Sitar-Tanpura made in Miraj, Maharashtra gets GI tag

Utkarsh Classes Last Updated 08-04-2024

Sitar-Tanpura made in Miraj, Maharashtra gets GI tag

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Recently, the Sitar and Tanpura made in 'Miraj', a small town in Sangli district of Maharashtra, has been given the Geographical Indication (GI) tag. The importance of this town of Maharashtra has increased after the sitar and tanpura made in 'Miraj' got the GI tag.

Musical instruments made in Miraj are in great demand:

The makers of Miraj claim that these instruments made in Miraj are in great demand among some of the leading artists. These include famous artists of classical music as well as the film industry.
This area is famous for making musical instruments. It comes in Sangli district. The manufacturers have claimed that these instruments are made in Miraj. They are in huge demand among the artists of classical music as well as the artists associated with the film industry.

Miraj has a very old tradition of making musical instruments:

The tradition of making sitar and tanpura in Miraj is more than 300 years old. For more than seven generations, artisans have been making these string-based musical instruments in Miraj.

Physical Property Office of the Center gave GI tag:

The Physical Property Office of the Central Government gave Geographical Indication (GI) tag to the following organization on 30 March 2024 for making Sitar and Tanpura:
- Mirage Musical Instruments Cluster for Sitar and
- GI tag given to Soultune musical instrument producer firm for Tanpura.

More than 450 artisans are engaged in construction work in cluster:

Mohsin Mirajkar, president of Miraj Musical Instruments Cluster, said it holds the top position in manufacturing both sitar and tanpura makers in the city.
He said that more than 450 artisans in the institute manufacture musical instruments including sitar and tanpura. There is a high demand for sitars and tanpuras made in Miraj, but due to lack of resources the demands cannot be met.

Miraj instruments sold nationwide:

According to Mohsin Mirajkar, in many parts musical instruments are sold claiming to be manufactured by Miraj. When we started receiving complaints about this, we decided to get a GI tag for the instrument. Application for this was made in 2021. A product manufactured in a particular geographical area gets a GI tag. This increases the commercial value of the product.

Raw materials are procured from different parts of the country:

According to Mohsin, wood for the sitars and tanpuras manufactured in Miraj is purchased from the forests of Karnataka. Whereas pumpkin is purchased from Mangalvedha area of Solapur district of Maharashtra. 60 to 70 sitars and about 100 tanpuras can be made in a month.

Renowned artists use Miraj-made instruments:

Mohsin Mirajkar claims that Ustad Abdul Karim Khan, late Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Rashid Khan used instruments made at Miraj.
Not only this, artists like Shubha Mudgal and singers from the film industry like Javed Ali, Hariharan, Sonu Nigam and AR Rahman have used musical instruments made in Miraj.