Ask HSC student Sanika Kulkarni what she does to relax in between exam preparation, and she’ll reply, “Dhol tasha.”
She’s referring of course to the pair of traditional marching drums that owe their origin to the west of India,where Sanika traces her own roots.
Dhol tasha in Sydney has been at fever pitch this past week, ahead of the Ganesh Festival that kicks off on the weekend of 7-8 Sept.
Sanika will be part of the dhol tasha troupe that will welcome the giant idol of Ganesha in a grand procession to the premises of Swaminarayan temple on Bessemer Street in Blacktown.
“I enjoy the creative energy of playing the dhol, as it helps manage the stress of the dreaded HSC,” she laughs. “Dhol practice is musical therapy, a stress buster!”
It’s also exercise, adds Adhvay Bhave, another enthusiastic teen dhol player.
“You need a lot of stamina to carry the huge dhol, and play for two hours at a stretch. It makes me pay attention to my fitness.”
The rhythmic beats of the dhol and tasha will be one of the greatest attractions of the Blacktown event, called Western Sydney Ganeshotsav.
The dhol is a large, two-sided cylindrical drum which is tied to the waist of the drummer for support. The tasha is smaller, a one-sided hand-held drum with a high pitch.
The tasha drummers play a role not unlike snare drummers in a drum ensemble. The music typically follows a call-and-response structure, alternating between 4 to 5 rhythm patterns.
Sunil Havele has been mentoring the Sydney dhol tasha team.
“Our group of twenty-five participants is made up of men, women and teenagers of various age groups,” he describes to Indian Link. “We’ve been going for nine years now. The rehearsals usually begin three months ahead of the festival, and the team meets on the weekends to practise for two to three hours, adding new beats to their repertoire. I admire their passion and commitment when they turn up for the rehearsals despite their busy schedules.”
They started off with six dhols and two tashas, and over a period of time have acquired eighteen dhols and five tashas, bringing them from India with financial contributions from the team.
It was freedom fighter Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak who helped popularise the drums, perhaps unintentionally. He successfully turned the religious Ganesh Festival into a festival of mass social awakening during India’s freedom struggle. The beats of the dhol and tasha, used traditionally as a means of communication during festivals and celebrations, served as a unifying force in Tilak’s plan, bringing communities together under a patriotic fervour.
In keeping with that spirit, Rahul Kulkarni, one of the organisers of the dhol squad, says, “Though dhol and tasha are typically Maharashtrian, in Sydney we have people from various parts of India participating enthusiastically by learning to play the drums. On the day itself, both Indians and non-Indians end up swaying to the beat of the dhol and enjoying its magical rhythm.”
Sandeep Dalal, another organiser, explains, “At the conclusion of the festival, ie, after the Ganesh visarjan (immersion of the idol in water) the huge dhols are stored away safely in the players’ garages until next year,”
Ganesha is the most well-known of Hindu gods outside Hinduism, thanks to his distinctive physical appearance – an elephant head and a pot belly. Within Hinduism, he’s the most loved of the gods, as a remover of obstacles. He is invoked at the onset of any new venture, whether business, academics, farming, weddings or festivals.
Uday Kulkarni, one of the organisers of the Western Sydney Ganeshotsav described how the festival in Blacktown is attracting more people each year, with numbers expected to cross 500 this year. Equally, the number of volunteers is also growing, with separate teams set up for each task.
Just like back home in India, Ganesh Festival (also called Ganesh Chaturthi or Ganapathi puja) is celebrated in various suburbs of Sydney with great pomp and splendour for up to ten days culminating in a grand immersion of the idol in water.
The local dhol tasha troupe will miss their pioneer Udhav Ranade as they take their drums out this year.
“We lost him to cancer, sadly,” team member Sudha Ramesh says. “But his daughters Ridhi and Richa Ranade are continuing the tradition of the dhol tasha in Sydney – we hope our joyous beats will spread festive cheer across communities.”
“Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to all,” she finishes, running her fingers expertly on the tasha.
