Sarangi is one of the most important bowed instrument of India. Sarangi is suitable both for solo playing and group performances. 

Watch Sarangi performance by Murad Ali

Sarangi is about 2 feet long and made by hollowing out a single block of wood and covered with a parchment. A bridge is tied on the belly in the middle. The sides of the sarangi are pinched to facilitate bowing. Four tuning pegs are fixed to the hollow head, one on each side.  The instrument usually has 3 main strings of guts. But in some type a fourth string made out of brass is used for drone. 

When played, sarangi is positioned in such a way that the uppermost part (head) is placed on the lap and the other end rests against the left shoulder. It is played with a horse hair bow which is held in the right hand. The finger of the left hand is used for stopping the strings. The

most notable aspect is that strings are stopped with the sides of finger nails and not by the balls of fingers.

Modern sarangis generally have 35 to 40 sympathetic strings running under the main strings. These are fastened to small pegs on the right side of the finger board and also on the top of the head. The other members of sarangi family are the Dotara, the Dhad sarangi of Punjab and the Chikara of Uttar Pradesh.