dhak (instrument)

{{Short description|Musical instrument from the Indian subcontinent}}

{{Other uses|Dhak (disambiguation){{!}}Dhak}}

{{EngvarB|date=September 2024}}

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File:Dhak at Dhakeshwari Temple.jpg]]

{{Listen

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| description = A 1:38 minute sample of Dhak playing during Durga Puja.

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The dhak is a huge membranophone instrument from Bengal and Assam.{{cite book |last1=Barthakur |first1=Dilip Ranjan |title=The Music and Musical Instruments of North Eastern India |date=2003 |publisher=Mittal Publications |isbn=978-81-7099-881-5 |page=97 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oP4vH-4oSEcC&dq=dhak+instrument&pg=PA97}} The shapes differ from the almost cylindrical to the barrel. The manner of stretching the hide over the mouths and lacing also varies. It suspended from the neck, tied to the waist and kept on the lap or the ground, and usually played with wooden sticks. The left side is coated to give it a heavier sound.{{cite web | url = http://www.beatofindia.com/mainpages/instruments.htm| title = Instruments| access-date = 13 January 2008 | work =Percussions | publisher = beatofindia.com }}

It is of medieval origin,{{cite book |last1=Kuppuswamy |first1=Gowri |last2=Hariharan |first2=Muthuswamy |title=Indian Music: A Perspective |date=1980 |publisher=Sundeep Prakashan |isbn=978-0-8364-0629-0 |page=152 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c3oHAQAAMAAJ&q=dhak+instrument+origin}} and is used in Hindu religious festivals of the region, especially of Sakta and Shaiva traditions, including Durga Puja, Kali Puja and Charak Puja.{{cite book |title=Folk-lore |date=1975 |publisher=Indian Publications |pages=429, 430 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IMvjAAAAMAAJ&q=dhak+instrument+origin}}

The drum beats, mostly played by the Bengali Hindu community, along with the arati (invocation dance) forms an integral part of Durga Puja unique to Bengal.{{cite web | url = http://www.durga-puja.org/tradition.html | title = Traditions of Durga Puja| access-date = 13 January 2008 | publisher = Society for confluence of festivals in India }} The tea-tribes of Assam play dhak along with nagara.

The Statesman wrote, "Durga Puja does not assume the festive aura without the maddening beats of the dhak, the large drum that people hang around their necks and play with two thin sticks to infuse the frenzied rhythm into listeners. Those enchanting beats are enough to conjure up the sights and smells of Durga Puja."{{cite news |last=Bhattachatya |first=Kajari |date=26 September 2006 |title=Beats of changing time |newspaper=The Statesman |location=Kolkata}}

It is also played in Islamic festivals like Muharram in Bengal.{{cite news |last1=Dutta |first1=Koushik |date=2 October 2017 |title=In this Bengal village Hindu dhakis beat drums for Muharram procession |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/kolkata/in-this-bengal-village-hindu-dhakis-beat-drums-for-muharram-procession/story-OS1JP2lMDV049JTX7NrzoN.html |work=Hindustan Times |access-date=22 September 2024}}

File:বীরভূম জেলার মনসা পূজায় ঢাকিরা.jpg|Bengali drummers during Manasa Puja in Birbhum, West Bengal

File:BD Dhaki.JPG|Bengal drummer and a dhaki

File:Dhak 2010 Arnab Dutta.JPG|A dhaki with his magnificent dhak at a South Kolkata Durga Puja pandal, 2010.

File:Dhaki Bazaar - Sealdah Railway Station - Kolkata 2011-10-03 030246.JPG|Dhak players, Sealdah, Kolkata

File:Pohela boishakh rally.jpg|Pohela Boishakh procession from Dhaka University, Dhaka, Bangladesh