Ikhlas Khan is a member of the Langa community. The Langa community from Western Rajasthan traditionally played music for the rite de passage of their patron communities. In the 1980s, Ikhlas' father, Sadik Khan Langa, who was a master Sarangi player and vocalist, started to play regularly for All India Radio. Although Ikhlas grew up listening to the music of his father, he did not learn the Sarangi when he was a child, but instead became a percussionist (this still influences his rhythmical virtuosity in playing the sarangi). It was only in his teens, when the health of his father deteriorated that he became a student of the Sarangi. He became totally obsessed by the instrument, and trained 24/7 to become a master in an extraordinary short time. After 7 years of training with his father, Sadik passed away. Ever since, Ikhlas became the contemporary representative of his instrument in his community, a role he takes very seriously.

Sarangi

Sarangi is widely spread in Northern India. Also in Rajasthan it is one of the most important and varied of the bowed fiddles. The sarangi is found in many different forms in Rajasthan. The Sindhi Sarangi is commonly played by the Langa community. It has a vault-chested, slightly arched belly, carved out of a single block of wood with an integrated fingerboard and peg box. It has four main playing strings, two of steel and two of gut, and two sets of sympathetic strings. The bowing of the Sindhi Sarangi emphasises the rhythm of the song.