Ghaṭam
also known as: ghatam · ghat
A wheel-thrown clay pot with a specific mix of brass-filings clay that produces a deep, pitched tone. The player rests the open mouth against the abdomen and strikes the body, rim, and neck with the fingers and palms.
Family
Idiophone
Role
Secondary percussion
Exponents listed
2
Origin
South India (clay pots are folk percussion across the region); Manamadurai in Tamil Nadu is the principal source for concert-grade ghaṭams
History & significance
The ghaṭam moved from village folk percussion into the Carnatic concert in the 19th century. Each pot is pitched: a performer typically carries a set tuned to different Sa-keys and selects one to match the artist's tonic. Manamadurai pots remain the gold standard for their density, ring, and tonal centre.
T.H. 'Vikku' Vinayakram (b. 1942) is the figure who pushed the ghaṭam into international visibility — through his Grammy-winning collaborations with John McLaughlin's Shakti, and a long mainstream concert career.
In a Carnatic concert
Subordinate percussion alongside the mṛdaṅgam — playing in dialogue rather than independently. Plays its own segment in the tani āvartanam.
Exponents· 2
Pudukkottai Dakshinamurthy Pillai
1875–1936Played both ghaṭam and kañjirā; among the earliest concert exponents of both instruments.
T.H. 'Vikku' Vinayakram
b. 1942Padma Shri (2002), Padma Bhushan (2014); Grammy Award (1991, with Shakti).