Chenda is a kind of drum used as a percussion instrument in the state of Kerala. This is found also in Karnataka, as the Chende, but it has not developed that strong social association as the Chenda in the Malayalam area. Though the structure of the Chenda is not as refined as some of the other classes of drums such as the Pakhavaj, Mridanga or Tabla, it is the superiority of the playing technique, especially the rhythmic elaboration called Tayambakam, which sets this instrument apart.The instrument of chenda is for percussions and cylindrical in shape, which is prevalent in the Kerala state as well as in Karnataka, mostly in the region of Tulu Nadu, where it is also called as Chande.
The instrument has a cylindrical body usually made of Jackwood. It is about 50 cms length and 25 in diameter. The leather which is used for making the faces is of heifer. One side, called the left side, is a single plain parchment. However, the other side, called the right side, is a complex set of hides, six or seven in number, of decreasing diameter, glued on one another. The leather is held by a bamboo or metal hoop and the hoops on either side are connected by rope braces. The drum is suspended from the neck of the player who plays it with a pair of sticks. Though both sides can be used for playing, only one is actually beaten. Using the pair of sticks the drummer strikes only the upper parchment.
This instrument is used for playing in festivities of hindu temples and also in various art forms related to religions as accompanying instrument in kerala. For dance forms like Koodiyattam, Kathakali, Theyyam, Kannyar Kali, and in various rituals, the chenda is seen as accompanying instrument in kerala. In Yakshagana, which is a dance drama seen inKarnataka in Tulu Nadu region, this is also played. This instrument is taken to be, in traditional sense, one which will not have harmony and so known as Asura Vadyam. But still, it is among those instruments in the state of kerala, which cannot be avoided in any kind of activities related to religion.
The instrument Chenda is most commonly seen during the festival performances related to hindu temples as an accompanying instrument in various functions of the art forms, carried out in Kerala. In various dance processes of Kriyanga Pancha Vadyam or Kathakali and in the temple rituals using instruments, there is a group of musical instruments or Chenda Melam. Normally, the drum is thought of as the demonic instrument or Asura Vadyam and therefore the side on the left of this instrument is played, with right part of the drum struck only during specific instances such as when the goddess is carried into the Kathakali dance arena or in rituals related to Tantra and during Goddess Bhadrakali’s worship.
