Shantha Tabala Works

You can find us at 382 Balepet, right on the OTC Road. It’s a very crowded area with people and carts constantly moving around. Shantha Tabala Works has been here for a good amount of time now. The shop is filled with the smell of wood and leather because that is what we work with all day long. If you walk inside, you will see tabalas in different stages of being made or fixed up. There is usually sawdust on the floor and various tools scattered on the workbench. It is a bit messy, I suppose, but that is how it goes when you are working with your hands every day. We spend our hours tightening the skins or carving out the heavy wooden bases for the instruments. Balepet is a loud place, so there is always the sound of horns and people shouting from outside mixing with our own hammering sounds. We are not a big factory, just a local workshop where the work gets done slowly and carefully. People who play the tabala come in to get their instruments tuned or repaired when they are worn out. We sit on the floor mostly while working because it is just easier that way for us. It’s a small shop where we keep ourselves busy with the instruments. Sometimes people stop by just to chat about the local music or the weather. We don’t have fancy displays, just the instruments and the parts needed to fix them. It’s a simple life here on OTC Road, just focusing on the work at hand.