Dhol Wala in Bhopal
Humans have developed musical instruments through the years. There are a lot of new musical instruments but dhol goes back to 15th century. The first appearance was seen in the Ain-i-Akabri which says that it was used in the royal orchestra of Akbar the great.
Construction
The structure of dhol is a barrel drum having covering to play on its both sides. This is usually playing along with instruments of different music forms. Depending on the region the sizes and styles of the drum can differ. In qawwali music smaller drums are used and in Punjab the drums still have not lost its characteristic big size as they require more bass in their bhangra music. The basic structure is of a wooden barrel having animal hide or synthetic skin stretched over both the ends of the barrel. Even though the instrument is old but it also has the facility to adjust the pitch of the sound that it emits.
With the use of nut, bolts and interwoven ropes you can easily tighten or loosen the animal hide and adjust the pitch of the dhol. The skin at the end is thicker at one end and thinner at the other. This helps the player to produce the sound of higher bass and lighter bass from the dhol.
Playing
Dhol is a majestic instrument. It is conventionally played using two sticks. One is called dagga and the other one is called tihli. The dagga is used to strike the thicker end of the dhol and is bent in a quarter circles and tihli is used to strike the thinner end of the dhol. It is majorly famous in Punjab. Around 100 years back there were many specific rhythms played using the dhol which the new players are not aware of. The folk dance of Punjab bhangra has given birth to many new rhythms of new generation.
Punjabi dhol player in bhopal are great to watch at. The rhythms and the enthusiasm with which they play are unique.