Instruments

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Dilruba

A Persian word meaning "heart-stealer" the dilruba has four mains strings. It is played in a seated position, the tabli sound box held in the lap of the performer and the eight- inch long dand, neck resting against the left shoulder. It is fingered by the left hand and bowed by the right. The bow is called the gaz. Since dilruba is bowed its ghori is styled like that of a sarangi but the dand is designed like the sitar. The frets help to locate the positions of the notes on the strings. The influence of the sitar is only as far as the tying the parda to the tana of the dand is concerned. Out of the four main strings which are touched by the gaz, the first one is known as the baz. The sitar has a wooden tabli but the dilruba's is covered with skin. The major difference between the two is that the sitar is plucked with the mizrab, whereas the dilruba is bowed. The dilruba was evolved in the 17th century as an alternative to the sarangi which had become associated with courtesans. Early instruments were decorated with giltwork and the gaz bore two or three tassles, usually red or green, on one or both ends. Old instruments have a subtle majestic look.

Source: santabanta.com

Pakistani Artists

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Aakash
Abida Parveen
Ali Haider
Awaz
Faiz
Hadiqa Kiyani
Junaid Jamshed
Junoon
Komal rizvi
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Reshma
Sajjad Ali
Shehzad Roy
Tahira Syed