Mrdanga

Prem Yogi recently acquired a new Balarama mrdanga. He rang Krishna.com and asked them if they had anything lying around that they could supply him with, in order to avoid the standard 5-6 month waiting period for Ratna to make one up. Fortuitously they had a slightly used full-sized blue Balaram mrdanga that they sent over within a week. Tenacity pays off.

Prem Yogi with his new mrdanga

It was Prem's 25th birthday this week, and I wanted to get him something so I bought him a case for the mrdanga.

A mrdanga must always be transported and stored in a case. The mrdanga is understood as both Lord Balaram (Sankarshan) and Krishna's flute.

At the time that Lord Krishna was going to advent as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu He told everyone that he was about to incarnate on Earth. Then he told His flute that since He would be coming as His own devotee He would not be taking the flute with Him. Venu was very disappointed and begged to accompany Him, so therefore the Lord arranged for His flute to come as the mrdanga.

All the Lord's paraphenalia is manifested by Sankarshan, the first of the quadruple expansion of Sankarshan, Vasudeva, Aniruddha, and Pradyumna. This means that Lord Narayana's brahman thread, His shoes, and other personal paraphenalia are all manifestations of Lord Sankarshan. The nitya-dhama of the spiritual world, and the dhama that appear in the material world are all also manifestations of Lord Sankarshan. So the flute also is manifested by Lord Sankarshan. Venu is a form of visnu-tattva expansion, not jiva tattva, or some impersonal category. In spiritual life everything is personal.

So the mrdanga must be honored in this category. All of the paraphenalia of worship of the Lord, including the mrdanga, are sacred and worshipable by us. Our service to this paraphenalia is our sadhana.

So the mrdanga must always be transported and stored in a case. Consequentially, storing the mrdanga in this way protects it and extends its service lifetime.

Here's the case we got: Musical Instrument Transportation System (M.I.T.S) by UK's Protection Racket.

Internally the case is lined with a dual-layer synthetic fleece (Propad and Propile) that wicks moisture away from the instrument, preserving the tonal characteristics of the drum. It also absorbs impacts, distributing the force of a blow across the entire body of the instrument.

Here's a shot of the mrdanga in the case:

And a shot of the case done up:

RRP: AU$99.95 (it went on special for AU$59.99 the morning that I went to get one! :-) )

Conclusion: Solid and well constructed using durable materials. Well thought out design. Nicely executed. It would have been a ten if it had a pocket for the tuning key to go in. (We need to look into something that attaches to the mrdanga strap to store that, actually). The new models have backpack straps and a pocket. This is the previous model that was being sold out.

Rating: 9/10

Raivata writes me:

Hmm I reckon you are right and copying a good synthetic design like that. It's a simple and proven design.

On the ahimsa note I reckon it's ok to use animal skin when it comes from pests like goats or possums (pests in NZ anyway). Allowing them to live is simply causing violence to the other life forms they harm. Perhaps you could train up some of the local boys as Kshatriyas and send them out there to bring home a few skins. Good for the environment, good for the sankirtana yajna and a practical step for introducing varnashram.

Ahimsa aside, I am tending to the use of synthetic heads. I used my Balaram mrdanga in the Andes, in the jungle, and in the desert while I was in South America. Sometimes in the same week. You can't do that kind of thing with an animal skin head drum.

I want this drum to be the "AK-47" of mrdangas. Here are the characteristics of the AK-47 that I want it to share:

• Built using large, crude parts - AK-47's are easily maintained even by peasants. Local gunsmiths are able to produce replacement parts using artisanry. This mrdanga should have parts that are easy to replace using standard parts or replacement parts that people can make.
• Strong and durable - AK-47's are legendary for their ability to sustain punishment and neglect and keep firing. They aren't the most accurate of weapons, but they make up for this with volume of sustained firepower over the lifetime of the weapon. My Balaram mrdanga has gone through aircraft cargo holds, bus lockers, and numerous trips in the boot of the car. This is an argument against clay bodies. My Balaram mrdanga may not sound as good as a bonafide Bengali clay mrdanga, but it has outlasted fifty of them in its service lifetime.
• Coming off a factory line at the rate of 180,000 per day - if you don't have a plan to make thousands of mrdangas, you don't really have a plan for making thousands of devotees. This is an argument in favor of using standard pre-fabricated parts (such as Remo heads), and industrial production materials and existing production lines (the logic of the snake and the mousehole)
• On the national flag of a country - the AK-47 played such a crucial role in the liberation of Mozambique that they put it on the national flag. This mrdanga will play such a crucial role in the liberation of modern nations that it will feature on the national flag of several nations.

No one goes into war without a serious plan for industrial production of armaments. It's time to tool national industries for the sankirtan-yajna. It's time to beat our AK-47s into mrdangas, and wage a surgical war on the diseased mentality which is ravaging our communities worldwide.

The first phase is guerilla warfare, the second phase total war.

Param vijayate sri krishna sankirtanam!
Total victory of the congregational chanting of the Holy Names of the Lord!

Both use mylar heads, and the bodies are constructed of aluminium. Weight is good. Sound is good.

The Egyptian design is something that could work for a mrdanga. It would remove the perishable rubber component from the current Balarama design.

A young guy at the drum shop told me he bought a clay darbuka in Egypt that uses mylar heads. I'm going up the coast to the place that imports darbukas to see some clay ones. I'm interested in the possibility of a hybrid clay / synthetic head design.

We have a locally made clay water filter at Atma, so we can get fired clay. Glazed it will be stronger than the unglazed bodies made in India.

Remo make Nuskyn and Fibreskyn heads for world percussion instruments. These are synthetic heads that mimic animal skins, using layers of Mylar and Tyvek.

It's almost impossible to get animal drum heads into Australia. Customs gamma rays and sprays them, which makes most of them break quite soon afterwards. There are local animal skin suppliers, but these are definitely not ahimsa heads.

Synthetic heads avoid the animal slaughter angle, and are easier to replace and more consistent in different weather conditions.

The current Balarama design uses a 17.5" head. The darbukas have 22" heads. The Remo Djembe has a 30" head. We'll make our mrdanga use a standard Remo head, so that replacements are easily procurable.

Further to thoughts on making mrdangas and clay mrdangas versus other materials:

I think the Darbuka, also known as Doumbek, or Egyptian tabla, is a good example. This is a drum that is very popular throughout the Middle East, from Afghanistan through Iran, Turkey, and Azerbaijan. Traditionally it is made with a clay body and fish skin head. Modern darbukas are manufactured by a number of companies worldwide, including one from Remo, and typically utilize aluminium covered with a decorative vinyl finish, with a mylar head with tuning screws.

You can watch the youtube video of Mansour, a famous Egyptian tabla player, playing various darbukas. He starts with a westernized aluminium one with mylar head, and then at 0:42 switches to a clay one. The difference is night and day, as is the difference between a Balarama mrdanga and a clay mrdanga (actually technically called a 'khol' - the mrdanga is a different drum, but we'll stick with the ISKCON term "mrdanga" for this drum).

Check out this young guy from Turkey, Onar. He is also very good. His style is a derivative of famous Turkish darbuka virtuoso Misirli Ahmet ("Misirli of Egypt" as he is known in his native Turkey), who studied and developed his distinctive decorative style in Egypt.

Vinyl covered aluminium could be a good material to make mrdangas from. It is lighter than fibreglass and gives a louder sound.

There are obviously production lines set up to make drums with these materials.

Samba World Percussion here in Australia import and distribute a range of darbukas.

This is a "Turkish-style" darbuka:

Take note of the head-securing / tuning mechanism used.

This is an "Egyptian-style" darbuka:

Note the different design of the head. This style is a lot easier on the hands when you play it.

Here is the same design, this time with a decorative vinyl covering:

Traditionally the clay ones are painted and sculpted to give them a decorative finish.

These are traditional drums that are being produced by modern western drum companies. Is there a possibility that our khol could also be produced like this by Remo or some other large drum company?

It is possible. What it would take is for someone to champion the mrdanga and increase its popularity. As kirtan and sankirtan rise in popularity, if a virtuoso steps forwards and creates a reputation for himself, then they could approach a large drum company with a potential market and a potential marketer.

Otherwise, we could look at using existing production facility and financing our own production runs.

Check out this modular drum from Remo, which can transform into a darbuka, djembe, or conga.

I would personally like a mrdanga made with aluminium, with heads like the Egyptian tabla, and a decorative vinyl finish. Each one would also come with a carry bag / protective cover, with a pocket in it for the tuning key, like the one I have for my Balarama mrdanga. That will rock.

Only time separates us.

Phani commented:

it's great how you utilize locally available material and skills to produce mrdangas, or something that comes close to the original thing. but isn't clay locally available in most places, too? (eskimos might experiment with ice-mrdangas...) i never watched mrdangas being made here in mayapur, but don't think there's a huge learning curve getting the clay molded, dried, and burnt into mrdanga shape.

for the heads you could still use fiber, plastic, or whatever; not screwed on, but tied up like the indian mrdangas are. at least until cow protection becomes more wiedespread in the west, and ahimsa leather of cows who passed on peacefully.

metal and wood work has been known in india for a long time, and there are drums made of these materials, too. but as far as i know, for kirtan / bhajan, always clay drums have been used. i haven't heard many varieties of modern mrdangas and am no musical expert anyway, but as far as i can tell, there's quite a difference between the original thing and the other materials...

This echoes the conversation I had last night with Craig at the temple. He also suggested using clay, and mentioned one potter that he knows.

Here are the reasons why we are not considering clay at this point in time:

• Clay is fragile and the drums made from it are not durable
• The mounting of heads is more complicated due to the need to tie them on, rather than mount them with simple screws
• Mass production is not as easy as using other materials that are more readily available and worked with commonly available industrial production lines

To build the infrastructure to make fibreglass / kevlar / aluminium drums is undoubtedly more difficult and expensive than to build the infrastructure needed to make clay ones. However, this infrastructure is already in place in modern cities, whereas the infrastructure and skillset to make clay mrdangas is not.

This has been my initial consideration.

In Srila Prabhupada's time devotees went to Navadvipa and spent many months trying to learn the traditional methods of mrdanga production, but were unable.

At the same time we see that Balarama mrdanga production, using western technologies is going on.

I'll post another article with some more of my thoughts on mrdanga production in the modern western world.

There is no need of sending the artisan to U.S.A. better send our disciples from here and learn the art there. In this connection manufacturing the mrdanga shells as well as the skin work on it is very essential. If possible our men may learn how to make karatalas also. At Navadvipa, there are many artisans for this purpose.
The summary is that our men must learn these four things: doll making, mrdanga making, karatala making and if possible making saris.

- Letter to Jayapataka, Bhavananda, 9 May, 1973

Make as many mrdangas as possible.

- Letter to Tamal Krishna, 11 January, 1974

The mrdanga-making is very important. The new bhaktas, they can be engaged in the mrdanga-making and also help Bharadraja with the doll-making

- Letter to Jayatirtha, 20 November, 1975

As promised, here are some pictures of my wooden mrdanga produced in Peru.

These mrdangas are handcrafted by a Peruvian disciple of Srila B.A. Paramadvaiti Swami, Vivasvan das. He warps the wood by heating it and bending it.

Here is where the two halves of the drum are joined.

The drum is lighter than a fibreglass Balarama, and doesn't produce as heavy a sound. Part of the reason for that is the construction of the heads, which are also locally produced. They are interchangeable with Ratnabhusana's heads, as they were modelled on those and are the same size. However, the mylar plastic that is available in Peru is thinner than that in LA. This makes the top head a lot clearer and more piercing, but sacrifices boom on the bottom end.

Currently I'm using a Peruvian head on my Balarama mrdanga (it's been over four years in service now), and an LA head on the bottom end.

In this shot of the top head of the wooden mrdanga you can see that the rubber compound on the top head is peeling away from the mylar. This makes the end "dead" in it's sound. The rubber compound gives it ring and sustain. I will take this head off and glue it back on.

The bumpers on this mrdanga are cast metal. The main thing that this does to your hands when you are playing is dry them out quicker. Split hands are due to dryness. If you want your hands to last longer in long kirtans, periodically take a few seconds break and wet them with water or sweat, then rub them together.

I helped to refine the design of this mrdanga by "porting" the top end. On previous models that top end was countersunk below the bumper. By putting a round strip of wood inside the end of the mrdanga we were able to raise the head beyond the bumper, and also make a thinner edge for the head to sit on, giving it more ring and sustain. I'd just come from Ratnabhusana's workshop in LA, as well as being a mrdanga gearhead to begin with, so I had some insight into what to do to improve the sound and playability.

The drum uses standard wood screws, and you use a screwdriver to tune it.

On Balarama mrdangas the top end is made by casting some acrylic compound in a mold. The bottom end however, is sourced from Remo. It was a standard drum head, Ratna told me in 2001 that Remo had discontinued it for production, but do a limited run for the devotees. Raivata will know the details better than I. Ratnabhusana makes the rubber compound and pours it on to glue on the mylar head.

Ratna experimented with putting the rubber compound on the inside to avoid the removal of the head by devotees playing "laghu" - making those whooping noises. However, pounding on the head then made the rubber come off inside the drum, because you are directly hitting on the back of it then. So he went back to putting it on the outside.

With the Peruvian wooden mrdangas both the bottom and top heads are made by casting the rims with plastic. The bottom head suffers from being too lightweight. We alleviated that somewhat by putting masking tape on the back of it.

When I was in charge of the BBTI in Peru I put some money into mrdanga production. I financed a production run of 5 mrdangas to keep Vivasvan eating and to try out some of the refinements that I suggested. I then sold those mrdangas to various devotees and temples in the region. I bought this one myself. I had another one made with a custom paint job on it - a flaming chakra and "Hare Rama". I should have kept that one... anyway, there are plenty more lifetimes between now and the end of the 10,000 year mission on Planet Earth!

Param vijayate sri krishna sankirtanam!

Raivata writes:

Actually that pic was taken in Jan 2008. I was in LA talking drums with Ratnaji just a few months ago

The above picture you have seen before. It was my first design. I was fully into it when I came up with it. I spent a few hundred bucks and had the rims and bumpers made.

The ends and middle were to be made from aluminum. They would be cast (no big deal, they do it in sand at the foundry, they would come out a little rough tho) then turned to perfection on an engineers lathe (cheap if we had a lathe, only a couple k). Bumpers turned on the same lathe out of acrylic (possible as, I had some made, works premo). in between the aluminum rims and middle would be made out of transparent acrylic (or equivalent composite) segments. We have the segments cut out to the perfect measurements via saw. We put the bits in the oven for a bit, pull them out and mold them over a former. The bits would come out perfect shape. We then glue them all together and to the ends and middle. Presto. The coolest looking drum in the world! Problem was it was too expensive for me to continue and I was not convinced it would sound good or would be durable enough to take the neglect they are typically given.
Anyway, I have a Mk II, Mk III and a Mk IV. I'll draw them all in 3d when I get the chance. I will explain now.

MK II: Segments

Imagine the standard mrdanga shape cut vertically into 5 even strips. Making these strips would not be hard or expensive. We go to a plastic moulder or boat builder or anyone and investigate getting a die made so that they can be cast out of plastic, fiber glass, carbon fiber, graphite, Kevlar or whatever. Once a die is made each unit costs very little. Dies can be expensive or they can be cheap depending on the cunningness of the die maker and the intended material to be cast. I reckon we could fabricate one out of steel very cheaply. Otherwise we just pay the money and have one made up by a toolmaker. If the shape was modified to have a raised lip on one side (lengthwise) and a lowered lip on the other then they would clip in together nicely. Where the lips overlap we drill holes and pump in rivets. The thing will not come apart. I was kayaking over some rapids the other day in a plastic canoe. The damn thing was constantly smashing into and over rocks and boulders. It did not break. Invincible as. A brand new plastic canoe (big one) is not that expensive, $2000 give or take. A drum made out of these magical segments and riveted (and glued) together will be cheap to produce and will not break. God knows how it will sound. I reckon it would sound good. Rivets are cool too. Will make the thing look Mad Max to the max.

MK III: Metal spinning.

A circular piece of sheet metal is pushed against a former while spinning. Big steel lamp shades (among other things) are made this way. We make two formers. One the shape of the small half of a mrdanga and the other the big. Some how we tap a thread into the open ends so that they will screw together. Bingo, a steel drum. They spin stainless steel, brass copper anything. All good. Formers are expensive tho. They need to be made of steel. They guy at the metal spinning place said it was possible but the formers would cost a few grand. Also tapping a thread in the middle would be a bitch. Possible but tricky. We would need a massive tap. Small scale tapping is no problem. You can get drill taps from a fastening supplies store. Tapping big stuff is not standard. Totally possible tho.
Would be semi economical and is possible. Might easily dent tho and may sound tiny. Would come in two halves that screw together.

MK IV: Steel frame.

Getting steel tube or box section lengths from a steel supplier. Cutting them into smaller lengths, bending them and welding them together is not expensive or hard. I've done that sort of thing. Chairs, tables, racks and so many other things are made this way. We make a frame the shape of a mrdanga and then clad it with rigid materials. Plywood can be bent round and then screwed, bolted or riveted to the frame. Thin acrylic, polycarbonate, formed plastic segments can be stuck on the same way. Whatever makes the thing sound good. Drum kit drums are made out of thin wood or acrylic. Maybe the frame inside the drum would effect the internal acoustic and make the thing sound crap. I doubt it tho. The frame does not need to be chunky to hold the outside. Could make it very light. Good drums are often very light (brass band big round kick ass drums, Turkish drums and the Irish drum like the one BT Swami used to play).
Cheap and good. Still, only God knows how it will sound.