Legend has it that one day, centuries ago, a group of musicians was walking down a forest somewhere in India. While on their journey, they suddenly heard a sound that went something like "trang". It was strangely melodious, and played out at short, irregular intervals. Intrigued, the musicians decided to follow the sound to locate its source, curious to find out what the instrument was.

And much to their astonishment, they realised that it was not an instrument at all. Instead, it was the intestine of an animal, which had toughened up after drying under the sun and was caught between two branches, with the "trang" sound being produced every time a gust of wind unsettled the long, stringy animal part. This led the wonderstruck group to eventually innovate with that concept to replicate the melody. And that's how the ektara — which forms the basis of all Indian string instruments — was born.