Dhakis expect bigger exposure of their ‘art’

Durga Puja in Bengal is incomplete without ‘dhakis’ or drummers and in every puja pandal, small or big, one can see them beating on the instrument.

It is this time of the year the dhakis, living mostly in rural areas, look forward to, not just for earning money but for the pleasure of playing before the city crowd.

“An appreciative glance at us from ‘babus’ and ‘didis’ among the milling crowd gladden our hearts,” said Lochan Das from village in Beldanga in Murshidabad district.

Haradhan Gayen from Jiaganj in the same district nodded in agreement, saying this was an art for them and a tradition which had been handed down to them from generations past.

Both of them admitted that at a certain point in their lives they considered quitting playing the dhak because there were other jobs promising more income.

“Who doesn’t want to earn more in these hard-pressed times? But then we just couldn’t do it. We cannot give up even if we face abject poverty,” Lochan told PTI at a north Kolkata puja pandal taking a break from the rhythm he was creating with the two long sticks.

Gayen, however, noted that things had of late started to look up.

“I am giving interviews before TV cameras this time and the babus have told me I can be taken abroad if I perform well. Above all we are being paid handsomely,” he said.

Totan Das, who has come along with his father’s group and is still learning the art, has taken up playing drums, including the dhak, as a full time profession.

Initially, he said, he started with playing cymbal (bell metal) which is an integral accompaniment to the dhak and then graduated to playing the instrument.

He is the fourth generation member of a drummer family.

In 2008 at the Trikone Park Baroari Durga Puja in south Kolkata, Totan enrolled in a drumming contest called ‘Rhythm’ and he bagged the runners-up award.

In 2010, he won the championship at the same puja pandal and was now being guided by experts like Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty (classical vocalist), Mallar Ghosh (percussionist), Nondon Bagchi (drum player) and Subhen Chatterjee (percussionist).

Das, who recently shared stage with Bickram Ghosh, famed percussionist, is now assisting a panel of celebrity artistes for spotting the Best Dhaki Award in a contest.

“The drummers were earlier offered just a five-day contract after which they would head back to their villages and lapse back to their humble existence,” eminent classical singer Kaushiki Chakraborty said.

Now the mushrooming drumming contests have made things brighter for them, she said.

“We are working on the process of finding the ‘Rhythm Dhaki Srestho’, who will then be taken under the wings of percussion ‘gurus’ under whose guidance their talents will be polished,” young percussionist Mallar Ghosh said.

Celebrated vocalist and father of Kaushiki, Ajoy Chakraborty, said more platforms have opened up now for the gifted dhakis to showcase their talents, but spotting them was the most important thing.

Well-known musician Nondon Bagchi, associated with the move to spot talented dhakis, of the rock band Hip Pocket said one should promote ‘dhak’ as it symbolises Bengali tradition.

This year, as in previous years, three best dhakis have been selected from among hundreds engaged in different puja pandals. Of them, 25 have been short-listed for selecting the final three. The three would be later taken abroad for performances, Bagchi said.

Budding and talented dhak players will also be given scholarships, Dwaipayan Das, one of the organisers of the contest, said.

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