Daily Times

The centuries-old drumsbeating culture has kept alive in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which are making weedings, birthday parties and other festivals more enchanting and colourful despite mushroom growth of social media in Pakistan.

Despite the mushroom growth of social media and information technology, the dhol players have started roaring business after start of seasons of marriages besides birthday parties and other celebrated occasions in Peshawar after dropping of temperature in KP.

Cleaning his dhol with a long white handkerchief, drumbeater Zulfiqar alias Bhutto (48) often come to Peshawar cantonment where he sit in Fakhar e Alam Road’s square before his services were hired for marriages, birthday and other festivals especially on the weekend.

“I entered into dhol beating profession after death of my father 21 years ago and come to Fakhar Alam Road’s green shadi hall square from Gulbahar with a hope to earn maximum business on Saturday and Sunday,” Zulfiqar Khan, who cleaned his dhol with handkerchief told APP.

“The drumbeaters pinned high hopes from winter season due to an increase of marriages, engagements and festivals, hoping the winter would bring happiness to their community,” he said, adding the cost of dhols were also increased due to price hike and inflation.

“Two years ago, the price of a dhol was Rs20,000 along with beating plates that now jumped to Rs32,000,” he said, adding poor drummers economically suffers in case damage to their dhols,” he said.

“Mostly during monson season, the dhol with a beating plate of skin gets dampened and also affected in hot weather conditions, incurring substantial financial losses to them,” he said, adding plastic beating plates were mostly imported from abroad works for longer peroid of time.

Shareef Gul, another dhol player, who belonged to Lahore said that he was proud of his profession that helped his children attained upto university level education.

He said that drumbeaters were being prefered over DJs because it was cost efficient and required no electricity or expensive arrangments.

Known as Ustad, Shareef said, “I had sent two dhols for repair and the third one inherited from my elder brother was being used in marriages, birthday parties, mehndi, political gatherings, weeding and other joys occasions,” he said.

He hoped that their business would further shine during winter. “The earning of a dhol player depend upon the financial position of the hired party. Some times, we earns Rs5,000 and some times pocket Rs20,000 per program on weekend,” he said, adding a pair of dhol player normally charges Rs2,000 from the clients per program.

On weekends, the traditional drum-beaters were also seen waiting for customers at Ghandhara and Hayatabad chowk where dhol lovers hire them for festivals.

The people paid thousands to these drummers wearing white and yellow dresses inspite of an advance music equipment and DJs to give traditional touch to their weddings. “I came to green shadi hall chowk to hire a pair of dhol players for engagement of my son that was cost efficient compare to DJs besides can easily be performed in indoor function and outdoor activities” said Fayaz Khan, a resident of Wapda Town Nowshera.