Sitar

I have a sitar which I bought in India. It's been covered in dust, flecks of paint, has rusty strings, wouldn't stay in tune and had a cracked gourd and has been shoved in the loft since we moved house. I decided I was going to sell it so put it on eBay and regretted it a bit but thought I might as well get some money for it than have it using up space.

The winning bidder then pulled out. I was irritated at first but then felt relieved that I didn't have to see the last of it. I did some research and decided to set about repairing it. I've cut all the rusty strings off, cleaned off the paint marks, polished up the wood, filed and chalked the pegs so they will hold tune and tonight I glued the broken bits back on (temporarily held down with masking tape) and the gourd back together. I've ordered some new strings to arrive tomorrow and will have a go at restringing it. It has come out looking really nice so far and with the strings I'm hoping it will be playable again and will take pride of place as a feature in our spare room. Finished photo to follow.