This is a photo of my homeboy Raivata das with Ratnabhusana prabhu, shot in New Dwaraka, Los Angeles, in January of this year.
Ratnabhusana prabhu is the devotee who makes the Balaram mrdangas. He made the yellow mrdanga that you see me playing on harinam and in kirtans. I picked it up from him when I passed through New Dwaraka in 2001, on the way to South America.
Prem Yogi just ordered another Balaram mrdanga via Krishna.com. The cost for a full-sized one with a full load of spares (strap, heads, bumpers) and postage came to just under AU$500. That's pretty good for an essential piece of harinam hardware that will last you decades if properly cared for.
Prem was lucky. He rang up and asked if they had one lying around that he could have immediately. Otherwise the site says: "These drums are hand-made to order. Please allow 5 to 6 months delivery time."
Raivata and I have been discussing the logistics and challenges of producing mrdangas locally for a few years now. Raivata spent time in LA helping to produce the Balaram mrdangas. If we are serious about "Every town and village" and "Param Vijayate Sri Krishna Sankirtanam" then we need more mrdangas than Ratnabhusana prabhu can make, and at much less than AU$500 a pop.
When I was in Peru I sponsored local mrdanga production, and assisted in refining the design of the mrdangas, which were made from wood. I brought one back with me - I'll take a photo of it to show you.
If you are into supporting / sponsoring local mrdanga production for Australia / NZ then please drop me a line: sitapati (at) worldsankirtan.net is my email address. Raivata is coming over soon and 2008 is the year that we get serious about a local mrdanga industry.
that pic
Actually that pic was taken in Jan 2008.
I was in LA talking drums with Ratnaji just a few months ago