A large narrow-mouthed earthenware pot used as a percussion instrument in Carnatic music is called the:

Explanation

The ghatam is a percussion instrument made of a large clay pot with a narrow mouth. It is one of the main percussion instruments of Carnatic music, where it usually supports the mridangam in accompanying a singer or instrumentalist.

The ghatam is made of clay mixed with brass or copper filings and other materials, which makes it strong and gives it a clear, metallic ring. The thickness of the walls is carefully controlled so that the pot produces the right tone. The best-known ghatams are made in Manamadurai, a town in Tamil Nadu, where the clay is especially suitable. The player usually sits with the pot on the lap, with its mouth facing the stomach, and plays it with the fingers, thumbs, palms and heels of the hands. By opening and closing the mouth of the pot against the stomach, the player can change the bass tone. Skilled players produce a remarkable range of sounds from this simple instrument.

The ghatam is a very ancient instrument and is mentioned in old texts. In the Indian classification of instruments, it is a ghana vadya (a solid instrument that is struck), because it has no skin or strings. A similar pot, called the matka, is used in folk music in North India, and the "nout" is a clay pot instrument of Kashmir.

The most famous ghatam player is T.H. Vinayakram, popularly known as Vikku Vinayakram. He took the ghatam to international audiences and played with the fusion group Shakti, together with John McLaughlin and Zakir Hussain. He won a Grammy Award in 1992 for the album "Planet Drum", with Mickey Hart. Sukanya Ramgopal is known as one of the first women ghatam players.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Kanjira is a small frame drum with a lizard-skin head.
• ✗Thavil is the barrel drum that accompanies the nadaswaram.
• ✗Mridangam is the main double-headed drum of Carnatic music.