instruments Avanada      Chenda      Damru      Dhol      Dholak      Drums      Duff      Gharha      Ghatam      Kanjira      Mridangam      Other Drums      Pakhavaj     Tabla Ghana Susir Tantu

A paste of boiled rice, manganese dust or iron fillings and tamarind juice is applied to the smaller head; and a wheat flour paste on the larger head helps to produce the lower notes. These paste centres, unlike those of the tabla, have to be removed after each performance and put afresh for the next. The pakhavaj has a deep, mellow sound and is used to accompany dhrupad and dhamar singing and the music of the been and rabab. Ideally, it is also used to accompany Kathak dancing. The pakhavaj is often known as the mridang.

Dholak :
A drum made from hollowed out wood, fat waisted and tapering towards the ends. The two drums are of skin stretched over hoops. The pitch is varied by adjusting the rings through which pass the interlacing cords that link the drumheads. The dholak is popular as an accompaniment to folk music in north India. It is played with the fingers and usually a second person keeps time with a ring or small stone on the body of the drum.

Mridangam :
The mridangam is as widely used in the South as the tablā is in the north.  It is like the Pakhāvaj but somewhat smaller and thinner, and is now made more often of wood than clay.