In the late Mughal Empire (1707–1858), the instrument began to take on its modern shape. The neck got wider. The bowl, which had been made of glued lathes of wood was now made of gourd, with metal frets and a bone nut on the neck.
I couldn’t find a video of one with a gourd soundbox, but here’s one of a more modern construction. They’re very cool!
Got it, the rudra veena works on the same concept but the gourds are much larger. I didn’t realize/never noticed that the zitar also has the two acoustic boxes.
Look at that second acoustic box gourd near the end of the strings.
Is she playing a rudra veena?
I believe it’s a sitar.
I couldn’t find a video of one with a gourd soundbox, but here’s one of a more modern construction. They’re very cool!
Got it, the rudra veena works on the same concept but the gourds are much larger. I didn’t realize/never noticed that the zitar also has the two acoustic boxes.
Here’s a quick YouTube link of classical rudra veena playing in an old Bollywood film.
Oh, I think that’s the pegbox at the top of the fingerboard; they can be pretty big.
Thanks for sharing that video! I love the sound.