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The tabla (or tabl, tabla) (Punjabi: ਤਬਲਾ,Hindi: तबला, Marathi: तबला, Kannada: ತಬಲ, Telugu: తబల, Tamil: தபேலா, Malayalam: തബല, Bengali: তবলা,Oriya: ତବଲା, Nepali: तबला, Urdu: طبلہ‎, Arabic: طبل، طبلة‎, Persian: طبل‎) is a membranophone percussion instrument (similar to bongos), used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres. The term tabla is derived from an Arabic word, tabl, which simply means "drum." The tabla is used in some other Asian musical traditions outside of India, such as in the Indonesian dangdut genre.