piano. The sound chamber is also made of wood and the bridges are made of local wood and painted dark like ebony. The strings are made of steel. Notable santoor players of the twentieth century include Pandit and Pandit . Santoor is an Indian instrument and later spread to several regions of Asia. "Santoor" was used as an accompaniment instrument to the Folk music of . It was a 100 stringed instrument played in a style of music known as the Sufiana Mausiqi. The mystics used it as an accompaniment to their hymns. The Original Sanskrit name of Santoor was "Shata Tantri Veena" meaning a lute or a stringed instrument that has over hundred strings. Santoor is a Persian name to this same instrument "Shata Tantri Veena" that has references back to .

Santoor is a North Indian instrument originating from Kashmir. It has more than a hundred strings which run across a hollow rect