Rag Bhupal Tori and Rag Patdip

The Sārangī is the most important bowed instrument of North Indian classical music, and has traditionally been used to accompany the human voice. This supports the view in India that its sound comes closet to that of the voice, but also implies a subservience which is one of the reasons why the Sārangī is something of an endangered species. Other reasons include the enormous technical demands, and the stigma from an erstwhile association with dancing girls. Now it would be true to say that the latter no longer applies, but the technique has, if anything, become even more demanding.