Varanasi Series Sitars

All along India, we have found an artisan who has specially captivated us because of his professionalism: Tarak Chandra Nath, from Varanasi.

Tarak works since his childhood with his father Nitai Chandra Nath, from who he has learnt every little secret about making all kind of stringed instruments, in their small shop in Varanasi’s heart. Four generations of this family have been dedicated to build traditional stringed instruments, specialized in the veena family (sitars , surbahar…).

Many musicians from all over India come to Tarak’s shop to order their instrument: sitar, sarangi, surbahar, rudra veena…

One of the facts has surprised us the most is how meticulous he is working each of the following aspects, the most important in sitar construction: the aesthetics and the sound, building real works of art.

His skills on instrument building have made him become the official instrument maker of one of the oldest Universities in India, Benares Hindu University (BHU), being well known between its students, working regularly in the construction and maintenance of their instruments.

Tarak’s case, based on the result of his work, has made us realize of the high prices many companies ask for their sitars , which quality (we can confirm it) is poor, as those instruments have been mass produced for exportation, and have no soul… Companies working just for business and where there’s no direct deal with the artisan, and this is not the case of Sitars Encat.

“Tarak’s sitars, without being as renowned as other constructor’s, have no competitor. Its quality is all that a professional musician can ask for.”

Nitai Chandra Nath