The tanpura is synonymous with Indian classical music. The sitar-like musical instrument has a long, wooden neck with four strings attached to a bulbous base that acts as the sound chamber.
This base is traditionally made from the fruit of a vining gourd, but excessive heat, unseasonal rains, pests and diseases are an increasing threat to gourd crops in India. That puts the future of both gourd farmers and the instrument at risk, according to a video produced by Mongabay India.
To make a tanpura, one must first select a gourd of a suitable size and shape, says tanpura maker Mohsin Mirajkar in the video.
The variety of bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) grown especially for musical instruments such as the tanpura must be 53-60 inches (135-152 centimetres) in circumference. Musicians prefer larger gourds as they have better resonance. But in recent years, gourds have gotten smaller, Mirajkar says, “Some people complained that the sound was not right.”
It’s not just the gourd’s size that matters. Sagar Hazri, a gourd farmer, says the shell should also be thick and heavy, and, when dried, should make a clear “tong tong” sound. “This is the kind we can sell,” he says. “The thin, lower-quality shells make a duller ‘dhop dhop’ sound. They get damaged easily. We have to reject those gourds.”
The gourd, which is only harvested once a year, during the peak of the Indian summer, is increasingly under threat from climate change.
Excessive heat damages the ripening gourds, causing them to rot from the inside before they can be harvested. “Five years ago, it wasn’t this hot,” Hazri says, adding that the heat also attracts more pests.
Dhananjaya M.V., principal scientist at the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, confirms that the hot, humid growing environment creates the right conditions for more pests and diseases that affect both the quality and quantity of gourds at the end of the harvest season.
Hazri says if he uses pesticides, the chemicals also damage the small flowers and buds of the gourd. For him, the impact of these environmental changes is clear: In 2025, he harvested 150 good-quality gourds; this year, he only got about 70.
Uncertainty around the ability to successfully grow gourds, coupled with low wages, has forced many farmers to stop growing them, Hazri says. But he says he still feels a sense of pride in being a gourd farmer.
“Profit is not the most important thing here,” he says. “This is not something everybody does. When the instrument made from what I grew is being played on TV, it gives me a sense of happiness. That matters to me.”
This story was published with permission from Mongabay.com.
