Making a Dotara || Sound of Bengal

Traditional folk music has a rich history in the region of Bengal, split now between Bangladesh and West Bengal in India. The folk instrument, Dotara (দোতারা), is at the center of this rich folk music heritage. The Dotara is a lute-like fret-less instrument that is played by plucking its strings. A wooden or bone pick is typically used for plucking Dotara strings.
Sankar Bal, a versatile Dotara Maker from Nadia show us the step by step process of making the instrument where you will find how the wood is chopped into shape at the primary stage. Then the lower part is hollowed neatly because the sweetness of the sound depends mostly upon the shaving off of wood in the lower portion. Then a peacock or common bird design is made on the upper extension. Goat skin and metal plate is placed over the lower and middle portion respectively. Again the thickness of the skin should be minimum for better tonal quality. Polishing and attaching the strings from the lower tail piece to the ears on top is the last work to do.

For making a Dotara the following items are required:
1. Wood
2. Steel/Sunmika plate for fingerboard
3. Leather (typically stretched goat skin)
1. Strings (Gut/Cotton/Nylon/steel/raw silk or bronze)
4. Saraswati or Tailpiece (metal in modern designs)
5. Wooden main bridge
6. Knobs/Ears/pegs (typically made with wood)
7. Polishing Materials

Direction : Soumendu Das (Sahapedia UNESCO Research Fellow)
DOP : Samuel Rono (Film maker, Bangladesh)

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