I had never heard of a luthier called I.S. Mirajkar from Pune before. But a little research did turn up some information:
I.S. Mirajkar is one of Pune’s oldest instrument-making houses, based in Budhwar Peth, and was not only a luthier but also a dealer and repairer of sitars, tanpuras, tablas and other classical instruments.
The Mirajkar name belongs to one of the oldest and most respected families of instrument makers in Miraj. Their history dates back to the mid-19th century, when Faridsaheb Mirajkar (also known as Faridsaheb Shikalgar) began making tanpuras and later sitars. The family is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of the Miraj school of stringed instrument making.
For many years, the shop served as an important point of contact for musicians from Pune, whilst the instruments themselves were often built in Miraj, the centre of South Indian sitar making.
It is noteworthy that Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan’s SPK Academy still sells Mirajkar sitars as performance instruments today. This speaks volumes about the family’s enduring reputation amongst professional musicians.
A little over two years ago, the heirs of the late sitar player and instrument maker Wahid Said entrusted India-instruments.de with the contents of his workshop for liquidation (20 instruments in total), along with various materials. So far, India Instruments have restored and sold 7 of them.
Another 6 have been fully restored to playing condition and are available on their special offers page. One of the remaining was in such poor condition that repairing and setting them up is no longer economically viable for India Instruments in Berlin.
Yogendra then brought this one to me. It took me quite a bit of work to restore it.
The gourd was in pieces, the neck was warped, pegs were missing and the frets needed re-fitting.
Once again, I’m taking the opportunity to fit a set of K&K Sound Big Twin acoustic transducers. Always worth doing.
Now FOR SALE in the SiTAR FAcToRY Shop
