The tabla emerged in northern India around the 18th century as a development of the older pakhawaj drums. The pair consists of: the dayan (right, smaller, conical, with a bright ringing tone) and the bayan (left, larger, hemispherical, with a deep “droning” bass).
On each drumhead is a black circle — the syahi, a paste of iron, rice, and gum applied in layers. It gives the signature “tunable” timbre and allows complex micro-melodies to be played on a single drum by varying hand pressure.
The playing technique is one of the most demanding in world percussion: dozens of distinct sounds from a single drum (bols), complex polyrhythms, rapid melodic phrases. Tabla legends: Ustad Alla Rakha (longtime partner of Ravi Shankar); his son Zakir Hussain (1951–2024), the most renowned player of his generation, who performed jazz-fusion with John McLaughlin in the group Shakti. In Ukraine the tabla appears on the stages of Indian cultural festivals.
