The North Indian Dholak is used by bards in a type of conversational poetry recitation where the singer lays out a poem, parable or comical lesson told in verse. (This reveals a kinship to the Qawwali chanting of devotional poetry except that Qawwali is usually call & response) Upon completion of the story the drummer and instrumentalists play a round of rousing chorus to let the message sink in before the next bout of stories. It's a delightful musical style that unfortunately can't be seen in concerts outside the country. (And it's good to have an interpreter on-hand to get a translation.)
The Dholak is vaguely similar to it's brethren drums the Pakhawaj and Mridangam. However it's syahi is usually afixed inside the drum head. The syahi in the center of the bass head gives the Dholak a deep bass thud which counters to the trill work done on the smaller left head.
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