Sanket Jain

Sanviti Iyer

Editor

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Anoparam
Sutar has never played a musical instrument, but he knows exactly
which wood produces the finest notes. “Give me a piece of wood, and I can tell
you if it will make a good musical instrument,” says the eighth generation khartal
maker. 



A percussion instrument used in Rajasthan&#39;s
folk and devotional music, the khartal is
made up of four pieces, and each hand holds two – one piece is held with the
thumb, and the other with the remaining four fingers. When clapped together,
they produce a clinking sound. Only two syllables are used in the instrument – ta and ka. “Kalakar banvate he [The musicians get khartals made],” the 57-year-old says.



Rajasthani khartals usually don’t have bells embedded in them unlike the ones
with cymbals called manjeera or karatalas. 



The master craftsman can make a four-piece
set in just two hours. “Earlier, it took me an entire day [eight hours],” he
says, recalling his early years in the craft. 
Anoparam’s family of sutars have been making khartals for almost two centuries: “Bachpan
se yehi kaam hai hamara [Since
childhood, this has been our job].” 



He says his father, the
late Uslaram, was a kind teacher,
and one who patiently taught him. “I made a lot of mistakes, lekin
wo kabhi nahi chillate the, pyaar se samajhte the [he never yelled and always taught with love].” Making khartals is only done by men of this sutar community.

A migrant from Barmer district’s Harsani village,
Anoparam came to Jaisalmer in 1981
in search of work as, “in the village, we didn’t get enough carpentry work.”
The master woodworker also knows how to make other instruments – harmonium, kamaicha,
sarangi,
and veena
but, “I rarely get orders for them,” he says. It takes him over a week
to handmake kamaicha and sarangi, which he sells for Rs. 8,000
and Rs. 4,000, respectively. 



Apart from making musical instruments, he has
also mastered making doors with intricately carved flowers, a hallmark design
in Jaisalmer’s architecture. He also makes chairs and wooden furniture items
like wardrobes and dressing units. 



Khartals in Rajasthan’s
Jaisalmer and Jodhpur districts are made with sheesham (Dalbergia sissoo) or safeda
(Eucalyptus) wood. Selecting the right kind of wood is the first and
most important step for making khartals.
“Dekh
ke lena padta he [You have to see carefully and then buy the wood],” he
says. “The younger generation doesn’t even know how to identify the right wood
for making an instrument like khartal.”



Anoparam buys the wood from Jaisalmer and
makes khartals with sheesham and safeda wood, but says that it has become increasingly difficult to
find the right kind of wood now. 



To make a set of four khartals, he uses a 2.5-foot-long piece of wood that costs him
around Rs. 150. He then marks out its dimensions: 7.25 inches long, 2.25 inches
wide, and 6 millimetres deep, and cuts it using a saw. 



“Burada udta he aur naak, aankh me chala
jaata he [The sawdust often goes into the eyes and ears],” he says, and
makes him cough a lot. Wearing a mask doesn’t help, as wearing one for over
eight hours a day is suffocating. “In Jaisalmer’s heat, it gets much worse,” he
says, referring to temperatures in the city that reach above 45 degrees Celsius
in summer.

After sawing the wood, he switches to using a
randa
(hand plane) to smoothen the surface. “This needs to be done carefully.
Even if you make a minute error, you have to start working with another [piece
of] wood,” he says. The khartals strike
repeatedly to produce the musical notes, and any inconsistency with the surface
can change its tone and sound. 



Many times, the saw injures his fingers, and
the hammering also causes him pain, but he dismisses it saying they are a
common part of his job, and his father, Uslaram too often injured himself.



It takes him about an hour to smoothen the
wooden surface, and then he moves on to rounding the four corners by using a
coping saw. After carefully inspecting the rounded corners, Anoparam sands the
edges until they become smooth as glass. 



After buying the khartals, the musicians use sandpaper to improve tonality. The
application of mustard oil gives the instrument a chestnut brown colour. 



He sells a set of four safeda khartals for Rs. 350 and the sheesham ones for Rs. 450 as “sheesham khartals are known for their
better-sounding music and notes,” he says.

Anoparam gets an order for 5-10 pairs of khartals every month. When he started
out, the number was between two and four. While the demand for the instrument
has increased due to the many foreign tourists visiting Rajasthan, the people
making it have reduced. Two decades ago, there were over 15 carpenters who used
to make the instrument, but Anoparam is one of the few remaining khartal makers in Jaisalmer. Younger
carpenters are now moving to cities to craft furniture, as it pays well. Some craftspersons who sell the khartals to tourists, also hold online
sessions with foreign tourists, navigating the different languages. 



“This art is quite old, but the younger
generation doesn’t want to learn how to make a khartal,” he adds. In the past 30 years, Anoparam says he has
taught roughly seven people to make these instruments: “wherever they are, I
hope they are making khartals.” 



His sons, Prakash,
28, and Kailash, 24, never learnt to
make khartals; they work as
carpenters in different states, building furniture at homes and offices. His
daughter, Santosh, is in her
mid-20s, married and a homemaker. When asked if his sons will ever pick
the craft, he says, “koi bharosa nahi he [there’s no assurance]. 



A customer, overhearing our conversation,
asks him, “aap kyu bade shehar nahi gaye jyada paise kamane [why didn’t
you migrate to bigger cities to earn more money].” Anoparam replies, “ham isme khush he [I am happy
with this].”



This story is
part of a series on rural artisans by Sanket Jain, and is supported by the
Mrinalini Mukherjee Foundation.

'I hope they are making khartals'

’مجھے امید ہے وہ کھرتال بنا رہے ہوں گے‘

‘கர்தால்கள் நிலைக்கும் என்று நம்புகிறேன்’

'ਯਕੀਨਨ ਉਹ ਅੱਜ ਵੀ ਖਰਤਾਲ ਬਣਾਉਂਦੇ ਹੋਣਗੇ'

‘ମୁଁ ଆଶା କରୁଛି ସେମାନେ ଖରତାଲ୍ ତିଆରି କରୁଥିବେ’

‘खरताल बनवत असावेत म्हणजे झालं’

‘അവർ ഖർതാലുണ്ടാക്കുക്കുന്നുണ്ടാ‍വും’

'ಅವರೂ ಖರ್ತಾಲ್‌ ತಯಾರಿಸುತ್ತಿರಬಹುದು ಎನ್ನುವುದು ನನ್ನ ನಂಬಿಕೆ'

‘હું આશા રાખું  કે તેઓ ખરતાલ બનાવતા રહેશે’

‘बिन बजाय खरताल ले निकरत सुर’

खड़ताली विरासत सहेजे वाला एगो कलाकार

‘আশা করি এখনও খরতাল বানাচ্ছে ওরা’

‘আশা কৰোঁ সিহঁতে এতিয়াও খৰতাল বনাই আছে’

‘मुझे उम्मीद है कि वे खरताल बनाते रहेंगे’

Jaisalmer

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'I hope they are making khartals'

Anoparam Sutar is among the last makers of Rajasthan’s iconic percussion instrument – the khartal. Others have migrated to cities to make furniture which pays better

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