ThaniPai - Ideal Mridangam Travel Bag
Background
I play the Mridangam, a South Indian Classical percussion instrument. I've been troubled by this highly specific, yet highly annoying problem. A problem native to the Indian percussion instrument community. And as robust as it may be, the Mridangam faces grave danger when handed over to the dreaded-by-all, merciless Airport Security. With the sharp tuning implements stashed away with the instrument, the journey is nothing short of a minefield.
Brief
" Create an ideal bag for the travelling Mridangist. "
User Study
I talked to my peers in the field, my teachers, and traveling professional performers (21 peers, 2 teachers and 2 traveling professionals to be precise). I got the reassurance I was looking for, regarding the problems I faced. I also discovered new problems I didn't know I was dealing with.
Ideation
Quick sketches, taking inspiration from existing products, and exploring permutations and combinations of unique functions helped me think along different directions. Material considerations were also made during this stage.
Final Concept
The final concept is a cross between effective utilisation of space and ease of accessibility to all things stored inside. The flat-folding design allows unhindered packing of the Mridangam, clothes and other articles. The compartments on the side utilise the packed clothes as cushioning to protect the faces of the instrument. The truncated cone shape of the top half of the Mridangam helps in accommodating the variable-capacity tuning kit bag, which is strapped to the main bag to prevent jostling around in transit. The overall size of the bag is such that it can comfortably be carried around and also fits under the lowest berth of trains, the preferred mode of transport for travelling Mridangists.
Prototyping
I made a functional prototype of the bag with the things I could lay my hands on at home. I gathered many insights regarding the behaviour of the bag under load and while it is lugged around. One other interesting thing I learned was that one can procure only so many things during lockdown to make one's prototypes.
Future Scope
The bag is manufacture-ready but has scope to reduce the cost of manufacturing. The bag can be developed further to cater to the older performing group that cannot lift these bags easily (a modular roller attachment perhaps). The end goal is to create a good quality mridangam bag ideal for travel and usable by all mridangists.
