Esraj is a string instrument. It is a combination between sarinda and sitar. The base of the instrument is like sarinda while the neck and strings are like sitar. It gives a sound very much like sarangi without being as difficult to play. This instrument is often confused with dilruba. Both have a similar construction and technique. The approach to tuning is somewhat similar to the sitar.  Esraj is popular in the Bengal area of India. The dilruba and its variant, the esraj, had been declining in popularity for many decades. By the 1980s, the instrument was nearly extinct. 

However, with the rising influence of the "Gurmat Sangeet" movement in an effort to revive the traditional instrumentation of Sikh Kirtan, the instrument has been once again attracting attention. In West Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore made this instrument mandatory for all the students of the Sangeet Bhavan (Music Academy) in Vishwabharati University (Shantiniketan). Because of this, Esraj is considered the main accompanying instrument for traditional Rabindra Sangeet.