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Neela Sangeeta and the ebony bridge from Mars MELODIC INSTRUMENTS
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122 posts neela sangeeta 122 posts
neela sangeeta
absolutely, a good jawari job can make any sitar sound good, regardless of the material, or whether it has been broken!
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SitarMac Senior Member 447 posts
SitarMac
Hey Ya'll-
I was EXTREMELY delighted to finally hook back up with my long time friend Neela Sangeeta after 5 years.......Its like time never changed and it was really a nice moment. I was most impressed with his Sitar and wanted to relay my feelings on something. I am an avid disl-liker of ebony bridges....I just have never handled. played, or worked on one that satisfied me 100%. Neela just returned from India after a short sojourn with Krishna Bhatt, and while he was there, he had his bridges sone by a filer whose name escapes me...Hopefully Neela will post the name....Anyway, Neela handed me his Sitar in the hotel room and I began to touch a little Begeshree (At 10:30 in the morning...I know, I know) And I have to say without any doubt, it was the best sounding Sitar that I've handled in the last couple of years.....I just could not believe the gentle, expressive response........Poor Neela was telling me all abut his gig at Berkeley the night before, but i was instantly enraptured by this sound that was being produced........It was truly an incredible job that has really changed my mind on ebony. hopefully Neela will respond to this and give some details about this bridge maker and filer so that forum members might take advantage of this. His skills as a filer totally blow mine out of the water, and I'm soooooo egotistical about my filing skills....So you know this guy is really something....HEY NEELA---COME ON DOWN!!!
Just a listener now....Was fun while i played though!
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neela sangeeta 122 posts
neela sangeeta
Yeah, I have to say I am pretty psyched about the sound on my sitar too. Krishna Ji's family were pretty impressed as well. It sounded good before, but now it is has come into a new league. Mahesh Sharma is the jawari master who hooked me up, in Jaipur, Rajastan. He does the jawari for their whole family. I had never tried an ebony bridge before, and I was hedging a little on what new bridge to get, then he suggested I get ebony, bone and touch up my old horn...and I said great!!! yes 3 new bridges all with a sweet closed sound, very Nikhil like. I have heard other people say that the ebony wears out quick, but Mahesh ji said it wears the same as the horn, it is still too early for me to tell. But the sound is very sweet with good sustain. I can pull easily from shudh ga to high sa. I look forward to switching out to the other bridges soon, and experimening with the sounds.

Another experiment of Maheesh ji that I would like to recommend to everyone is in varying the gauge of sypathetic strings. He set me up with #1 on the first 4 symps, #0 on the others, and #00 on the chikari. I am defintely liking the sound and response thus far.

I was so psyched about the sound of my sitar and was very excited to come home and show everyone when low and behold, British Airways had to go and mess up my gourd. Fiberglass case and all, no room for lateral movement in the case and they put a big whole and cracks all the way around the gourd. I was pretty upset as you can imagine. But I have to give props to Prasanna, a great jawari and sitar repair man in Jersey City, New Jersey.(and a great sitar player too!). He put my gourd back together within a few days, and as Josh can attest 9 days after getting smashed it sounds as good as before(with the magic bridge back in place).

Which brings me to the next topic of discussion. My teacher has often said that sitars sound better after their gourds are broken(and fixed up). Mine has been busted 3 times now(I could have lived without this last break), and I have to say that their is some truth in that. What do you all have to say on that?

Neel
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SitarMac Senior Member 447 posts
SitarMac
Yo Neela-
Glad you made it back safely!! I'll throw in Ustad Rafi's story about how the King once gave a rebab player a gift Rebab. Upon returning home, he horrified his family by taking it out to the yard and breaking it at the base by hitting it against a tree. He walked back into the house and proclaimed that the instrument would not sound its best until it had been broken and repaired.
Just a listener now....Was fun while i played though!
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sitarman 599 posts
sitarman
You guys are FREAKIN' OUT OF YOUR MINDS!! (I say that with much love Excuse me while I go out and smash my gourd.... If someone can give me a scientific reason (even a little voodoo mixed with science at this poiint :roll:
As for ebony, afdter falling in love with my synthetic bridge I had made for my MPS, I am willimg to accept anything yiou say. Of course I don't have to tell you that the jawari work is the main reason your sitar sounds great, reardless of the material.
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