doobla

Updated: July 10, 2026

There is an irregular line of stately elephants, each with its towering howdah and dusky mahout, moving slowly along through the rustling reeds. You hear the sharp report of fireworks, the rattling thunder of the big doobla or drum, and the ear-splitting clatter of innumerable tom-toms.

James Inglis - Sport and Work on the Nepaul Frontier: Twelve Years Sporting Reminiscences of an Indigo Planter