While several artists have been credited with the evolution of the instrument, including the stalwart Palghat Mani Iyer, none of them had knowledge of a fundamental aspect of the making: hide.
From acquiring the skins for the circular membranes and straps to the wood for the drum, from curing the material to the final construction, and at the end of it all, making sure that it has the tone that the mrdangam player wants, mrdangam-making is also a highly nuanced operation at every stage. The making process is an intellectually, aesthetically and physically taxing one. Krishna investigates the history of the mrdangam and meets the invisible keepers of a tradition: the mrdangam makers. Yet?startling as this is? the instrument as we know it is only a century old. The mrdangam is an integral part of the Karnatik stage, its primary percussion instrument.
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