What sort of instruments are Timbal, tabla and bodhran?
Tabla instruments. These are named as Pushkara - name Tabla comes in later periods Drums and Talas are mentioned in the Vedic era texts. A percussion musical instrument with two or three small drums, held with strings, called "Pushkara" (also spelled "Pushkala") were in existence in pre-5th century Indian subcontinent along with other drums such as the Mridang, but these are not called "tabla" then. The pre-5th century paintings in the Ajanta Caves, for example, show a group of musicians playing small tabla-like upright seated drums, a kettle-shaped "mridang" drum and cymbals. Similar artwork with seated musicians playing drums, but carved
Tabla third version of the Arab theory credits the invention of "tabla" to the 18th century musician, with a similar sounding name Amir Khusru, where he is suggested to have cut a "Pakhawaj" into two to create "tabla". This is not an entirely unreasonable theory, and miniature paintings of this era show instruments that sort of look like "tabla", but this would mean that "tabla" emerged from within the Muslim community of Indian subcontinent and were not an Arabian import. However, scholars such as Neil Sorrell and Ram Narayan state that this legend of cutting a "pakhawaj" drum into two to