With the terrible earthquakes, so much of my childhood there is gone now, and I mourn the deaths of the thousands of Nepalese as well as the disappearance of their architectural and religious heritage. I had intended to contact people I had known to try to find the items I wanted but feel somehow it is inappropriate at this point in time.
I did bring back a number of Nepalese objects, including a Madal Drum, a Water Pitcher and some Thals, but my Mother either tells me she cannot find them or does not feel she can send them to me. She is the ultimate hoarder and to try to continue down that path of supplication would be akin to beating my head against a stone. Better to find cheap substitutes.
Thank God for the internet! People who do not use computers are quick to criticise and condemn but for any one like me, who has very little income and less mobility now, it is a lifeline.
I was able to find a Madal Drum and an inexpensive Sukunda lamp and a friend had both sent to me. The Madal is a two-headed drum with a strap. It usually is played by placing the strap over both knees, either in a seated position or standing, if there is no place to sit. Every time I took the coach to Kathmandu as a child, some one was standing in the crowded aisle, playing the Madal while the passengers sang old folksongs, usually about planting or harvesting.
This Madal has a decent tone although it is new and smells strongly of the red paint used to cover the wooden frame. The Madals from my childhood were natural in colour and I found the red a bit jarring at first. One other problem is that, as a new drum, the rawhide used for the strap is very stiff. I need to make it more pliable. That will come with time.
The red drum is identical to the one I have at present. Playing the Madal can be a sophisticated art. I do not know if women always were allowed to play it, but when I was a child, I only saw men playing this type of drum and indeed, only men leading processions blowing the long horns. I do not know if they taught me how to play because I was foreign or a little girl or if they would have taught any female had she asked. In any case, I learned how to play although I had few opportunites to practice as I did not have one of my own until I left Nepal.
Basically, being left-handed, I play it backwards but it should not matter. The small head is played with a finger or fingers. The large head is played with the palm or the small ridges that lay like a range of Himals between the fingers and the palm. The sounds made by hitting the small head are 'open' sounds ordinarily while the sounds made by hitting the large head tend to be 'closed'. This is the more sophisticated method. There are players who simply create rhythms by hitting both heads either together or in quick succession. If the drum is held by the strap, it will sway back and forth slightly as the drummer plays. It really is a wonderful instrument and I missed it greatly.
I always loved drumming, even aa a child. I was told to play the piano but I never cared for that instrument, much preferring the harpsichord or clavichord. When I asked for drums, I was told that they were not appropriate instruments for a girl to play. I turned then to tap dancing for my rhythm and loved that, but my early fascination with drums never disappeared.
Later in life, I bought a few hand drums of the sort played by shamans. I had an enormous elk skin drum made by an artist somewhere in the middle of the U.S. It had a robust tone but one winter, mice went behind it to gnaw away the sinews that tightened it and it was ruined. I would like to have it repeired but cannot find any one to do it. In the end, I daresay I shall try to do it myself by hook or by crook as it is too good an instrument to toss.
I have some pretty drums sent to me years ago by a very good friend. A couple are form the Arab world but the one inlaid with mother of pearl and abalone is more attractive in appearance than sound. My best hand drum is quite plain and unattracitve. It is an antique drum from Morocco and I love it. The tone is absolutely gorgeous.
One other item from Nepal is one of the small two-headed drums that are shaken rather than struck iwth the hand. A cord is attached to small objects that hit the heads of the drum when it is shaken. That one is a vintage drum as well, given by another friend. Unfortunately, I cannot find it at the moment. It is a ritual object rather than one that is used for folk singing. The Madal is used for any sort of musical event or simply for the drummer's own enjoyment.
I see
Meanwhile, there were a number of other items I needed. One of these was the Sukunda lamp, as much a part of my childhood Nepal experience as the stupas and temples.
Butter or Oil Lamps are an essential element in Hindu and Buddhist ritual but the Sukunda I think is unique to Nepal. Unfortunately, they are rare and rather expensive now, advertised as 'antiques' when often they are not that old. Fortunately, there is some one who sells new Sukunda lamps at a reasonable price. They cannot compare with the older, larger versions but are good enough for my purpose at the moment.
