FolkArna-Jharna’s musical instruments collection preserves the material traces of Rajasthan’s sound traditions – the instruments themselves, the craftsmen who made them, and the recordings that keep their music alive. The gallery is part object-study, part archive-lab, and part invitation to listen.

Collection overview

The museum displays a focused collection of folk instruments from western South Asia – including rare types no longer widely made or heard, such as the jantar, jogia sarangi, and nagfani – alongside better-known regional instruments like the sarinda, ravanhatta, and varied styles of sarangi. These objects document local craft techniques, tuning practices, and how instruments were adapted to the needs of different communities. arnajharna.org.in+1

Selected instruments

• Sarinda / Surinda – A bowed instrument used by several hereditary musician communities; compact, resonant, and made from local woods and stretched hide.
• Ravanhatta – A long-necked bowed fiddle associated with ritual and travelling performers; its shape and playing style link it to older regional traditions.
• Jogia Sarangi / Nagfani / Jantar – Rare local forms: instruments with distinct construction and timbres that are now seldom produced or played; their presence in the collection shows regional variety that archival recordings often reference.

Archive & research link

The instruments do not stand alone: Rupayan Sansthan holds an extensive audio-video archive of hereditary musicians from Western Rajasthan. Roughly 1,200 recordings and tapes from fieldwork and local performances have been preserved and digitized in collaboration with institutional partners – work that makes it possible to reconnect objects in the gallery with their living sound traditions. Plans include linking instruments to their recordings, and producing a catalogue and AV-rich display for the musical gallery. meap.library.ucla.edu+1

What visitors experience

The gallery is designed to be modest and direct – instruments displayed with clear labels that name maker/community and place, and contextual photographs where available. The site also supports open-air performances by local groups at selected times (seasonal programming), giving visitors a chance to see instruments in use and meet performers when possible.