The kanjira is the South Indian tambourine made of jack wood and monitor lizard skin. It is a relatively young instrument in the Indian percussion realm. Made popular by the great G. Harishankar Rao, the kanjira has become a prominent instrument for students and performers to learn and play. Held in one hand, the other plays the drum strokes while the holding hand is used to apply pressure to the drum head to change intonation.