The body, or gourd, is made from a toomba, which is a hollowed out and dried pumpkin. The sitar often has a resonating gourd under the pegbox end of the neck; this balances the weight of the instrument and helps support it when it is not being played.
Musicians hold the sitar at a 45° angle on their laps while seated.Typically measuring about 1.2 metres (4 feet) in length, the sitar has a deep pear-shaped gourd body; a long, wide, hollow wooden neck; both front and side tuning pegs; and 20 arched movable frets.
