The kanjira, khanjira, khanjiri or ganjira, a

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

frame drum A frame drum is a drum that has a drumhead width greater than its depth. It is one of the most ancient musical instruments, and perhaps the first drum to be invented. It has a single drumhead that is usually made of rawhide, but man-made mat ...

, is an instrument of the

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

family. As a folk and

bhajan Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...

instrument, it has been used in India for many centuries. The kanjira's emergence in South Indian Carnatic music, as well as the development of the modern form of the instrument, is credited to Manpoondia Pillai. In the 1880s, Manpoondia Pillai was a temple lantern-bearer who sought to study drumming. He modified it to a frame drum with a single pair of jingles and brought the instrument to a classical stage. It is used primarily in concerts of

Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the Dravidian languages, South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, an ...

(South Indian classical music) as a supporting instrument for the ''

mridangam The mridangam is a percussion instrument of ancient origin. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. In Dhrupad, a modified version, the pakhawaj, is the primary percussion instrument. A related instrument is the ...

''.

Construction

Similar to the Western tambourine, it consists of a circular frame made of the wood of the

jackfruit The jackfruit (''Artocarpus heterophyllus''), also known as jack tree, is a species of tree in the fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae). Its origin is in the region between the Western Ghats of southern India, all of Bangladesh, ...

tree, between 7 and 9 inches in width and 2 to 4 inches in depth. It is covered on one side with a

drumhead A drumhead or drum skin is a membrane stretched over one or both of the open ends of a drum. The drumhead is struck with sticks, mallets, or hands, so that it vibrates and the sound resonates through the drum. Additionally outside of percus ...

made of

monitor lizard Monitor lizards are lizards in the genus ''Varanus,'' the only extant genus in the family Varanidae. They are native to Africa, Asia, and Oceania, and one species is also found in the Americas as an invasive species. About 80 species are recogn ...

skin (specifically the

Bengal monitor The Bengal monitor (''Varanus bengalensis''), also called the common Indian monitor, is a monitor lizard distributed widely in the Indian Subcontinent, as well as parts of Southeast Asia and West Asia. This large lizard is mainly a terrestrial a ...

, ''Varanus bengalensis'', now an endangered species in India), while the other side is left open. The traditional lizard skin is prohibited worldwide due to protection of species regulations. Even well-known Kanjira players, however, attest to the great advantages of using goat skin as an alternative. After playing for a while, the goat skin gets more and more flexible and offers a wider range of possible modulations. The frame has a single slit which contain three to four small metal discs (often old coins) that jingle when the kanjira is played.

Play

The ''kanjira'' is a relatively difficult Indian drum to play, especially in South Indian Carnatic music, for reasons including the complexity of the percussion patterns used in Indian music. It is normally played with the palm and fingers of the right hand, while the left hand supports the drum. The fingertips of the left hand can be used to bend the pitch by applying pressure near the outer rim. It is not tuned to any particular pitch, unlike the mridangam or the

ghatam The ghaṭam ( sa, घटं ''ghaṭaṁ'', kan, ಘಟ ''ghaṭah'', ta, கடம் ''ghatam'', te, ఘటం ''ghatam'', ml, ഘടം, ''ghatam'') is a percussion instrument used in various repertoires across India. It's a variant ...

. Normally, without tuning, it has a very high pitched sound. To get a good bass sound, the performer reduces the tension of the drumhead by sprinkling water on the inside of the instrument. This process may have to be repeated during a concert to maintain a good sound. However, if the instrument is too moist, it will have a dead tone, requiring 5–10 minutes to dry. Tone is also affected by external temperature and moisture conditions. Performers typically carry a couple of ''kanjira''s so that they can keep at least one in perfectly tuned condition at any given time. Depending on dexterity, surprising

glissando In music, a glissando (; plural: ''glissandi'', abbreviated ''gliss.'') is a glide from one pitch to another (). It is an Italianized musical term derived from the French ''glisser'', "to glide". In some contexts, it is distinguished from the co ...

effects like on the Tabla are possible.

Nepal

In Nepal the Kanjira is called Khaijadi (खैंजडी). The country has a variety of tambourines besides the Khaijadi, including the Daanf, Damphu (डम्फू) and Hring. The instrument is used in dances and chants at festivals. One example are the Khanjadi bhajan (खैंजडी भजन), hymns sung in the

Chhetri Chhetri (Kshetri, Kshettri, Kshetry or Chhettri), ( ne, क्षेत्री ; IAST: ''Kṣetrī'') historically called Kshettriya or Kshetriya or Khas are Nepali speakers of Khas community, some of whom trace their origin to migration fro ...

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

society. It is customary to sing this khanjadi bhajan in the Kathmandu Valley as well as in most parts of the eastern hills. Most of the performers are from the regional Brahmin community, but all castes are entertained as spectators and listeners. The event includes dancers dancing in pairs while Chudka hymns are sung by the musicians and audience. The event uses Puranic Hindu scriptures. This type of hymn uses a mixture of both verse and prose. At the beginning, part of the story is presented in prose. Then the lyrical hymn begins. To sing a hymn, one has to study the religious texts extensively and be able to give it its original form. The voice of the psalmist should also be such that it can attract everyone. In the same way, there should be singers who can play the khanjadi used in the psalms skillfully and know how to dance.

Players

* G. Harishankar *

V. Nagarajan ''V.'' is the debut novel of Thomas Pynchon, published in 1963. It describes the exploits of a discharged U.S. Navy sailor named Benny Profane, his reconnection in New York with a group of pseudo-bohemian artists and hangers-on known as the Whol ...

* C. P. Vyasa Vittala *

Bangalore Amrit Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

* B. Shree Sundarkumar *

V. Selvaganesh V. Selvaganesh is an Indian percussionist working in the Carnatic tradition and one of the leading kanjira (south Indian frame drum) players of his generation. He is also known as "Chella S. Ganesh." Career Selvaganesh gained world fame through ...

* A.S.N.Swamy * B.S. Purushotham * G. Guru Prasanna * N. Ganesh Kumar *

S Sunil Kumar S, or s, is the nineteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. History ...

* Nerkunam Sankar *

Anirudh Athreya Aniruddha ( sa, अनिरुद्ध ') is a character in Hindu mythology, the son of Pradyumna and Rukmavati, and the grandson of Krishna and Rukmini. He is said to have been very much like his grandfather, to the extent that he is con ...

* Hariharasharma * KV Gopalakrishnan * Sunaad Anoor * kadirvel .N. Chandramouli

References

External links