Khol

The khol is a

The khol is regarded as resembling to the ancient gopuchha shape of drums, as described in Natya Shastra. The right face of the drum has a high pitch and produces a metallic sound, whereas the left face, produces a lower bass sound. The larger side can be tuned with humidity. On a humid day the larger side will loosen up and vibrate more producing the lower sound. During a dry day the side tightens up producing a high pitched sound. Players of the instrument will add water to their drum if they feel it does not produce a low enough sound. They will put a bit of water on their finger and spread it around the edge of the large side. They will either let it sit there for a few minutes, or manually stretch it with their palm. ^[1][2]

Construction

The khol is a drum with a hollow earthen body, with drumheads at both ends, one far smaller than the other. The drumheads are made of cow or goat skin, and are three-layered and treated with a circle of rice paste, glue, and iron known as syahi. Some modern instruments are made with a fibreglass body and synthetic drumheads.

History

There are so many histories about its origin. Different types of Khol are available in north eastern India. Odisha, Manipur, Bengal and Assamese Khol are commonly found in different forms. The wooden khol was made into terracotta by the Assamese polymath Sankardev.^[3]

Use

The khol is considered an integral part of the

In the

• Mridangam
• Tabla
• Thavil
• Karatalas
• Maddale, an instrument used in Yakshagana
• Dholak
• Manoj Kumar Das
• Samphor
• Taphon

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mridanga.

• Mridanganet.blogspot.com