Saarangi:
This is the most popular and famed of all Nepalese folk musical instruments and originates with the Ghandharva (Gaine caste) of the Gandaki Zone. It is made of Khirro wood and the lower part of the body is sometimes covered with the skin of a monitor lizard and sometimes with goatskin. It is 45cm long and the topmost part of the neck is called a kalasha. There are four strings made of goat gut and tuned to the notes G, C, C and G with with the first G string being one octave lower than the second. The bow is made of Painyu or Musure katus wood and horsehair, which is rubbed with resin from the Sallo tree before use. Travelling musicians go from door to door playing traditional folk songs including the Karkhaa and accompanying historical and other stories. The Ghandharva also improvise songs as they convey news and information from village to village and receive food and other donations in return.