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Odisha Village Drummers Preserve Craft Rooted in Rural Life
In Pahandi, a village in Odisha, some families make traditional drums.
Most villagers also depend on farming.
The drum makers use soil, animal hide, bamboo and colourful cloth.
They learn the craft from older family members.
Different drums make different sounds and are used for songs, dances, prayers and festivals.
Some instruments are played during harvest celebrations.
Musicians take them to performances in other places.
This helps keep the village’s old craft alive.
Eight Chamar-community households in Pahandi make traditional drums alongside farming.
Artisans use carefully selected soil, animal hide, bamboo, textiles and coloured threads.
Pahandi makers produce instruments including mrudanga, khol, dhol and nisan.
The instruments accompany devotional chanting, harvest rituals, dances and festivals across western Odisha.
Family teaching, performers and continuing demand help sustain the craft despite modern pressures.
- Who
- Eight households from Pahandi’s Chamar community, including artisans such as Judhisthir Sagar, make the instruments.
- What
- They produce traditional drums and other percussion instruments while also pursuing agriculture.
- Where
- Pahandi village in Bijepur block of Odisha’s Bargarh district.
- When
- The craft has been passed down for generations; individual instruments take about three to five days to complete.
- Why
- The instruments provide supplementary livelihoods and remain important for rituals, festivals, folk performances and village life.
Key facts
- Village
- Pahandi, in Bijepur block of Bargarh district, Odisha
- Crafting households
- Eight households from the Chamar community make traditional drums
- Main materials
- Selected red or black soil, animal hide, bamboo strips, Sambalpuri printed canvas and coloured threads
- Production time
- Depending on the instrument, three to five days
- Instruments
- Mrudanga, godi mrudanga, udand khol, madol khol, dubi-tabla, pankuch, dhol and nisan
- Uses
- Devotional chanting, harvest rituals, folk dances, festivals and other performances
- Markets and reach
- Instruments have reached districts across Odisha, other parts of India, Australia and Singapore
Quotes
Judhisthir Sagar
A Pahandi farmer and traditional drum maker, locally known as Kutru.
“Traditional instruments help carry the sound of western Odisha to audiences who may be unfamiliar with our folk traditions. A baja does not end its journey at the workshop. An artisan makes it, a performer brings it to life, and a festival gives it meaning.”
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“My uncle taught me this work. I have been doing it for more than six years now. I enjoy making the instruments, especially when I see them being used in our festivals.”
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Sources
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