Sitar is the most popular stringed instrument of India & has been in use for about 700 years. It is fashioned from a seasoned gourd & teakwood & has twenty metal frets. With 6 or 7 playing strings & 19 sympathetic strings below. It is played with a plectrum worn on the finger. Sitar has a long & complex heritage; its origin goes back to the ancient Veena. In the 13th century, Amir Khusru, in order to make the instrument more flexible, reversed the order of the strings & made the frets moveable. Pt. Ravi Shankar, the great musician-artist brought changes & a new perspective into this instrument.