Jori
(जोड़ी)The jori is the Punjabi drum pair of Sikh Gurbani kirtan: a treble poorra with syahi and a pakhawaj-style dhamma bass that takes fresh dough, played with open-palm strokes.
£250 - £800
Entry-level sets with machine-laced heads start around £250. Professional-grade sets with hand-selected tun wood shells and individually fitted skins from established Amritsar or Patiala workshops range from £400 to £800.
History & Origins
What is the jori?
The jori (ਜੋੜੀ, "pair"), also called jori-pakhawaj, is the pair of hand drums of Sikh Gurbani kirtan, the sung hymns of the Guru Granth Sahib, and ours suits the kirtan student and the ragi. The right hand plays the treble poorra; the left plays the bass dhamma, a pakhawaj-style barrel with a full, rolling boom.
How it differs from the tabla
The poorra keeps a permanent black syahi, as on the tabla. The dhamma takes a fresh patch of wheat-flour dough, atta, before each sitting, which gives the deep bass and sets its pitch. Players strike with open palms and fingers, the full-handed sath style of the pakhawaj, and the heel of the left hand presses the bass to bend its pitch and sustain. The right hand plays broad palm strokes and finger rolls on the poorra, bols like the pakhawaj's but lighter in attack, and the bass carries under the singing voice.
Build and tradition
Craftsmen carve the shells from tun (Toona ciliata), dense, resonant and slow to split under tension, or sheesham, lace goatskin heads with leather or cotton straps and tune them on wooden gatta. Family workshops in Amritsar and Patiala make most sets. Sikh tradition credits Guru Arjan Dev with creating the jori. The tabla later replaced it in most gurdwaras. The Namdhari community, Baldeep Singh's Amritsari school and Gurmat Sangeet programmes in Punjab, the UK and Canada still play it.
Guru Nanak (1469–1539) taught through song, with his companion Mardana on the rabab, and tradition holds that Mardana's descendants became kirtan musicians. Sikh tradition credits Guru Arjan Dev (1563–1606), who compiled the Adi Granth and began the daily kirtan sittings at Harmandir Sahib, with creating the jori from the mridang or pakhawaj. The form matured under Guru Hargobind (1595–1644), whose court at the Akal Takht patronised devotional and classical musicians. The paired format, drawing on the pakhawaj barrel and the two-drum dhol, became standard then, and ragis carried it to gurdwaras across Punjab.
By the early to mid-20th century the harmonium had replaced the stringed instruments and the tabla the jori. The Namdhari community kept the older practice.
Gurmat Sangeet gained academic standing at Panjab University and the Gurmat Sangeet Academy in Patiala. Baldeep Singh learned jori-pakhawaj from Arjan Singh Tarangar, revived it through the Anad Foundation and released the album Jori in 2004. In research and in workshops for Sikh communities in the UK, Canada and the United States, he separates the old technique from tabla-influenced playing. Ragis such as Nirmal Singh Khalsa sustain the kirtan tradition, and some Hindustani percussionists study the jori for its pakhawaj heritage.
Construction & Craftsmanship
Construction Process
Craftsmen carve both shells from tun (Toona ciliata) with tight, even grain and no surface cracks; many retail sets use sheesham, and some sets have a brass dhamma. The treble shell is 22 to 26 cm long, the bass 30 to 40 cm, hollowed on a lathe to a consistent internal diameter that governs pitch. Workshops in Amritsar, Patiala and Ludhiana make most sets, often in family lineages. In effect the jori is the pakhawaj split in two, its barrel heads turned into two upright drums.
The treble head is thin goatskin of even thickness; the bass takes buffalo or heavier goatskin to carry low resonance under open-palm strokes. Each skin is stretched over a hoop and laced to the opposite hoop with leather or braided cotton straps, over wood or bone gatta that tune it.
The treble poorra carries a permanent black syahi. The bass dhamma takes fresh wheat-flour dough, atta, pressed on before each sitting and removed after; its size and shape set the deep bass and its pitch. Baldeep Singh, who leads the Amritsari school, has hand-crafted a jori-pakhawaj of the Gurbani tradition.
Maintenance & Care
- Tuning: Tap the gatta up or down with a small wooden or rubber mallet: up raises tension and pitch. Tune the treble to the harmonium or tanpura Sa before each session and the bass an octave or a fifth below, where the dough sets it. Regular checks stop uneven tension warping the hoop.
- Humidity: Damp slackens the skins and flattens the tone; dry air tightens them until they split. Store the jori in a padded bag away from sun, air-conditioning vents and temperature swings. A light coat of coconut or mustard oil on the skin after cleaning helps stop cracks at the hoop.
- Dough and lacing: Remove the atta from the dhamma after every session, since left dough hardens, cracks and grinds grit into the skin, and press on fresh before the next. The poorra keeps its syahi and takes no dough. Have frayed or loose lacing replaced promptly.
Technical Specifications
Detailed specifications for the Jori
Physical dimensions
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Treble drum shell length | 22–26cm |
| Bass drum shell length | 30–40cm |
| Treble drum head diameter | ~15–18cm |
| Bass drum head diameter | ~20–25cm |
| Assembled pair weight | 4–7kg |
Shell materials
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Shell wood | Tun wood (Toona ciliata); sheesham in many retail sets |
| Grain requirement | Tight, even; no surface cracks |
| Production centres | Amritsar, Patiala, Ludhiana (Punjab) |
| Shell construction | Lathe-hollowed to consistent internal diameter |
| Lacing material | Leather straps or braided cotton rope |
Membrane and patch
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Treble drum skin | Thin goatskin (uniform thickness) |
| Bass drum skin | Buffalo or heavier goatskin |
| Treble patch type | Permanent black syahi, as on the tabla treble |
| Bass drum patch | Fresh atta dough, applied each sitting and removed after; it gives the deep bass and sets its pitch |
| Hoop material | Metal or wood ring |
Tuning system
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Tuning mechanism | Cylindrical gatta pieces (wood or bone) between lacing and shell |
| Adjustment method | Struck with small mallet: up raises tension and pitch, down lowers it |
| Treble tuning target | Pitched to harmonium or tanpura Sa for each kirtan session (middle octave) |
| Bass tuning target | Lower octave or fifth below the treble; the dough sets it in the mandra saptak |
| Fine tuning | Dough size and shape on the dhamma set the bass pitch; the poorra keeps its syahi |
Acoustic character
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Attack character | Full, warm open-hand strokes |
| Bass drum sound | Deep, rolling boom sustained under open-palm stroke |
| Dynamic range | Louder than the tabla, by practitioners' accounts; suited to acoustic kirtan |
| Overtone control | The bass drum's atta gives a focused, deep fundamental |
| Tonal design | Supports vocal range without overwhelming the singing voice |
Available Instruments
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Contact for Custom OrderYour Journey to Jori Mastery
Follow this structured path from absolute beginner to accomplished performer
Hand posture and open strokes
This stage is Foundation, where every beginner starts in KalaSudha's courses. Sit cross-legged with both drums on cloth pads, the treble angled towards you. Learn sath, the full-handed open-palm style the Amritsari school calls the oldest, and how it differs from tabla fingertip playing: palm strokes on the treble, sustained open strokes on the bass. Later stages add jat and gat, which bring in the fingers.
Basic bols and rhythm cycles
Kirtan accompaniment
Cross-rhythms and layakari
Advanced repertoire and style
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the jori, the drum pair of Sikh kirtan?
The jori is a pair of separate drums from the Punjab region, played seated with the hands; its name means pair. The treble drum is the poorra and the bass drum the dhamma. Sikh tradition credits Guru Arjan Dev with creating it from the older mridang or pakhawaj, to accompany Gurbani kirtan sung in dhrupad style.
How can a beginner, a child or a player coming back after a long break start learning the jori, the Sikh kirtan drums?
Learning the jori with KalaSudha starts at Foundation level, online or in a workshop. You begin seated with both drums on cloth pads, learning sath, the open, full-palm strokes. Children study with us as well as adults, so ask us about a starting age and about a size for a younger learner.
Players back after a long break pick up where they left off. Our courses run in levels, so your teacher first hears where you stand.
Where can I buy a jori pair outside India, with international shipping and service or repair where I live?
You can buy a jori from KalaSudha outside India: we sell each pair by quote or made to order and deliver worldwide. Every set goes out packed for international shipping; ask us about cases and insurance.
We service and repair any jori in any country, wherever you bought it. Ask us, too, for spare parts. For help with your drums after the sale, use the chat on any page or email [email protected]. For a gift voucher, a class set for a school or a flight case for travel, ask us as well.
Which drum of the jori takes the wheat-flour dough?
On the jori, the bass drum, the dhamma, takes a fresh application of wheat-flour dough (atta) on its head, which produces its deep, resonant bass. The dough controls the bass pitch, set in the low octave, and is applied before each sitting and removed afterwards. The treble poorra carries a permanent black syahi, like the tabla's treble drum.
Is the jori still played in gurdwaras?
The tabla has replaced the jori in most gurdwara kirtan today, and the jori is now rare. After the 1947 Partition many Muslim rababi families moved to Pakistan, breaking the rabab and jori pairing at Darbar Sahib. The Namdhari Sikh community of Punjab has preserved jori playing, and Bhai Baldeep Singh has revived jori-pakhawaj playing.
How does the jori differ from the tabla?
The jori's bass drum takes fresh wheat-flour dough, while its treble drum carries a permanent syahi like the tabla's. Jori playing uses an open hand and fuller, heavier strokes, where tabla emphasises finger strokes. Practitioners describe the jori as louder, deeper and lower-pitched, and the two techniques do not transfer smoothly between each other.
How is the jori related to the pakhawaj?
The jori is a vertical form of the pakhawaj: the barrel drum's two heads become two upright drums, with timbre and technique close to the pakhawaj and the left and right sides inverted. Sikh tradition credits Guru Arjan Dev with creating it from the older mridang or pakhawaj. Bhai Baldeep Singh uses the term jori-pakhawaj to separate it from the tabla.
How do I book a jori player for kirtan, a concert, an event or a recording session?
You can ask KalaSudha to book a jori player for a concert, event or recording. The jori accompanies Gurbani kirtan, the sung hymns of the Guru Granth Sahib, so tell us the setting when you book Indian classical musicians through us. To hear our artists, explore KalaSudha's recordings and concert videos.
Have more questions? Contact our support team and we'll be happy to help!
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