Importance of ink smearing on Tabla

As said earlier, the ink spot on the Indian percussion instrument plays an important role in their paramount sound quality. This ink is a classic mixture of gum and the fine powder made from the black stones found in the river Narmada. Through the chemical analysis of this ink, iron and manganese particles are found in high quantity. This makes the high volume of the ink. However, these days, this ink is made from iron fillings, coal powder and gum / wheat dough. If the proportion of the volume of the ink and the leather surface is 1.768, the numbers of vibrations are same irrespective of total numbers of the vibrations of the leather surface. Considering this scientific principle, the ink volume is maintained.