Following figure shows the different parts of a tabla:
Fig.: Parts of a Tabla
1.Pital(Metal Shell) 2.Puddi(drum head) 3.Tasma(rawhide strap)
4.Kundal(counter ring) 5.Gatta(wooden brace) 6.Lakdi(wooden shell)
First of all, a tabla consists of two drums that vary in size. The drum used for left side is known as bayan for the right side is dayan. Both these drums then comprise of various different parts as shown in the fig. The various parts are:
1.Pital: The left hand tabla called bayan is made of metal shell(pital). Brass is one of the most preferred metal for this purpose but sometimes copper, aluminum or iron may also be used. For selecting a metal, it is made sure that it is a heavy metal and produce a good quality sound.
2.Puddi: It is head of the drum which generates sound. It has various parts:
Chat (outer annular membrane),
Bharti (inner annular lining),
Maidan (main resonating membrane) and
Syahi (black spot).
3.Tasma: It is rawhide lacing which is mostly made from camel hide . A leather strap or a thin lacing is never used. A lacing only with a good strength is used, else problems might occur.
4.Kundal: It is a round shaped ring made of metal or rawhide which helps in lacing of tabla.
5.Gatta: These are the wooden braces that help in providing tension to the tabla. These braces vary in size for both the drums. Right hand drum has bigger braces and the left one has small.
6.Lakdi: The right hand tabla(dayan) is made of wooden shell which is known as lakdi. Most commonly used woods are teakwood or rosewood. Sometimes wood from jackfruit tree is also used but is not preferred much due to some reasons.