Kartal is a pair of wooden blocks with brass jingles. One block has a circular hole where the thumbs fits, and the other has a larger opening for the remaining four fingers. These two are struck to produce a characteristic wooden sound with metal overtones. Although it is seen being used in some folk music forms, Kartal is traditionally used to accompany devotional music like Bhajan and Kirtan. In North-east India, a   form of Manjeera is known as Kartal, and is entirely different from the one explained above.

Manjeera is a pair of cymbals tied together with a string. Traditionally made from brass, Manjeera has been used to accompany Bhajans and Kirtans ever since the metal percussion instruments were created. A larger form of Manjeera is known as Jhanjhar.

Bansuri is Indian flute that can be found in both upright (fipple) and side on (transverse) styles. The traditional Bansuri is made of wood. The fipple style flute also comes in metal, but   its use is limited to light music and Bollywood songs, because the fipple style doesn't provide the luxury of   embouchure (adjustment of position of lips and tongue while playing), that the transverse style provides.   This is the reason why transverse wooden flute is considered to be the real Bansuri and the only form of   flute accepted as fit for playing Indain classical music. Bansuri is also known as Murali and Venu, and is   associated with Lord Krishna. Sometimes Lord Krishna is addressed as VenuGopal or Muralidhar (meaning   one who plays flute).

Been is a flute like wind instrument made with wood and Gourd. It has three sounding pipes, out of which only one has holes though with notes are controlled. The other two pipes provide the drone. It is not a classical instrument and has been traditionally used by snake charmers all over India. It has been applied with great success in Bollywood songs for movies made on stories based on snakes.

Harmonium is not a genuine Indian instrument and is not accepted by pundits as a pure instrument in Indian classical music. However, it has found its due respect in the lighter forms like Bhajans, Ghazals, Qawwalis and Bollywood songs. Basically it is a keyboard with metal reeds that is played by pumping air into the box with one hand, while the keyboard is played by the other. A form of Harmonium known as Sur-Peti doesn't have any keys, and is used as a drone.

Nadaswaram or Nagaswaram is a large south Indian wind instrument very similar to Shehnai (see below). It is a 2 reeded instrument and is considered auspicious, and hence played in south Indian temples and in weddings or other religious ceremonies.

Shehnai is North Indian version of an Oboe. It is a close relative of Nadaswaram, only smaller in size and has 4 reeds instead of 2. Like Nadaswaram, it is also considered to be an auspicious instrument and is traditionally performed in temples or religious ceremonies. It is a must in any North Indian traditional wedding. Ustad Bismillah Khan immortalized this instrument though his mesmerizing performances.

Banjo or Bulbul Tarang is considered to be Indian version of a Japanese instrument called Taisho-koto. Basically, it is a set of wooden keys or finger board placed over a set of strings, all tuned identically (to the same note). It is struck with right hand and keys are played with left hand. There is also a single string version of Banjo which is more commonly used in Bollywood music. Because of its ease of playing and cheap price, it is very popular in Indian households, and is amply used by folk artists.

Ektara literally means a single stringed instrument in Hindi. It is constructed out of a gourd by passing a thin bamboo stick through it and tying a metal string that spans from bottom of gourd to top of bamboo stick. It is played as a rhythm accompaniment for folk songs in North and East India mostly in Rajasthan, Punjab and Bengal. It is known for its association with Saint Meera.

Originated in Afghanistan, Rabab is an ancient stringed instrument made out of hollowed out wood covered with leather membrane. A series of Nylon and metal strings pass over the bridge which rests on the stretched leather membrane, imparting Rabab its characteristic timbre. Although it is a struck instrument, it is considered to be the forefather of many bowed string instruments such as Sarangi.

Indian version of Santoor is an offshoot of the much wider Persian variety. Basically it is a 24 to 100 stringed hammered dulcimer, struck with wooden mallots to produce sound. Owing to the large number of strings, there is no standard way of tuning the instrument, and every artist adjusts the tuning to some degree, to suit his style of playing. It was very popular in Kashmir and eventually got accepted all over the North India. Pandit Shivkumar Sharma has been instrumental in getting it accepted as an instrument of merit as far as Classical music is concerned.

Very rare these days, it is a form of Veena constructed out of two large gourds connected with a thick bamboo stick, which carries the strings. It is played in upright position.

The original form of Veena very popular in South India, Saraswati Veena is a 4 stringed instrument constructed entirely out of wood, most commonly out of jackwood. The resonator like piece seen at top of neck is actually non functional and is mostly used to rest the Veena on ground. It also has three drone strings which may are also used for providing taal while playing.

Exclusively used in South India, Vichitra Veena is a form of Rudra Veena that is played like Hawaiian Guitar, with a metal bar.

Sarod can be most simply described as a form of Rabab that doesn't have any frets. It is not very old and probably evolved in the previous 150 years or so. Ustad Amjad Ali Khan has been instrumental in making this instrument popular all over the world.

Thanks to Pandit Ravishankar, Sitar is probably the most well known Indian Instrument outside India. It has a main resonator and a secondary resonator, both made out of gourd and connected with a wide wooden shaft that has upto seventeen strings. Out of these, only three or four are playable strings, whereas another four strings are used as a drone to provide taal while playing. The remaining dozen strings or so are sympathetic strings that are never played, but resonate when corresponding note is played, imparting the Sitar its characteristic timbre.

Surbahar's construction is identical to Sitar. Very simply put, Surbahar is to Sitar what a Bass guitar is to Guitar. Surbahar is tuned an octave or two lower than Sitar. Owing to its inherent nature of providing intense Meend , many Sitarists use it to play Alaap, but shift to Sitar when they want to play Jhala or higher notes.

A Surmandal literally means a group of notes in Hindi. It is Indian equivalent of an Harp and is used as a drone by vocalists.

Tanpura is a Drone instrument very similar to Sitar in appearance, only it doesn't have the top resonator and frets. Hence, melodies can not be played with it. It has four or five strings tuned to the tonic. The Miraj version is most common in North India, whereas the Tanjore version, also known as Tamboora is popular in South India. Tanpura is known for its rich drone and its timbre is most readily identified as a typical Indian sound.

Chikara is a basic spike fiddle that is played like Sarangi (see below).

Dilruba is a hybrid that combines the best of Sitar and Sarangi. One can consider it a Sitar played with a bow in Sarangi style. It is played mostly in North and West India. Its sound and style of playing are very similar to Esraj (see below).

The technique of playing and sound being almost same, Esraj is often confused with Dilruba. We can look at it as an Eastern version of Dilruba.

Probably the most well known of Indian bowed string instruments, Sarangi is unique in that it is played by sliding fingernails on the strings rather than pressing them to touch the fingerboard. Being extremely difficult to play, its popularity is dwindling. It is traditionally played with Semi-classical vocal forms such as Thumri, Dadra and most commonly used to accompany Kathak performances.