Six faces of Indian DHOLs: Rhythym of Festivals

Dhak (Bengali Dhol) :

Durga Puja does not assume the festive aura without the maddening beats of the dhak, the large drum that men hang around their necks and play with two thin sticks to infuse the frenzied rhythm into listeners. Those enchanting beats are enough to conjure up the sights and smells of Durga Puja.

                                                                                                 

Dhol-Tasha (Marathi Dhol) : Dhol (which is always accompanied by tasha,cymbals etc.) is an important part of celebrations and temple music in Maharashtra. Dhol is a primary instrument used in Ganesh Festivals.

Punjabi Dhol : It is found in the states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Delhi. It for the elementary beats of almost all celebrations like Lohri. 

Gujarati Dhol : It is used by Gujaratis during celebrations such as Navaratri to accompany garba. Garba are the folk songs which describe the grace of the divine mother.

Assami Dhol : It is widely used in Rongali Bihu (Bohag Bihu), the most beloved festival of the Assamese people. Rongali Bihu is celebrated in the mid of April every year. Assamese people consider dhol to be a devo badyo or instrument of god, and that it was brought to Earth by the Pandavas.

Dholak, Pakhawaj & Mridangam :  They are mainly classical, semi-classical and folk instruments common in most of the parts India. Dholak lack the exact tuning and playing techniques like that of the mridangam or the pakhawaj. Dholak is widely used for bhajan and kirtan like during Ramcharitmanas path.

Veenai Ekantham: Lord listening to Veena

The Ekantham Veena Seva is a unique ritual,  one of its kind, 900 year old tradition, initiated by Ramanujacharya, where Veena is played for Lord Ranganatha at Srirangam. This is the only Divya Desam where the Lord is woken up and put to sleep by the sweet Veena Recital.

Ramanujacharya, laid down specific processes to be followed in each area

of service at the temple. He also ensured that people from different walks of life participated in the temple routine. Ramanuja found reference to the Veena in several pasurams of the Alvaars. He wanted Veena recital to form an integral part of the daily routine at the Srirangam temple, therefore he gave it the most sacred and satisfying role- that of both waking up the Lord as well as putting him to sleep.


Every morning at around 05:15am, for about 30minutes, the

descendents of the Sathya Kootam clan, now headed by 75 year old Veena G. Rangarajan, the retired Vice Principal of National College Trichy, present, through their Veena recital, Thondaripodi Alvaar’s 10 beautiful verses called Thirupalli Yeluchi - to wake up Lord Ranganatha from his sleep. 

It is believed that all the Divya Desam Lords spend the night here at Srirangam and hence this Veena recital is equivalent to waking up the Lords at all the Divya Desams. 

Belief is that the other Divya Desam Lords go back to their home town after listening to this beautiful piece of Veena Recital.

Why the veena, one might wonder (source: The Hindu). The sacredness of the veena is evident from Vedic references to it. “The Chandogya upanishad says that whatever is played

on the Veena reaches Parabrahma, and becomes praise of the Supreme One. The Upanishad says Veena music itself is a form of Goddess Mahalakshmi,” says Sanskrit scholar V.S. Karunakarachariar.

There are references to the veena in the Divyaprabandham too. “In verse 15 in Tiruneduntandakam, Tirumangai Azhwar imagines himself to be Parakala Nayaki, and the nayaki pining for the Lord, plays the veena. ‘Solluyarnda Nedu Ceenai’- are the words used in the verse. Peria Vachan Pillai’s commentary on the verse says there is more melody in Parakala Nayaki’s veena than in the yazh and flute, and that lyric and music blend as she plays,” explains Vaishnavite scholar Kidambi Narayanan.


For about 260 days in a year, the Lord wakes up to the strains of the veena and retires for

the night, only after He has heard the veena. During sayanam, even the bell is not sounded. The silence of the night is broken only by the music of the veena. This seems to be in consonance with an Upanishadic prescription. V.S. Karunakarachariar says that according to the Brihaddaranyaka Upanishad, when the veena is played, there should be no other sound. An Upanishadic reference to chamber music!

There are many who come to Srirangam for the unique experience of listening to the veena, even as they worship Lord Ranganatha.

External links: 1) By Sudha Jagannathan

                           2) by Prabhu S.

                           3) The Hindu