The tabla is arguably the most popular percussion instrument in South Asia and used in accompaniment to both classical and light forms of music. The instrument consists of two drums commonly known as the dayaan and bayaan, each employing a different playing technique. One of the major reasons for the popularity of the tabla is its distinct tonal quality, which is mainly derived from the complex manner in which the instrument is constructed.

Located 80 kilometres from the cultural capital of the Punjab, in Lahore, Dhonkal had a reputation for being the centre point for purchasing high quality tablas. Tabla players would travel long distances and pay handsome amounts to get their tabla made by the likes of Natthu Khan, Mian Imam Din, Bassay Khan and Baba Nabba. Following partition, many of the Dhonkal based craftsmen shifted to the major cities of Pakistan, the majority of which are now settled in the Heera Mandi vicinity of Lahore. Even today, the clan proudly displays the name of their village on the signboards of their small and cramped shops for symbolising the high standards of craftsmanship.  

Senior craftsman Bashir Ahmed

The origin of tabla making in Dhonkal dates back almost 250 years. The Dhonkal tabla makers maintain that the craft has been within their family for almost seven generations, beginning from Mian Baana, a resident of Dhonkal, who was gifted the profession by his spiritual guru or ‘Pir’, Syed Qaim Din Shah. Syed Qaim Din is said to have learned the craft by secretly watching a tabla maker by the name of Jagga who was known to be extremely miserly in sharing the knowledge and techniques of the craft to others. As a means of teaching Jagga a lesson, Syed Qaim Din taught the craft to his loyal devotee, Mian Baana, with the blessing that his descendants would find fame as instrument makers. The art was then passed down to future generations in the form of a teacher- pupil relationship otherwise known as an ustad- shagird silsila.

In terms of retaining knowledge within a family, one can consider the Dhonkal based clan or ‘biradri’ to constitute a similar form akin to a musical gharana where the majority of tabla makers based in Pakistan are either descendants of Mian Baana or disciples of his family. The group also has close kinship with instrument makers hailing from a neighbouring village called Dheerkay, also claiming an ancestral link with Mian Baana. The clan has not solely restricted itself to instrument making but also boasts of tabla maestros Ustad Bashir Hussain ‘Goga’, Ustad Alla Rakha ‘Rakhoo’ Khan and Sajjad Hussain ‘Pappu’.

Akhtar Hussain is widely considered to be one of the finest tabla makers in Pakistan, having had over thirty years of experience within the field. Based in Lahore, he owns the Awami Rhythm House in partnership with his brothers Haji Nasir and Arshad Ali who assist in the daily operation of the business. The three brothers learnt the craft from their father, Bashir Ahmed, who despite being over eighty years of age visits the shop occasionally to oversee the business and advise his sons on specific craft technicalities. As with most other musical instrument shops, the Awami Rhythm House sells a variety of other instruments including the Harmonium, Dholak, Naal and Dhol, but specialises in making the tabla.

When questioned if they were satisfied with their profession from a social and financial viewpoint, the brothers adamantly replied, “We are proud of our work. Our family has been blessed with this craft and we are renowned for our art. Our fame spreads amongst all instrument makers of the sub-continent all of whom have heard the name of Dhonkal and our family members”. Akhtar Hussain insisted that the business generates a reasonable source of revenue for his family; recently he has seen a surge in business with a rise in export demand for instruments in Europe, Middle East and the USA. Akhtar Hussain attributes his success to customer satisfaction, he explained that in a trade relying on making the product on the demands of the customer, it is imperative that the demands of the customer are heard and meticulously implemented in terms of sound, design and appearance.

Akhtar Hussain

Sadiq Hussain of Dheerkay 

Focussing on the qualities of the tabla made by their clan, both Akhtar Hussain and Bashir Ahmed pinpointed that the most important factor relates to “sur” or sound; “In our family, you will find emphasis is placed on sur. That is the difference between a good and bad tabla and the major factor which a tabla player looks out for, he is not really interested in the technicalities or cosmetic appearance of the instrument”.  In addition to the sound, we concentrate on selecting surface skins which can last for a long period. We can tell if a skin will give good sound by just looking at it”. Bashir Ahmed added that the major contribution of the Dhonkal tabla makers has been making tablas which are tuned to higher notes such as F sharp and G rather than the standard C or D sharp. Whilst comparing Indian made tablas, Bashir Ahmed said that the playing skins made by his family were more flexible in terms of tuning and could be tuned with a range of up to two to three notes. He added that although Indian tablas were better in appearance, they were not as durable as tablas made by his clan.

                                Tabla maker Rafaqat Ali       

In terms of the construction, Bashir Ahmed and Akhtar Hussain explained that the process of making a good quality tabla centres around two factors; the skin and application of a black paste known as siyahi on the centre of the playing surface. Selection of the skin is the first stage of tabla making. Dhonkal based tabla makers prefer goatskin and claim that it is ideally suited to the demands of tabla playing in terms of tone and reliability. The skin is then removed of hair by soaking it in limewater solution and then hardened. The next step is to shape the skin into a form known as “saancha”, which involves the skin being stretched and shaped on a circular wooden board. During this stage, the thick outer edge of the playing surface known as gajra is woven on. The gajra is either made of cow, buffalo or camel skin and assists in the tuning of the instrument. The skin is then placed on the shell constituting the bottom half of the instrument and the siyahi is applied. Selection of the material for the bottom half of both drums also plays a vital role in the overall resonance. The dayaan is normally made of rosewood whilst copper is preferred for the bayaan.

Stages of tabla making

Perhaps the most crucial element of tabla making is applying the siyahi on the centre of the playing surface. The siyahi is responsible for the distinct sound of the tabla and is the main difference between a bad and good tabla. The siyahi is an iron based compound but tabla makers do not confide the exact composition of the materials used. A smooth stone known as kausauti is used to smooth the siyahi and assists in tuning. The tabla is tightened with the help of leather straps, which pass through the edge of the gajra and the bottom. Finally eight cylindrical pieces of wood are equally passed through the straps in the wooden drum to assist in tuning the instrument to the required note.

Having had over seventy years of experience within the art of instrument making, Bashir Ahmed commented on the changes that have occurred to the overall design of the tabla. Originally both drums were made of wood and flour had to be pasted on the centre of the playing surface of the bayaan instead of the siyahi. The other distinct change has been the tuning of the tabla to a higher octave, previously a lot more siyahi was used which resulted in the instrument sounding similar to its parent drum, the Pakhawaj. With reference to the Dhonkal made tabla, Bashir Ahmed said that originally the playing skin had 32 braiding points for weaving the gajra onto the skin, whereas most craftsmen currently employ either 40 or 48.

Apart from the tonal quality, the Dhonkal biradri is renowned for the unique designs of tabla. Different varieties include, the ‘double goond’ tabla which consists of the playing skins having two gajras, the ‘goom siyahi tabla’ in which the siyahi is pasted in the inside of the skin rather than the outside and the ‘hunter goond’ in which the gajra is interwoven with different colours of leather. The tabla makers often make these at the demands of the customer. To cater for a broader market, tabla makers such as Rafaqat Ali have begun to make miniature tablas, primarily aimed at tourists, these serve as decoration pieces, and can also be doubled to play in the normal manner.

Double Goond Tabla

Miniature Instruments

Each tabla maker is identified by his own distinct tone and specific speciality which has resulted in tabla players preferring the work of certain craftsmen. Akhtar Hussain said “the quality and the tone of a tabla plays a big part in the success of a tabla player. A tabla player is nothing without a beautiful sounding tabla”. Akhtar’s tablas are favoured by the likes of Ustad Tari Khan, Ustad Allah Lok and Ghulam Abbas. Tabla maestros Ustad Tafo Khan and Ustad Bhulli Khan favour the craftsmanship of Sadiq Hussain whilst Rafaqat Ali has made tablas for his late uncle Ustad Bashir Hussain ‘Goga’. Tabla makers Tufail Hussain and Qaiser Ali are also popular amongst tabla players.

Despite urbanisation, the tabla makers still retain a link with their ancestral village and often visit Dhonkal to meet members of the extended family. To this day, a single instrument shop owned by Haji Akhtar Ali exists in the village and acts as a reminder of what things were like in the past. The shrine of Pir Qaim Din Shah can also be found there and is frequented by a few craftsmen such as Bashir Ahmed who make annual visits to pay their respects to the mystic who bestowed the craft upon their ancestor Mian Baana. Dhonkal has also become a place of pilgrimage to countless tabla players who come to offer their respects at the grave of legendary tabla player Mian Nabi Bukhsh Kalraywale of the Punjab Gharana.

Tabla shop in Dhonkal

Even though the standards of musicianship have dwindled over the past twenty years and traditional musical forms have lost their popularity amongst the masses in Pakistan, the instrument makers of Dhonkal have retained their superb standards of craftsmanship.  The sense of pride and responsibility amongst this group gives the assurance that the craft will surely be passed onto future generations. For further info on the Awami Rhythm House or to purchase tablas made by Akhtar Hussain, contact info@sadarang.com

Text: Saqib Razaq - Thanks to Geeta Sharma and Sachin Fing for their input.