Bihu's heart misses a beat

- 'Cheap' threat to Traditional dhol

KONGKON K. BORA

Artisans at work in Jamuguri village. Telegraph picture

Sivasagar, April 11: At a time when voices are being raised about the invasion of Benarasi silk in Assam, another local craft, dhol-making, is facing extinction because of the availability of cheaper versions of the musical instrument in the market.

For the past 250 years, artisans of Phulpanisiga Jamuguri village near Janji in Sivasagar district, 25km from Sivasagar town, 360km from Guwahati, have thrived on making dhols, played during Bihu husoris and solo performances.

Jamuguri carved a niche for itself in making dhols since the Ahom royal family started the custom of Bihu husoris at the Rang Ghar bakori (courtyard).

As Bihu gained popularity, the demand for dhols increased and the area became synonymous with the instrument.

Jamuguri is to dhols what Sivakasi is to firecrackers. Nearly 100 craftsmen in almost 30 households in the area were once engaged in making this unique musical instrument and this was the only place where dhols were made till a decade back.

However, entry of low cost dhols in the market has forced all, except two families, to leave the profession and find other avenues of livelihood. Now, braving all odds, three brothers in each of the two families at Bolomia Betoni Chuk are desperately trying to keep alive the century-old practice.

While Amrit, Binod and Ujjal inherited the craft from their father Gilasi Saikia, Suren, Rajen and Ghanashyam inherited the same from their father Dhaniram Saikia. The two families get busy making the instrument in the run-up to Bohag Bihu.

Binod said truckloads of dhols are imported from Calcutta every year to cater to the market demand. "Dhols are also made in some other parts of the state, but the raw materials used in them are imported from Calcutta," he added.

Ujjal said the cheap dhols available in the market use substandard materials. Making of genuine dhols is a cumbersome process and involves precise selection of raw material for the different parts. "Only jackfruit tree trunks are used for the body of the instrument. Each dhol measures 22 inches in length and the circumference in the middle should measure four-and-a-half feet," he said.

Selection of the leather used in making dhol is also a meticulous process. "The side of the dhol used for beating with the stick is called kuboni and the other side used for beating with the hand is called tali. The leather strings to bind the two sides are called boroti. For the tali, the skin of the neck of a young cow is used. For kuboni and boroti, skin from the buttocks of cows and bulls are selected respectively," Ujjal said.

It takes a week to complete one dhol and the Saikia siblings make about 50 of them every year. "We have limited resources and cannot produce more than 50 dhols a year," Amrit said.

For each dhol, the brothers charge Rs 6,500, whereas the cheaper versions are available at Rs 2,500-3,000. They also charge Rs 1,600 to repair old ones and this year, they have repaired 200 dhols.

However, despite the difference in price, the brothers fail to meet the demands of the buyers. "All the professional Bihu husori teams purchase our dhols for performances. Our clientele include exponents of the musical instrument such as Somnath Bora, Debeswar Saikia and Prasenjit Bora," Amrit said.

Besides dhols, the two families also make mridong, doba khol, negera, dagar, tukari and do-tara.

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