Sarod is a descendent of the ancient Indian instrument named the Chitra Veena. The Afghani instrument Rabab had some influence on the design of sarod in the nineteenth century. The sarod used by artists belonging to the Senia Maihar school was the result of the creative genius of Ustad Allauddin Khan and his younger brother, Ustad Ayet Ali Khan.
The sarod is made of a single piece of wood. The drum is covered with goat skin, on which the bridge rests. Sarod has 25 strings, of which the four main strings are plucked and span 3 octaves. 15 of the strings are sympathetic. Two strings maintain the tonic. The rest 4 are drone strings.
