Murad Ali is a well-known player of which instrument?

Explanation

Murad Ali is one of the leading sarangi players of the younger generation in India. He belongs to a family of sarangi players of the Moradabad tradition, and he is known for his skill both as an accompanist and as a solo performer.

Murad Ali comes from a family that has played the sarangi for several generations. He learnt the instrument from his grandfather and father from childhood. He has accompanied many of the leading vocalists of Hindustani classical music in concerts, and he also performs solo sarangi recitals. He has worked in fusion and world music projects, collaborating with Indian and international musicians, and has played in film music. He is one of the few young musicians keeping the sarangi tradition alive, at a time when the number of sarangi players is falling because the harmonium has replaced the sarangi as the accompaniment for many singers.

The sarangi is a bowed string instrument of North India. It is carved from a single block of wood and covered with goatskin. It has three main playing strings and many sympathetic strings, which give it a rich and resonant sound. It is held upright and played with a bow, and the notes are produced by touching the strings with the cuticles (the side of the fingernails). Because its sound closely resembles the human voice, it has long been the main accompaniment of Hindustani vocal music. Its name is often explained as "sau rang" (a hundred colours), because of the many emotions it can express.

Other famous sarangi players include Pandit Ram Narayan, who made it a solo concert instrument, Ustad Sultan Khan, Ustad Sabri Khan, Ustad Bundu Khan and Dhruba Ghosh. The sindhi sarangi of Rajasthan is played by Lakha Khan.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Sarod is linked with Amjad Ali Khan and Ali Akbar Khan.
• ✗Sitar is linked with Ravi Shankar and Vilayat Khan.
• ✗Santoor is linked with Shivkumar Sharma.