Bhangra Beat

Bhangra originated more than 200 years ago as a simple dance music made by India's Punjabi farmers to celebrate the end of the harvest. More often than not, the crop being harvested was hemp or bhang, from which the music derives its name. Usually, the only instruments to accompany the singing were a variety of drums, along with handclapping. Indigenous percussive instruments that provided the music's foundation included a two-headed drum called the dhol —a variant of which,...