THE sitars and tanpuras of Miraj, a small town in Maharashtra’s Sangli district known for its craftsmanship in making musical instruments, have been awarded the coveted Geographical Indication (GI) tags. These instruments made in Miraj are much in demand among some of the prominent artistes, including those renowned in the field of classical music as well as film industry, the makers claim. The GI tag denotes the product comes from a particular geographical area, and often enhances its commercial value. The tradition of making sitars and tanpuras in Miraj goes back more than 300 years, with over seven generations of craftsmen having worked towards making these string instruments, the makers say.

 

On March 30, the Government of India’s intellectual property office issued GI tag to the Miraj Musical Instruments Cluster for its sitars and to the Soultune Musical Instrument Producer firm for tanpuras. The Miraj Musical Instruments Cluster functions as the apex body for both the sitar and tanpura makers in the town, its chairman Mohsin Mirajkar said. As part of the body, more than 450 craftsmen are engaged in the production of musical instruments, including sitars and tanpuras, he told PTI. The sitars and tanpuras made in Miraj have a high demand, which cannot be met due to the limited resources available locally. Hence instruments from many other parts of the country are often sold under the guise of being Miraj-made, he claimed. “When we started receiving complaints about such products, we decided to pursue for the GI tag and applied for it in 2021,” said Mirajkar.

 

The wood for making the sitars and tanpuras is procured from forests in Karnataka, while pumpkin gourds are sourced from Mangalvedha region of Maharashtra’s Solapur district, he said. “In a month, the cluster manufactures 60 to 70 sitars and around 100 tanpuras,” stated Mirajkar. “The online business accounts for around 10 per cent, while 30 to 40% comes from the retail music instrument shops and the remaining 50 per cent are direct customers, including some well-known artistes,” he said. The clientele included classical singers and founders of the Kirana gharana, such as Ustad Abdul Karim Khan Saheb, late Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, and Rashid Khan, who recently passed away, he claimed.