Tamburas are special instruments in India. Almost exclusively made of inedible gourds grown by a small number of farmers only in the Pandharpur region of Maharashtra, the honorific term used to describe their makers is “sitarmaker.” This drone instrument, also known as a “tanpura” or “taanpura” where it originated in the northern Hindustani region, is also quintessential for Indian classical music. All students of Indian classical music are expected to be able to tune and play it, it serves to set a base note for performances called an “adharaswara,” and it is a part of both the Hindustani and Carnatic music systems, bridging the gap between “dhrupad” and “khayal,” vocal and instrumental, and classical and folk music.

The thought behind the tambura and its signature drone is thought to have first taken shape sometime around 2500 B.C.E. Pre-Indus valley instruments from the 6th century onwards, such as the lyre, meshed with Arabic instruments like the ancient tanbur, which came to the area in the 10th century when Mogul invaders brought Persian music along with them, and was quite literally instrumental in the development of the modern tambura, as well as the modern sitar. Around the 16th century is when the modern tambura began to form, as it was featured in paintings from that time and began use in Indian chamber music as a drone instrument. The 17th century saw literary and more pictorial evidence form, and since then it has grown into the instrument used today.