Aaroh Sarangi

The sound of the sarangi is known for its close resemblance to a human voice; some say it achieves the closest resemblance of all instruments. A traditional folk instrument from Nepal, its bowed shape, short-neck, and four strings are able to imitate vocal ornaments such as gasmask (shakes) and mends (sliding movements from note to note). The word sarangi is derived from ‘Sau Rangi’, which means ‘Hundred Colored’ and signifies its ability to convey a wide range of moods and emotions. We hope you deep dive into this pack to find the sounds that best express the emotions you want to evoke in your next production. Traditionally, sarangi was only played by skilled classical singers know as Gaines or Gandharvas to sing narrative tales and folk music in Nepal. Until the mid-twentieth century, Gaines functioned as ‘singing newspapers,’ their songs providing myths and daily news—a task replaced by mass media and the internet. This pack was produced by Vanraj Shastri, a sarangi player and singer from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Born and raised in a family of musicians, he has been pursuing music since he was nine years old. He is a disciple of the late sarangi maestro Pandit Dhruba Ghosh and at present, he is pursuing his advanced training of Indian classical music from Pandit Nayan Ghosh in Mumbai.