<p>They give music to the mantras recited during Durga Puja. The sound of dhaak beats indicates the arrival of Maa Durga at her maternal house. There is a rush of adrenaline when the dhaaks, the traditional drums, play.<br /><br /></p>.<p>From food to decorations, Anandmela to cultural programmes, idols to Ashtamir Anjali – all elements of Durga Puja come together in Delhi, creating a mini-Kolkata here.<br /><br />This includes the dhaakis or drummers who travel a distance of more than 1,500 km to show their skills and provide the traditional fervour at the various Puja pandals. During this period, Delhi sees a flood of them flocking from West Bengal districts like Medinipur, Birbhum and Bardhaman.<br /><br />Many of them are following the age-old tradition of their fathers. They used to come with their fathers when young and now they play alone even though their fathers still accompany them.<br /><br />“My father has been coming here from the past 20 years. I am following his legacy and this is my fifth year here. I arrived early with both mine and my father’s dhaak. I have been learning the art of playing dhaak since childhood from my father. Initially I used to play kashor (a musical instrument played during Durga Puja) and that’s how I learnt to play the dhaak,” says Rabin Bagh, who has come from Medinipur.<br /><br />Sagar Das, who hails from Birbhum, has been accompanying his father Nidhiram Das to Delhi for the past eight years.<br /><br />The dhaakis from Bengal put up at the various Kalibaris in the city – like the Mandir Marg Kalibari, Jhilmil Kalibari and Mayur Vihar Kalibari. They are hired from these places and then taken to play at the various pandals at housing societies and at puja mandaps.<br /><br />“We come four or five days before the pujas and stay here. Some organisers provide us fare for the travel while some do not. We get raw material from our villages and cook at the kalibari for the next few days. The organisers hire us on contract and take us to play at their respective pandals,” says Ramu from Medinipur.<br /><br />More money than what they get in Bengal draws these traditional musicians to the city. Each dhaaki gets Rs 12,000 to Rs 14,000 for the five-day period in Delhi. <br />“I have been coming here from the past four-five years. The main reason for coming to Delhi is that we get paid more here, contrary to Kolkata where even the renowned and the famous Puja pandals would pay us seven to eight thousand rupees. Another reason is that we can also see places here during our stay,” says Jagannath Kuilya from Medinipur.<br /><br />Tech challenge<br /><br />But the dhaakis face a challenge from technology in the form of recorded dhaak music and hymns played during aarti at the pandals. “Nowadays our work has reduced because people prefer playing the recorded CDs and DVDs with the dhaak music and kashor,” says Ramu.<br /><br />“We also face a lot of problem while coming in the train with our dhaaks and have to shell out extra money to the police officers who create ruckus in the trains,” he says.<br /><br />S S Basak, secretary of the 77-year-old Puja at Minto Road, believes the dhaakis were the pioneer of music during Durga Puja, and this is the reason they get them from Bolpur to invoke religious and traditional feelings among the pandal hoppers.He says the best dhaakis are from Bolpur.<br /><br />“In the old days, these dhaakis used to be the pioneer of music. They gave the beats and music to the hymns recited during the puja,” says Basak, whose theme for this year’s Puja is Rajabadi or the royal palace.<br /><br />With their drums hanging from the shoulder and drum sticks in their hands, the dhaakis and their feathered dhaaks make a fascinating sight for the audience. The dhaaks are made of mango or jackfruit wood. The structure is covered by goat skin, available after the sacrifice of rams during occasions like Kali Puja.<br /><br />Chumur or egret feathers are used to decorate the dhaaks making them distinguishable from a distance. The dhaaks are decorated according to the demand and the chamda or the skin, along with the rope (dori) and `loha bedi’ (a metal structure to support the drum), is changed every year to make them more durable.<br /><br />The dhaakis say they like coming to the capital. “I come to Delhi because the behaviour of people here is better than in Kolkata,” says Rabin Bagh.</p>
<p>They give music to the mantras recited during Durga Puja. The sound of dhaak beats indicates the arrival of Maa Durga at her maternal house. There is a rush of adrenaline when the dhaaks, the traditional drums, play.<br /><br /></p>.<p>From food to decorations, Anandmela to cultural programmes, idols to Ashtamir Anjali – all elements of Durga Puja come together in Delhi, creating a mini-Kolkata here.<br /><br />This includes the dhaakis or drummers who travel a distance of more than 1,500 km to show their skills and provide the traditional fervour at the various Puja pandals. During this period, Delhi sees a flood of them flocking from West Bengal districts like Medinipur, Birbhum and Bardhaman.<br /><br />Many of them are following the age-old tradition of their fathers. They used to come with their fathers when young and now they play alone even though their fathers still accompany them.<br /><br />“My father has been coming here from the past 20 years. I am following his legacy and this is my fifth year here. I arrived early with both mine and my father’s dhaak. I have been learning the art of playing dhaak since childhood from my father. Initially I used to play kashor (a musical instrument played during Durga Puja) and that’s how I learnt to play the dhaak,” says Rabin Bagh, who has come from Medinipur.<br /><br />Sagar Das, who hails from Birbhum, has been accompanying his father Nidhiram Das to Delhi for the past eight years.<br /><br />The dhaakis from Bengal put up at the various Kalibaris in the city – like the Mandir Marg Kalibari, Jhilmil Kalibari and Mayur Vihar Kalibari. They are hired from these places and then taken to play at the various pandals at housing societies and at puja mandaps.<br /><br />“We come four or five days before the pujas and stay here. Some organisers provide us fare for the travel while some do not. We get raw material from our villages and cook at the kalibari for the next few days. The organisers hire us on contract and take us to play at their respective pandals,” says Ramu from Medinipur.<br /><br />More money than what they get in Bengal draws these traditional musicians to the city. Each dhaaki gets Rs 12,000 to Rs 14,000 for the five-day period in Delhi. <br />“I have been coming here from the past four-five years. The main reason for coming to Delhi is that we get paid more here, contrary to Kolkata where even the renowned and the famous Puja pandals would pay us seven to eight thousand rupees. Another reason is that we can also see places here during our stay,” says Jagannath Kuilya from Medinipur.<br /><br />Tech challenge<br /><br />But the dhaakis face a challenge from technology in the form of recorded dhaak music and hymns played during aarti at the pandals. “Nowadays our work has reduced because people prefer playing the recorded CDs and DVDs with the dhaak music and kashor,” says Ramu.<br /><br />“We also face a lot of problem while coming in the train with our dhaaks and have to shell out extra money to the police officers who create ruckus in the trains,” he says.<br /><br />S S Basak, secretary of the 77-year-old Puja at Minto Road, believes the dhaakis were the pioneer of music during Durga Puja, and this is the reason they get them from Bolpur to invoke religious and traditional feelings among the pandal hoppers.He says the best dhaakis are from Bolpur.<br /><br />“In the old days, these dhaakis used to be the pioneer of music. They gave the beats and music to the hymns recited during the puja,” says Basak, whose theme for this year’s Puja is Rajabadi or the royal palace.<br /><br />With their drums hanging from the shoulder and drum sticks in their hands, the dhaakis and their feathered dhaaks make a fascinating sight for the audience. The dhaaks are made of mango or jackfruit wood. The structure is covered by goat skin, available after the sacrifice of rams during occasions like Kali Puja.<br /><br />Chumur or egret feathers are used to decorate the dhaaks making them distinguishable from a distance. The dhaaks are decorated according to the demand and the chamda or the skin, along with the rope (dori) and `loha bedi’ (a metal structure to support the drum), is changed every year to make them more durable.<br /><br />The dhaakis say they like coming to the capital. “I come to Delhi because the behaviour of people here is better than in Kolkata,” says Rabin Bagh.</p>
