Editing Kanjira

{{Short description|South Indian frame drum}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox instrument
| image                 = Kanjira.jpg
| image_size            =
| alt                   =
| caption               = 
| background            = percussion
| names                 = ganjira
| classification        = [[Frame drum]]
| hornbostel_sachs      = 211.311
| hornbostel_sachs_desc = [[Directly struck membranophone]]
}}

The '''kanjira''', '''khanjira''', '''khanjiri''' or '''ganjira''', a [[South India]]n [[frame drum]], is an instrument of the [[tambourine]] family. As a folk and [[bhajan]] instrument, it has been  used in the [[Indian subcontinent]] for many centuries.

The '''Kanjira's''' emergence in South Indian Carnatic music, as well as the development of the modern form of the instrument, is credited to Manpoondia Pillai. In the 1880s, Manpoondia Pillai was a temple lantern-bearer who sought to study drumming. He modified the kanjira to a frame drum with a single pair of jingles and brought the instrument to a classical stage.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/The-sound-challenge/article13999469.ece|title=The sound challenge|first=B.|last=Kolappan|date=14 January 2016|access-date=19 April 2021|website=Thehindu.com}}</ref><ref name="KasturiMadhavan2007">{{cite book|author1=Prema Kasturi|author2=Chithra Madhavan|title=South India heritage: an introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_HwMAQAAMAAJ|year=2007|publisher=East West Books (Madras)|isbn=978-81-88661-64-0|page=593}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nscottrobinson.com/southindiaperc.php |title=World Music and Percussion, Frame Drums, Riq, Tambourines |website=Nscottrobinson.com |access-date=2015-03-24}}</ref>

It is used primarily in concerts of [[Carnatic music]] (South Indian classical music) as a supporting instrument for the ''[[mridangam]]''.

==Construction==
Similar to the Western tambourine, it consists of a circular frame made of the wood of the [[jackfruit]] tree, between 7 and 9 inches in width and 2 to 4 inches in depth. It is covered on one side with a [[drumhead]] made of [[monitor lizard]] skin (specifically the [[Bengal monitor]],<ref name="Khati1998">{{cite book|author=Anand S. Khati|title=National parks of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KJUz97Z5LA0C|access-date=30 December 2012|year=1998|publisher=Pelican Creations International|isbn=978-81-86738-00-9|page=323}}</ref> ''Varanus bengalensis'', now an endangered species in India), while the other side is left open. The traditional lizard skin is prohibited worldwide due to protection of species regulations. Even well-known Kanjira players, however, attest to the great advantages of using goat skin as an alternative. After playing for a while, the goat skin gets more and more flexible and offers a wider range of possible modulations.<ref>{{cite web|title=SOUTH INDIAN KANJIRA OR KANJEERA - THE TINY FRAME DRUM|url=http://www.indian-instruments.com/drums_and_percussion/kanjira.htm|website=indian-instruments.com|access-date=10 November 2017|archive-date=16 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180316165849/http://www.indian-instruments.com/drums_and_percussion/kanjira.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> The frame has a single slit which contain three to four small metal discs (often old coins) that jingle when the kanjira is played.<ref name="NettlArnold1998">{{cite book|author1=Bruno Nettl|author2=Alison Arnold|title=The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: South Asia : the Indian subcontinent|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZOlNv8MAXIEC&pg=PA357|year=1998|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-8240-4946-1|pages=357–}}</ref>

==Play==
The ''kanjira'' is a relatively difficult Indian drum to play, especially in South Indian Carnatic music, for reasons including the complexity of the percussion patterns used in Indian music. It is normally played with the palm and fingers of the right hand, while the left hand supports the drum. The fingertips of the left hand can be used to bend the pitch by applying pressure near the outer rim. It is not tuned to any particular [[pitch (music)|pitch]], unlike the mridangam or the [[ghatam]].<ref name="Requires">{{cite web|url=http://www.hindu.com/fr/2008/02/08/stories/2008020850790700.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080212044254/http://www.hindu.com/fr/2008/02/08/stories/2008020850790700.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2008-02-12 |title=Requires judgment and expertise |date=2008-02-08 |work=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=2015-03-24}}</ref>

Normally, without tuning, it has a very high pitched sound. To get a good bass sound, the performer reduces the tension of the drumhead by sprinkling water on the inside of the instrument.<ref name="Requires"/> This process may have to be repeated during a concert to maintain a good sound. However, if the instrument is too moist, it will have a dead tone, requiring 5–10 minutes to dry. Tone is also affected by external temperature and moisture conditions. Performers typically carry a couple of ''kanjira''s so that they can keep at least one in perfectly tuned condition at any given time.

Depending on dexterity, surprising [[glissando]] effects like on the Tabla are possible.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indian-instruments.com/|title=Indian Musical Instruments|last=Siebenkaes|first=Marie-Luise|website=Indian-instruments.com|language=en|access-date=2019-06-05|archive-date=21 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321132948/https://www.indian-instruments.com/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Nepal==
[[Image: Khaijadi Bhajan.ogv|thumb|200px|right|Nepalese performance using a variety of Khaijadi tambourines.]]
In Nepal the Kanjira is called Khaijadi (खैंजडी). The country has a [[List of Nepali musical instruments#Tambourines and frame drums|variety of tambourines]] besides the Khaijadi, including the Daanf, Damphu (डम्फू) and Hring.

The instrument is used in dances and chants at festivals.

One example are the Khanjadi bhajan (खैंजडी भजन), hymns sung in the [[Chhetri]]-[[Brahmin]] society. It is customary to sing this khanjadi bhajan in the Kathmandu Valley as well as in most parts of the eastern hills. Most of the performers are from the regional Brahmin community, but all castes are entertained as spectators and listeners. The event includes dancers dancing in pairs while Chudka hymns are sung by the musicians and audience. The event uses [[Puranic Hinduism|Puranic Hindu]] scriptures. This type of hymn uses a mixture of both verse and prose. At the beginning, part of the story is presented in prose. Then the lyrical hymn begins. To sing a hymn, one has to study the religious texts extensively and be able to give it its original form. The voice of the psalmist should also be such that it can attract everyone. In the same way, there should be singers who can play the khanjadi used in the psalms skillfully and know how to dance.

==Players==
*[[G. Harishankar]]
*[[V. Nagarajan]]
*[[C. P. Vyasa Vittala]]
*[[Bangalore Amrit]]
*[[B. Shree Sundarkumar]]
*[[V. Selvaganesh]]
*[[Swaminathan Selvaganesh]]
*[[A.S.N.Swamy]]
*[[B.S. Purushotham]]
*[[G. Guru Prasanna]]
*[[Kanjira Ganesh Kumar|N. Ganesh Kumar]]
*[[S Sunil Kumar]]
*[[Nerkunam Sankar]]
*[[Anirudh Athreya]]
*[[Hariharasharma]]
*[[KV Gopalakrishnan]]
*[[Sunaad Anoor]]
*[[kadirvel]
[B.N. Chandramouli]]
*kadanad Ananthakrishnan

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Portal|India|Music}}
*{{cite book|author1=N. Scott Robinson|author2=OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center|title=Tradition and Renewal: The Development of the Kanjira in South India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZTAbngEACAAJ|year=2013}}
*{{cite news | url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/on-the-tambourine-trail/article6413822.ece | title=On the tambourine trail  | date=16 September 2014 | newspaper=The Hindu | access-date=7 July 2020 }}
*[http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/ganesh-kumartalks-aboutperforming-at-the-frame-drum-festival-in-germany-and-the-kanjiras-power-play/article6412863.ece On the tambourine trail]
*https://archive.org/stream/MusicRes-Periodicals/PAC-TalaVadyaSeminar-2_djvu.txt
*{{cite book|title=Sruti|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IycqAQAAIAAJ|volume=268-273|year=2007|publisher=P.N. Sundaresan|page=272}}

==External links==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bEitAgiz2c Hidden Drummers of India: Documentary about the kanjira and Carnatic rhythm by Ruairi Glasheen]
*[http://www.kanjira.org/ Kanjira.org]
* {{Commons category-inline|Kanjira}}

{{Indian musical instruments}}
{{Frame drums}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Carnatic music instruments]]
[[Category:Hand drums]]
[[Category:Medicine drums]]
[[Category:Membranophones]]
[[Category:Indian musical instruments]]
[[Category:Drums of Nepal]]