YEKTAR

YEKTAR in Karnataka

Material: Bamboo, Wood

The Yektar, or Tuntuni as it is sometimes called is an instrument that has only one string and no frets. It is made from a piece of bamboo to the underside of which a large gourd or hollow cylinder of wood is attached, one end being closed by a piece of parchment. In the center of the parchment there is a hole, through which a string is passed and tied in a knot to prevent its slipping back. The Yektar is often used by mendicants and is twanged from time to time as an accompaniment to their monotonous chanting. In villages and country districts in the Deccan and the central Provinces, this instrument is very popular. It is used in conjunction with a drum of some kind, and the performers keep up the sort of monotonous dialogue upon some common topic of village interest, which is full of witty and rather broad remarks about the principal personages present.