Origins
The sarod is believed by some to have descended from the Afghan rubab, a similar instrument originating in Central Asia and Afghanistan. The name Sarod roughly translates to "beautiful sound" or "melody" in Persian (which is one of the many languages spoken in Afghanistan). Although the sarod has been referred to as a "bass rubab" its tonal bandwidth is actually considerably greater than that of the rubab, especially in the middle and high registers. Lalmani Misra opines in his Bharatiya Sangeet Vadya that the sarod is an combination of the ancient chitra veena, the medieval rubab and modern sursingar. There is also speculation that the oud may be the origin of the sarod.
Among the many conflicting and contested histories of the Sarod, there is one that attributes its invention to the ancestors of the present-day Sarod maestro, Amjad Ali Khan. Amjad Ali Khan’s ancestor Mohammad Hashmi Khan Bangash, a musician and horse trader, came to India with the Afghan rubab in the mid-18th century and became a court musician to the Maharajah of Rewa (now in Madhya Pradesh). It was his descendants, notably his grandson Ghulam Ali Khan Bangash, a court musician in Gwalior, who changed the rubab into the sarod we know today. A parallel theory credits descendants of Madar Khan, Niyamatullah Khan in particular, with the same innovation circa 1820. The sarod in its present recognizable form dates back to approximately 1820, when it started gaining recognition as a serious instrument in Rewa, Shahjahanpur, Gwalior and Lucknow. In the 20th century, the sarod received some finishing touches from Allauddin Khan, the performer-pedagogue from Maihar best known as sitarist Ravi Shankar's guru and the father of sarod player Ali Akbar Khan.
However, as is the case with most young, evolving instruments, much work remains to be done in the area of sarod luthiery in order to achieve reliable customization, and precise replication of successful instruments. This reflects the general state of Indian instrument making today.
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