Irfan Shaikh and his community reside in the bustling lanes of Mumbai’s Dahisar. They keep the age-old tradition of dholak-making alive against modern-day challenges. A film showcasing Irfan and his time-tested craft
Percussion instruments play a big role in Assamese festivals celebrated through the year. The skilled craftsmen who make and repair these critical dhols, khols and more, say the new anti-slaughter law has led to a rise in prices, and harassment
A religious folk performance practised in the satras of Majuli, Assam
In western Odisha, the dhole, nishan, tasha, muhuri and khartal are played and performed by skilled artists drawn from Dalit, Adivasi and Brahmin communities
The drums of Agartala’s dhakis are already pounding, with Durga Puja beginning on October 11. At other times, these drummers ply cycle rickshaws, or work as vendors, farmers, plumbers and electricians
With no sales in the Covid-19 lockdown, and difficulty in procuring rawhide for their bespoke percussion instruments, the Kadachi Kollan craftspeople in Kerala’s Peruvemba village are missing a steady income
The traditional drummers of rural Bengal are having a hard time in Kolkata this season
Parai artists Manimaran and Magizhini are tapping into social media to continue performing under lockdown, and spreading awareness about Covid-19 through talks and recorded videos
In Parappa village of Kerala, men from the Mavilan Adivasi community drum on ‘grass’ during festivals and other events, and for the rest of the year these musicians are daily wage labourers
Every year, musicians from Dalit communities in western Odisha gather at a square in Raipur, and wait to be hired by OBC dance groups from Chhattisgarh
The Adivasis of the Niyamgiri hills of Odisha won a victory in 2013 against mining, but the threats to their ancestral land remain. Rajkishor Sunani, poet-activist, sang about at the recent Niyamgiri festival
Young women on the outskirts of Bengaluru excel at a Kannada drum-and-dance form long thought to be a skill for burly men. In the video here, watch the group perform with extraordinary energy and rhythm
Battling barbs from villagers, abusive husbands, and centuries-old caste prejudices, ten Dalit women in Dhibra village of Bihar have formed a band – and now have many marching and swaying to their beat
In the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, different types of Holi are celebrated across many days, and the festivities are a time for the women in the villages here to dance and let their songs reverberate amid the mountains. A photo story for PARI's International Women’s Day series throughout March
Srilal Sahani is a fish-seller by day and an extraordinary musician by evening – he rides hands-off on a bicycle while playing a dhol and cymbals behind him – in Santiniketan, West Bengal
In Mawaiya Uparhar village in Uttar Pradesh, a student-led procession to promote the education of girls gave Mamta Nishad a chance to study further
A village crier in Solapur spreads messages to the beats of a drum
Choliya troupes in Uttarakhand integrate Scottish bagpipes into rural Indian music
Two young girls at Kattaikkuttu Gurukulam play the mridangam
This traditional drum of Manipur's Meitei community is central to their culture, and to spectacular music and dance
Watch Kali Veerapadran – perhaps the only male dancer who has mastered the classical dance form Bharatanatyam, as well as three ancient Tamil folk dance forms – in a riveting performance
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