The 'right hand' drum, called the dayan (also called the dahina, or the tabla) is a conical (almost cylindrical) drum shell carved out of a solid piece of hard wood. The dayan's shell has one 'open' end, covered by a composite membrane. The base of the drum has a slightly larger diameter than the top. The 'left hand' drum, called the bayan (also called the duggi) is a hemispherical bowl shaped drum made of polished copper, brass, bronze, or clay. like the dayan, a composite membrane covers the bayan's open end. both drums stands about 25 centimeters high. the bayan's head measures 22 centimeters across, while the dayan measures approximately 14 centimeters across.
History: The tabla developed as a hybrid drum, influenced by many varieties, in particular the mrdangm and the puskara. Depictions of the puskara can be found in the Muktesvara temple (6th-7th century C.E.) and in Bhuranesvara of Badari in Bombay (6th century C.E) as well as three other cave temples. Musicians often placed the puskara's smaller verticle drum (called 'alinga') on their lap and played more than one drum at a time.
The name 'tabla' probably derived from the generic Arabic word for drum, 'tabl' (and possibly to some extent the Turkish word 'dawal'). Early Muslim invadors undoubtably influenced the structure of the tabla, yet the earliest depictions and liturature describing the instrument as we recognize it today comes from the 18 century. From that point on, the tabla took to the forefront of percussion instruments in north Indian classical music.
