Tabla - A Great Art Form

  Let's get started with knowing the parts of the Tabla. 1)  Pudi  - The Pudi is the head of tabla, the main part of the tabla where strokes are played. This pudi consists of the syahi, maidan, kinaar/chaati, and gajara. 2)  Syahi  - Syahi is a paste made up of finely ground and sieved powder of charcoal, iron dust and cooked rice. The cooked rice and a little bit of water is added to the mix of charcoal and iron dust powder in proper proportion and then it is mixed till it all gets together and results in a paste. After it is in the form of paste, the syahi is applied to the centre of the head of the Tabla. The syahi plays an important role in tuning the tabla in a range of scales. These Scales varies according to the circumference of tabla wood and the thickness of skin. These scales are C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B varying from low to high pitch. 3)  The Maidan and Kinaar/Chaati  - The maidan is the space between the gajra and syahi and t...

  The name tabla likely comes from tabl, the Arabic word for drum.The ultimate origin of the musical instrument is contested by scholars, though some trace its evolution from indigenous musical instruments of the Indian subcontinent. The tabla consists of two small drums of slightly different sizes and shapes.Each drum is made of hollowed out wood, clay or metal. The smaller drum (dayan) is used for creating treble and tonal sounds, while the primary function of the larger drum (baya) is for producing bass. They are laced with hoops, thongs and wooden dowels on its sides. The dowels and hoops are used to tighten the tension of the membranes for tuning the drums. The playing technique is complex and involves extensive use of the fingers and palms in various configurations to create a wide variety of different sounds and rhythms, reflected in mnemonic syllables (bol).