Dholi Musicians of Jhalawar: Hadoti Percussion Tradition

The Dholi community of Jhalawar district are hereditary percussion musicians who play the dhol (barrel drum) and shehnai (double-reed oboe) at social and religious occasions across the Hadoti region. Dholi musicians are formally invited to weddings, births, festivals, and agricultural harvest celebrations, playing music that marks the transition into auspicious time. Each Dholi family maintains a jajmani relationship with a set of patron families (jajman) across multiple villages, providing music at all life-cycle events in exchange for grain payments and cash. The dhol is played with two sticks of different weights, with the heavier stick producing bass strokes on one side and the lighter cane stick producing treble on the other. Dholi repertoire includes specific ragas for morning, midday, and evening, reflecting the classical underpinning of this hereditary tradition. Like many jajmani-linked communities, Dholis face economic precarity as cash economy undermines patron relationships.