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Kleines Glossar indischer Instumente.
Der Text ist in gekürzter Form von Suneera Kasliwal,
Classical Musical Instruments, Delhi 2001, entnommen.
Ghatam
Bhanda vadya seems to have been the ancient Indian word used to denote drums made of clay. They have more or less spherical bodies.
Bhand literally means a vessel or a pot. In ancient literature, Ramayana and Jatakas, etc., we get references of bhanda vadyas in
abundance which were of various shapes and sizes. We get the details of the earliest pot drums in Natya Shastra in which it is called
dardur and constitutes an important part of the ensemble along with the mridang and panav. The instrument can be seen in the
sculptures of various temples. Dardur is described as spherical shaped. Its mouth was covered with hide, which was kept intact by
means of a jute string. In playing, both the hands were used. Various types of sounds were produced by placing the different parts
of the palm and fingers on the mouth of the pot.
Later on, it slowly declined in importance and at the time of another important text of the thirteenth century, it almost lost its
independent identity, and the name was also changed from dardur to ghatam, and the mnemonics described were the same as those
described for mridang.
Zur Ghatam im Katalg
With the passage of time the covering of the mouth of the spherical pot was dropped.
Gradually this uncovered ghat became a popular instrument of folk music of various regions in the north, whereas in the south it
rose to the status of a concert instrument. It is just a coincidence that in Carnatic music it is again played with mridangam and
khanjeera as a part of an- ensemble. All the rhythmic patterns of mridangam can be played upon this instrument. It is for the last
100 or 150 years that ghatam has been honoured for being introduced into the more serious type of music of the Carnatic system.
By the continuous pressing and opening of the ghatam's mouth against the stomach of the player, a wide variety of sound modulations
can be produced. The strokes are given on various parts of the pot, the neck, the centre and the bottom with the help of palms,
wrists, fingers and nails of both the hands. Ghatam is said to be made of the five elements of nature, i.e. earth, water, fire, air
and space.
Ghatams are made of clay with iron fillings. Copper, silver, gold and aluminium particles are also mixed with the clay to give the
instrument sweet and resonant tonal quality.
The instrument is made in various types so as to suit the different sruties. Mostly the sruti of the instrument would be the adhara
sruti of a performance. By taking precaution with regard to sruti, the quality of the performance is greatly enhanced. When soap or
wet clay is applied to the neck of the ghatam, it brings down the sruti by half a note or one note. In winter, if heated, the
instrument gives a good tone.
The first man who developed the instrument as an accompaniment was probably Vidwan Chidambara lyer of Polagam. He flourished in the
latter half of the nineteenth century.
In recent times the credit for making the instrument famous in international concert halls, fusion concerts, percussion ensembles
and other experimental ventures goes to the ghatam maestro Vikku Vinayakram. It is due to him that the ghatam, hitherto only an
accompaniment, has finally come to occupy centrestage.
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