Sitar Tumba Repair

Whoa! What happened?

Not long ago, I had some friends over for a drum banging party. We all had a great time making music together and at some point I switched to sitar while the other guys drummed.My little music room was cramped with the extra people around and at the end of the party a big conga drum got knocked over & it hit the sitar, cracking it wide open!

The point of impact

was on the tumba (large gourd) just near the instrument's tabli (face or top). She took a hard whack in that spot! You can see the dent and several loose pieces there.

Luckily, nothing critical to the tone and functionality of the sitar was broken. A cracked or smashed tumba can be repaired without too much trouble. On the following pages you'll see how I fixed her up.