Photos

Prahlad rocks the mrdanga at the recent Vyasa puja retreat in NZ. Heh.

Click on the picture for a bigger version. Go here to see the best of the photos of the retreat taken by Dr. Candidasa.

In the land of Nadia, on the island of Godrumadvipa, the great soul Nityananda Prabhu has opened the marketplace of the Holy Name, meant for the deliverance of all the fallen souls

O persons of faith! Taking a straw in my mouth, following the order of Lord Gauranga I humbly beg you: "Chant the Holy Name of Krishna, worship the Lotus feet of Krishna, and follow the instructions given by Lord Krishna"

Being careful to remain free of offenses, just take the holy name of Krsna. Krsna is your mother, Krsna is your father, and Krsna is the treasure of your life.

Giving up all improper behavior, carry on your worldly duties only in relation to Krsna. The showing of compassion to all fallen souls by loudly chanting the holy name of Krsna is the essence of all forms of religion.

Bhaktivinode Thakura wrote this song to be sung on harinam. It is called Ajña-tal - "The Lord's order to chant around town".

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!

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.