The swarmandal (Hindi: स्वरमण्डल; Bengali: সুরমন্ডল) or Indian harp is an Indian zither that is today most commonly used as an accompanying instrument for vocal Hindustani Classical music (the classical music of North India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh). The name combines swara (notes) and mandal (group), representing its ability to produce a large number of notes; it is also known popularly as Sur-mandal.

Swarmandals measure from twenty-four to thirty inches in length and twelve to fifteen inches in width. The singer may choose to employ any number of strings from 21 to 36. The strings are hooked in a nail lodged in the right edge of the swarmandal and on the left are wound around rectangular pegs which can be tightened with a special key. Wooden pegs were used instead of metal ones in the medieval period. A sharp half-inch ridge on both sides of the swarmandal stands a little apart from the nails on which the strings are tightened. This ridge functions as a bridge on both sides. The swarmandal is similar to the autoharp or zither in many respects.

Ustad Raza Ali Khan (Devanagari:उस्ताद रज़ा अली खान, ) (born on 8 August 1962) is a Hindustani classical vocalist of the Kasur Patiala Gharana and the current Khalifa of the Gharana. He is also an accomplished music director and composer.

Ustad Raza Ali Khan was born in Mumbai to Hindustani classical vocalist, Munawar Ali Khan and he is the grandson of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. He received his early training from his grandfather, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and after that, extensively, from his father, Ustad Munawar Ali Khan. He accompanied his father on concerts and sung alongside.

He married Sahibzadi Samina Khan of the Paigah of Hyderabad in 1986 and has son Fazle Ali Khan alias Zuhair.

Ustad's gayaki contains the magic of both his Ustads. His intricate taankari, hypnotising (behlawa's) and electrifying sargams put his performances a notch above the current generation of Indian Classical Singers and make him the foremost exponent of Kasur Patiala Gharana. Ustad is always at home while rendering Khayal, Thumri, Dadra, Ghazal, Geet, Sozkhani, Noha Khani, Manqabat. He gave his first solo performance at the Youth Festival in 1977 at the Eden Garden Stadium at Calcutta. From then onwards there was no looking back for him.

Mohammad Nadeem Khan (born December 10, 1969, Rawalpindi, Punjab) is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in 2 Tests and 2 ODIs from 1993 to 1999. Nadeem was an effective spinner who currently plays for Sheffield Collegiate C.C. I XI. He is the older brother of Pakistan's former wicket keeper, Moin Khan.

Ustad Rashid Khan (born 1 July 1966) is an Indian classical musician in the Hindustani music tradition. He belongs to the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana, and is the great-grandson of gharana founder Inayat Hussain Khan. He is married to Joyeeta Bose, from the family of Acharya Jagdish Chandra Bose.

In a story told in several versions, it appears that Pandit Bhimsen Joshi said at one point, that Rashid Khan was the "assurance for the future of Indian vocal music". He was awarded the Padma Shri, as well as the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2006.

Born in Badayun, Uttar Pradesh. He received his initial training from his maternal grand-uncle, Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan (1909–1993). He is also the nephew of Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan.

As a child he had little interest in music. His uncle Ghulam Mustafa Khan was among the first to note his musical talents, and for some time trained him in Mumbai. However, he received his main training from Nissar Hussain Khan, initially at his house in Badayun. A strict disciplinarian, Nissar Hussain Khan would insist on voice training (sur sAdhanA) from four in the morning, and make Rashid practice one note of the scale for hours on end. A whole day would be spent on practising just a single note. Although Rashid detested these lessons as a child, but the disciplined training shows in his easy mastery of taan (arpeggios) and layakaari today. It was not until he was 18 that Rashid began to truly enjoy his musical training.