Known for livening up proceedings, the dhol may be missing from several places owing to a nearly 50 per cent hike in its price in the last week alone
Known for livening up proceedings, the dhol may be missing from several places owing to a nearly 50 per cent hike in its price in the last week alone
Prepare for a mellowed-down Ganeshotsav this year as the hitherto-ubiquitous Nashik dhol may not be present to liven up proceedings at several places.
Prices of musical instruments have gone up dramatically in the last month or so and the dhol has been among the worst hit, with its price going up from Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,500 in the last week alone. 
Workers put finishing touches on the Nashik dhols at
their workshops. Many craftsmen claim that they are
preparing for a 20 per cent loss as most people are
opting to use their old instruments
Goat leather used for making the acoustic skin for tablas and dholaks has also seen a 50 per cent spike from Rs 200 per piece to Rs 400.
Retailers and bands, which play the instruments during immersion time, say the price hike has hit their businesses hard.
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Rahul Chauhan, owner of Om Ganesh Musical at Parel, who has been selling musical instruments for nearly 20 years, said, "The hike is unprecedented this year.
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We are all set to face a 20-per cent loss as people are making do with their worn-out musical instruments rather than buying new ones because of the prohibitive pricing.
Nashik dhol sets usually sell like hot cakes during this period and are lapped up by bands as people prefer dancing to the traditional beats of dhols and taashas during Ganeshotsav."
"The rates of the instruments vary according to the size of the dhols. One Nashik dhol set consists of five key instruments three nashik dhols and two taashas with the dhol sticks," he added.
Quiet aartis
These instruments gain more importance as they are also used in household aartis.
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Suresh Chavan, owner of Damodardas Govardhandas in Lalbaug, which has been dealing in dholaks and tablas for the past 70 years, said, "People usually come here all the way from Kolhapur and Satara to buy tablas from us but business has taken a severe hit this year owing to the increased prices.
We don't want to increase the rates but we are left with no choice. Aartis are going to be much simpler affairs this time around."
Band owners, too, are similarly hit. Dinesh Raut from Versova said, "Our charges have gone up because of the instrument prices.
People, however, are not willing to pay the higher prices. Even in mandals where we have been playing for years, members have refused to give us higher rates despite knowing that the prices have increased."
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