Dhakis, the traditional drummers from Bengal are at the heart of the five-day Durga Puja festivities nationwide and those from Kolkata play an integral part of the Bengali festivities in Hyderabad. This year is significant in that women dhakis take centre stage at the celebrations organised by the Bangiya Sanskritik Sangha at Keyes High School. Arriving on Chaturthi — the fourth day of Navratri — the dhakis begin to play from Panchami, the next day.
Hailing from humble families, the men/women from different professions, including students and homemakers, reconnect with their roots to usher in the festivities. “It is an inherited skill, passed down generations,” says Krishnendu Roy, general secretary of Utsab Cultural Association which organises celebrations at the National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Management (NITHM) in Gachibowli.
Wearing traditional dhutis (dhotis) and bright, short kurtas, the dhakis carry dhaks decorated with feathers and play different rhythms during rituals such as aarti, bodhon and nabapatrika.
