Between Tibet and India sits Bhutan, a small, landlocked nation that has rejected the world‘s path to prosperity and dares to challenge modern measures of worth. While its radical pursuit of happiness over GDP is well-documented, its musical heritage tells an equally heartwarming tale of cultural preservation. Like eternal strings resonating through time, the kingdom‘s traditional instruments carry forth its soul.
The changtro and dratong — Bhutanese cousins to India’s iktara and sitar respectively — have kept its ancient melodies alive. And now, for the first time, these traditional instruments and their cultural significance have been painstakingly documented, thanks to a groundbreaking study conducted in Gujarat’s cultural capital, Vadodara. At the heart of this musical milestone is Kheng Sonam Dorji, a master musician and composer renowned for playing the drangyen, a traditional Bhutanese string instrument.
As a PhD scholar at Maharaja Sayajirao University’s 138-year-old Faculty of Performing Arts, Dorji has accomplished what no one had attempted before — a comprehensive classification of Bhutanese musical instruments, complete with detailed documentation of their roles and cultural context.
The 47-year-old musician, who earned the honorific ‘Kheng’ for being the first to write and sing in the Kheng dialect, has gone further by creating new musical terminology for the nation’s heritage. “This is the first-ever PhD research on Bhutanese music,” said Rahul Barodia, assistant professor at the Department of Instrumental Music (sitar-violin), who guided Dorji.
“It is going to be a treasure for the future generations. The work includes illustrations of 60 traditional instruments, classification of music genres and development of a notation system that creates a pedagogy for learning and teaching Bhutanese music,” he added.
Just as Indian classical music is built on the foundation of sa, re, ga, ma, Dorji has documented Bhutan’s fundamental musical notes as om, ma, ni, pa. He has created new terms too – “leu” for what Indians call “taal”, “chatsam” for taal compartments, and “thritsam” for beats.
Notably, despite its richness, the classification of Bhutanese music was so far missing. Dorji’s work classifies Bhutanese music into five major genres, including spiritual or devotional music, the dangrem (open songs without external rhythm), the gorgom (short phrases that have a sensation of rhythm), lozey or dratum (ornamented speech with a sensation of rhythm) and tsangmo (similar to jugalbandi in Indian classical music). Zhungdra, boedra, drukdra and yurldra are the subcategories of these genres.
Initiated into music at a young age, Dorji learned drangyen from elders of the Bhutanese folk tradition. At the age of 15, he started composing his own songs and soon gained fame on the national radio.
In 1996, on the suggestion of the Indian ambassador to Bhutan, he came to India to further study music and landed at Visva Bharati in Santiniketan, where he witnessed legends like Bhimsen Joshi, Bismillah Khan, Ravi Shankar and Zakir Hussain perform.
After his first four-year stint in India, he returned to Bhutan, continuing his musical performances. Driven by his thirst for musical knowledge, Dorji returned to MSU for a master’s in sitar in 2006.
Two years later, he co-founded the Music of Bhutan Research Centre and began travelling across the length and breadth of his country to document its musical wealth.
Dorji went about recording practitioners and collecting ancient instruments, including the oldest dulcimer, in his attempt to preserve Bhutanese culture.
In 2021, he was conferred the Best Alumni Award by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, the same year he enrolled for PhD at MSU.
“Bhutanese music is currently in a very fragile state. I believe that through my PhD work I will be able to contribute to developing and preserving Bhutanese music,” said Dorji, adding that he preferred studying in India because Indian music is one of the oldest forms of music in the world.
“Furthermore, there are so many links with the Natya Shastra (the Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts). You will be surprised to know that Raga Bhupali, one of the oldest known melodies, actually originated from Bhutan,” said Dorji. These connections between Indian classical music and Bhutanese music made him more curious.
Today, Dorji, dressed in his traditional Bhutanese robe, the gho, bridges worlds.
To international audiences, he is known for his soundtrack contributions to the acclaimed Bhutanese film, “Travellers and Magicians” (2004), his 2014 release — “Music from the Mountains of Bhutan”, his appearances at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC and the pan-Asian ensemble at the London BT River of Music Festival for the Summer Olympic Games in 2012.
Back in Bhutan, he directs the Hidden Kingdom World Music Festival, held annually to mark the royal wedding anniversary. The event has hosted over 250 artists from 37 countries, creating a global stage where Bhutan’s ancient melodies meet the world’s diverse musical traditions from classical to pop.
GEMS FROM THE MELODIOUS TREASURY
Drangyen
The Drangyen, or the Bhutanese lute, is a prominent and symbolic traditional string instrument of Bhutan, known for its unique sea monster-shaped head and intricately hand-carved body. The instrument’s seven strings and individual tuning pegs represent the voices and presence of the Dakinis, the enlightened female beings in Vajrayana Buddhism. Its name translates to “listen to the melody” (dra: melody, ngyen: listen). Typically, 3-4 feet long and crafted from cypress wood, the drangyen features two bridges—one on the belly and one at the neck — and is played with a triangular plectrum made of bone, wood or horn. Its strings are traditionally tuned to B (pancham), A (sadhaj) and E (madhyam).
Piwang (or Pewang)
The Piwang, a traditional Bhutanese string instrument, is a marvel of natural craftsmanship. Carved from ox, cow or buffalo horn, this half-metre-long instrument features a resonance box covered in goat leather. Its two main strings, tuned to Dha and Ga, are played with a bow crafted from horsetail and bamboo. A wooden stem runs through the horn, secured with cotton thread, while resin on the bow brings out the instrument’s rich tones. Musicians press the strings with their left hand and bow with their right, coaxing melodies from this beautiful design.
Tsaidrum
From Bhutan’s Kheng belt comes the Tsaidrum, where bamboo transforms into both instrument and strings. This two-string instrument measures about 1 foot 10 inches and has an even cylindrical shape without a fingerboard or frets. What makes it remarkable is its strings — they are not added but drawn from the bamboo itself. Five bridges support these strings, with a larger flat bridge at the center guiding the musician’s touch. Players can either pluck the strings with their thumbs or strike them with a small hammer like tool, each method drawing out its distinct voice.
Yangkali (Kologpa)
The Yangkali, resembling a large bean, tells a story of Bhutan’s harmony with nature. This percussion instrument — a giant dried seed pod stretching over three feet — is made from the fruit of a forest vine. Known also as Kologpa, its hard shell and natural seeds create rhythms that have become inseparable from traditional songs like “Bomi la Karmoi Wangzom.” During performances, male dancers wear it on their left waist, letting each movement shake loose its forest-born music.
THE LANGUAGE OF MUSIC
Indian music notes: Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Da, Ni, Sa
Bhutanese notes: Om, Ma, Ni, Pa, Mi, Hu, Thi, Om
Western notes: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C
European notes: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do
The changtro and dratong — Bhutanese cousins to India’s iktara and sitar respectively — have kept its ancient melodies alive. And now, for the first time, these traditional instruments and their cultural significance have been painstakingly documented, thanks to a groundbreaking study conducted in Gujarat’s cultural capital, Vadodara. At the heart of this musical milestone is Kheng Sonam Dorji, a master musician and composer renowned for playing the drangyen, a traditional Bhutanese string instrument.
As a PhD scholar at Maharaja Sayajirao University’s 138-year-old Faculty of Performing Arts, Dorji has accomplished what no one had attempted before — a comprehensive classification of Bhutanese musical instruments, complete with detailed documentation of their roles and cultural context.
The 47-year-old musician, who earned the honorific ‘Kheng’ for being the first to write and sing in the Kheng dialect, has gone further by creating new musical terminology for the nation’s heritage. “This is the first-ever PhD research on Bhutanese music,” said Rahul Barodia, assistant professor at the Department of Instrumental Music (sitar-violin), who guided Dorji.
“It is going to be a treasure for the future generations. The work includes illustrations of 60 traditional instruments, classification of music genres and development of a notation system that creates a pedagogy for learning and teaching Bhutanese music,” he added.
Just as Indian classical music is built on the foundation of sa, re, ga, ma, Dorji has documented Bhutan’s fundamental musical notes as om, ma, ni, pa. He has created new terms too – “leu” for what Indians call “taal”, “chatsam” for taal compartments, and “thritsam” for beats.
Notably, despite its richness, the classification of Bhutanese music was so far missing. Dorji’s work classifies Bhutanese music into five major genres, including spiritual or devotional music, the dangrem (open songs without external rhythm), the gorgom (short phrases that have a sensation of rhythm), lozey or dratum (ornamented speech with a sensation of rhythm) and tsangmo (similar to jugalbandi in Indian classical music). Zhungdra, boedra, drukdra and yurldra are the subcategories of these genres.
Initiated into music at a young age, Dorji learned drangyen from elders of the Bhutanese folk tradition. At the age of 15, he started composing his own songs and soon gained fame on the national radio.
In 1996, on the suggestion of the Indian ambassador to Bhutan, he came to India to further study music and landed at Visva Bharati in Santiniketan, where he witnessed legends like Bhimsen Joshi, Bismillah Khan, Ravi Shankar and Zakir Hussain perform.
After his first four-year stint in India, he returned to Bhutan, continuing his musical performances. Driven by his thirst for musical knowledge, Dorji returned to MSU for a master’s in sitar in 2006.
Two years later, he co-founded the Music of Bhutan Research Centre and began travelling across the length and breadth of his country to document its musical wealth.
Dorji went about recording practitioners and collecting ancient instruments, including the oldest dulcimer, in his attempt to preserve Bhutanese culture.
In 2021, he was conferred the Best Alumni Award by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, the same year he enrolled for PhD at MSU.
“Bhutanese music is currently in a very fragile state. I believe that through my PhD work I will be able to contribute to developing and preserving Bhutanese music,” said Dorji, adding that he preferred studying in India because Indian music is one of the oldest forms of music in the world.
“Furthermore, there are so many links with the Natya Shastra (the Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts). You will be surprised to know that Raga Bhupali, one of the oldest known melodies, actually originated from Bhutan,” said Dorji. These connections between Indian classical music and Bhutanese music made him more curious.
Today, Dorji, dressed in his traditional Bhutanese robe, the gho, bridges worlds.
To international audiences, he is known for his soundtrack contributions to the acclaimed Bhutanese film, “Travellers and Magicians” (2004), his 2014 release — “Music from the Mountains of Bhutan”, his appearances at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC and the pan-Asian ensemble at the London BT River of Music Festival for the Summer Olympic Games in 2012.
Back in Bhutan, he directs the Hidden Kingdom World Music Festival, held annually to mark the royal wedding anniversary. The event has hosted over 250 artists from 37 countries, creating a global stage where Bhutan’s ancient melodies meet the world’s diverse musical traditions from classical to pop.
GEMS FROM THE MELODIOUS TREASURY
Drangyen
The Drangyen, or the Bhutanese lute, is a prominent and symbolic traditional string instrument of Bhutan, known for its unique sea monster-shaped head and intricately hand-carved body. The instrument’s seven strings and individual tuning pegs represent the voices and presence of the Dakinis, the enlightened female beings in Vajrayana Buddhism. Its name translates to “listen to the melody” (dra: melody, ngyen: listen). Typically, 3-4 feet long and crafted from cypress wood, the drangyen features two bridges—one on the belly and one at the neck — and is played with a triangular plectrum made of bone, wood or horn. Its strings are traditionally tuned to B (pancham), A (sadhaj) and E (madhyam).
Piwang (or Pewang)
The Piwang, a traditional Bhutanese string instrument, is a marvel of natural craftsmanship. Carved from ox, cow or buffalo horn, this half-metre-long instrument features a resonance box covered in goat leather. Its two main strings, tuned to Dha and Ga, are played with a bow crafted from horsetail and bamboo. A wooden stem runs through the horn, secured with cotton thread, while resin on the bow brings out the instrument’s rich tones. Musicians press the strings with their left hand and bow with their right, coaxing melodies from this beautiful design.
Tsaidrum
From Bhutan’s Kheng belt comes the Tsaidrum, where bamboo transforms into both instrument and strings. This two-string instrument measures about 1 foot 10 inches and has an even cylindrical shape without a fingerboard or frets. What makes it remarkable is its strings — they are not added but drawn from the bamboo itself. Five bridges support these strings, with a larger flat bridge at the center guiding the musician’s touch. Players can either pluck the strings with their thumbs or strike them with a small hammer like tool, each method drawing out its distinct voice.
Yangkali (Kologpa)
The Yangkali, resembling a large bean, tells a story of Bhutan’s harmony with nature. This percussion instrument — a giant dried seed pod stretching over three feet — is made from the fruit of a forest vine. Known also as Kologpa, its hard shell and natural seeds create rhythms that have become inseparable from traditional songs like “Bomi la Karmoi Wangzom.” During performances, male dancers wear it on their left waist, letting each movement shake loose its forest-born music.
THE LANGUAGE OF MUSIC
Indian music notes: Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Da, Ni, Sa
Bhutanese notes: Om, Ma, Ni, Pa, Mi, Hu, Thi, Om
Western notes: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C
European notes: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do
