Santoor

The Kashmiri santoor is an ancient string musical instrument native to Jammu and Kashmir, with origins in Persia. A primitive ancestor of this type of instruments was invented in Mesopotamia (1600-911 BC). This archetype traveled to different parts of the east and each region customized and designed their own versions.The santoor is a trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer often made of walnut, with seventy two strings. The special-shaped mallets (mezrab) are lightweight and are held between the index and middle fingers. A typical santoor has two sets of bridges, providing a range of three octaves.The Indian santoor is more rectangular and can have more strings than the Persian counterpart, which generally has 72 strings.