pune for naeem sitarmaker a sixthgeneration musical interment maker from miraj participating in the baajaa gaajaa music expo is a rare chance to step into the limelightit is a wonderful occasion for us before this we have not been given an opportunity to meet so many people who appreciate our work their appreciation will only help us work better sitarmaker says he is among the three musical instrument makers invited to participate in the expo which began on fridaysitarmaker is a part of the bharatiya tantuvadya kendra miraj a outfit that started in 1850 it was born when faridsaheb shiklagaar sitarmaker began repairing musical experiments we have various types of sitars and tanpuras including the vilayat khanstyle and the ravi shankarstyle which is actually an electric sitar the sitar has a builtin mike and can be attached to an amplifier for additional effects sitarmaker explains adding that the sitars are priced upwards of rs 7000the instruments are fashioned from red cedar wood obtained from karnataka and kept intact for periods between five to 20 years while the foundation is made of wood the main gourd is made of pumpkins procured from pandharpur fitting the strings is the most difficult bit as this is affects the tuning of the instrument explains sitarmaker sitarmaker gifted a sitar to hindi film lyricist and director gulzar who inaugurated the expo on fridaya tabla may take up to a month to make tabla maker vishnu sutar 67 who learnt his art at the age of seven says working out of his shop saraswati vadyalay in alandi sutars creations are today wellknown in india and abroadwhile various kinds of wood including khair and shisham are used to make the tabla the top is covered usually by goatskin the tabla is tuned with the help of a round wooden block called a gatta which is attached to the sides of the instrument each tabla is also different in terms of the sur rhythm sutar saysbesides the tabla we also make pakhwaj and the duggi thanks to gods grace our business is doing quite well chips in sutars son pravin who now assists his father our clientele includes not only indian musicians but also those from abroad who travel all the way to our shop to place orders he adds harmonium maker milind bengude says the baajaa gaajaa expo is the first big initiative that musical interment makers have been invited to while we make contact with artistes we do not get an opportunity to showcase our work to the general public this is a great place to do so bengude who counts pt tulsidas borkar and a number of us citizens among his patrons saysexplaining the process of making harmoniums bengude says that different kinds of wood are used for various parts of the instrument while the body is made of teak wood the sticks inside are made of pine beech wood and plywood are also sued for some parts the entire process takes at least eight