Abids · Hyderabad
Learn the mṛdaṅga as seva
A volunteer-run class that teaches the two-headed drum of kīrtana, step by step, at your own pace. Teaching and learning are offered as seva: service.
- Open to all from
What the seva is
Students come when it suits them during the open hours, learn at their own pace, and move up through three levels. Volunteer coordinators teach; the facilitator assesses each step up.
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Saṅkalpa
Resolve
Come with a sincere wish to learn. There are no fixed batches: you choose when to come.
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Sādhana
Practice
Learn the strokes and rhythms item by item, practise at home, and see your progress in the app.
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Seva
Service
Play for kīrtana, the singing of the holy names together, and help the next student learn.
- 3 levels Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
- Drop in come during the open hours, no batches
- Children welcome with a parent's or guardian's consent
The instrument
The mṛdaṅga
Also called the khol in Bengal, the mṛdaṅga is a long drum with two heads: a small, high-pitched head on the right (dāyāṅ) and a large bass head on the left (bāyāṅ). Its name joins Sanskrit mṛt, “clay”, and aṅga, “body”: the traditional drum has a clay body with skin heads laced on with leather straps.
Each head has rings with their own names and sounds, from the braided rim to the black centre (syāhī). A student learns the strokes (bols) first, then the rhythms that carry a kīrtana.
Not the South Indian mridangam of Carnatic music: that is a different drum with its own strokes and rhythms.
A first rhythm
Eight beats
An elementary kīrtana rhythm, written in bols, the spoken names of the strokes.
- tā1
- rest2
- rest3
- ka4
- tā5
- ghe6
- ghe7
- rest8
tā: right hand on the small head. ka (closed) and ghe (open): left hand on the bass head. A dash is a rest.
A short history
- 15th–16th century
The clay mṛdaṅga is closely tied to the saṅkīrtana movement of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in Bengal, when singing the holy names together in the streets spread across the region.
- 1970s
Drums with a fibreglass body and synthetic heads are developed, so the mṛdaṅga can travel and be played outdoors, in rain and sun.
- Today
Both kinds are played across eastern India and beyond: clay for its sound, fibreglass for its strength.
Your path
Three levels, at your own pace
Beginner
Holding and caring for the drum, the basic strokes of each hand, the first simple rhythms.
Intermediate
More rhythms, moving from one to another, playing steadily with singing.
Advanced
Longer rhythm cycles, variations, and leading the rhythm in a kīrtana.
To confirm: the facilitator's syllabus for each level; the lines above are a general outline only
Come and play
The class meets in Abids, Hyderabad. To confirm: the address of the class, and whether to publish it
- Open to all