How do you hold an esraj?

Players hold the esraj in several ways. Early players rested the neck on the shoulder and the gourd on the floor, Punjabi players rest the gourd on a cloth ring, and Lucknow players hold it between the thighs. In Bishnupur, Surendranath Bandyopadhyay devised a seated posture with the right leg over the left and the gourd upright on the right foot, which became the Santiniketan posture.