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url: 'https://kalasudha.com/en-int/faq/instruments-artforms/what-paste-goes-on-the-left-head-of-the-mridangam'
title: 'What paste goes on the left head of the mridangam?'
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date: '2026-10-19T14:56:32+00:00'
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summary: 'Mridangam players press semolina or farina paste onto the bass head before playing; it lowers the pitch and damps the head.'
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 FAQ · Instruments & artforms

# What paste goes on the left head of the mridangam?

 Updated 19 October 2026

 

Before playing, a **[mridangam](/en-int/instrument/mridangam)** player presses a temporary paste onto the centre of the left, bass head. Most sources name semolina (rava) or farina mixed with water; one acoustics paper names a wheat paste. The paste lowers the pitch and damps the head, and players top it up during a performance. Some use silicone caulk, modelling clay or rubber gum instead.



 

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- [   Mridangam The mridangam is the double-headed jackfruit-wood barrel drum of Carnatic music. Its treble and bass heads give the full range of strokes, from the open tha to…     ](/en-int/instrument/mridangam)
 
  

 

 

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