पखावज
The pakhawaj is the percussion instrument of the Dhrupad tradition — the oldest surviving major form of Hindustani classical music — and the direct ancestor of the tabla. Where the tabla developed for the Khayal tradition's more intimate conversation, the pakhawaj developed for Dhrupad's slower, grander rhythms and was designed to project through temple or court spaces.
The pakhawaj is a barrel-shaped drum with two heads — the right head (slightly smaller) tuned to the tonic pitch, and the left head (larger) producing a deep bass. Both heads are made of layered leather with a black siyahi paste on the right head. Unlike the tabla (which has a permanent siyahi on both heads), the pakhawaj's left head is treated with atta (wheat flour) paste before each performance and cleaned afterward — a practice that reflects its ceremonial origins.
The pakhawaj is played horizontally in the player's lap or on the floor, with both hands. The right hand plays the smaller head with palm and fingers, while the left hand plays the larger head. The tradition of pakhawaj playing includes an extensive repertoire of fixed compositions in various talas — particularly the longer, more complex talas associated with Dhrupad, such as Chautala (12 beats), Dhamar (14 beats), and Mridang Ananta. The oral syllables (bols) of pakhawaj playing are the direct ancestors of tabla bols.
The pakhawaj is among the oldest instruments in Indian classical music, descended from the ancient mridanga mentioned in Vedic texts and the Natya Shastra. It was the standard percussion instrument for all of Hindustani classical music until the tabla began replacing it in the eighteenth century. Today it survives primarily in the Dhrupad and Haveli Sangeet (temple music) traditions, where its deeper, more ceremonial sound remains appropriate.
The pakhawaj's survival alongside the tabla represents the continuity of the oldest stratum of Indian classical music. Its repertoire and its association with the Dhrupad tradition connect the modern classical tradition directly to the ancient texts. To hear pakhawaj in a Dhrupad performance is to hear the percussion tradition of the Mughal court, largely unchanged across four centuries.