COLVALE: Goan artistes have always excelled in their own right, with numerous musicians leaving a mark on the national and international musical landscape. Most of our shining musicians attribute their talent to their family or ancestors, while some claim to have developed their skills on their own, but Dayanand Parab from Kel Pirna in Bardez is a somewhat different type of musician, a shining star in a different musical trade- one that involves the repair and maintenance of tablas.
Dayanand Parab had been working most of his life in the mining area near Pirna. He says he never expected to be part of his family business. Dayanand's father and grandfather were ardent music enthusiasts- however, they never took part in any musical event or performance. On the contrary, they spent their lives repairing and fine-tuning the tabla, something they enjoyed doing. Dayanand claims that it was only on weekends and holidays that he would assist his father and other family members. “I was happy working in the mine, and they were happy repairing and fine-tuning tablas. Our family has been known for this work all over. Except on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, I never joined in,” he recollects.
According to Dayanand, he gets customers from near and far, even as far as different parts of Maharashtra, as people heard of their ‘magical touch’ in table repair. “We craft new tablas and also repair and fine-tune damaged ones,” he said.
Taking forward the 80-year-old family business, Dayanand immersed himself into the craft when mining was halted around 20 years ago, and is content with the fact that he is upholding the family legacy. “After losing out on mining, I decided that I must work to survive, and there was no other option than joining my family business of repairing tablas. I felt with a loyal customer base already established, and people having high expectations of us, I should not abandon this work. Today, my wife and children spend hours repairing the tablas which come to us from all over. It is not just a means of sustenance, we absolutely enjoy this work,” quips Dayanand.
“Though it is a painstaking job in the sense that all required parts have to be brought from Maharashtra for repairing or crafting a new tabla, somehow there is great awareness for this form of music, lots of promotion is done, people want to learn, practice and perform- this art is flourishing,” he says. Dayanand laments that Bal Bhavan, Kala Academy, Goa College of Music would earlier promote State artists, but now, they are being overlooked. “Yet, they are somehow flourishing in their own way, without government help. Sometimes some government policies, particularly with regard to artists, are very hostile. Instead of taking the artists forward, these policies push them back, and that is where the State and the art suffer,” he quips.
Besides the tabla, Dayanand also repairs other traditional instruments like dhol and taxe, among other percussion instruments. Narrating a very memorable and a proud moment, Dayanand says that a few years back, Tulshidas Navelkar from the prominent art cradle village Marcel, had bought a tabla from him and gifted it to tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain. “It was a real proud moment for me and an unforgettable milestone. Ustad also evinced keen interest in Goan traditional music and was happy that this form of music is being promoted in Goa,” recollects Dayanand.