In origin, the ektara was a regular string instrument of wandering bards and minstrels from India and is plucked with one finger. The ektara is a drone lute consisting of a gourd resonator covered with skin, through which a bamboo neck is inserted. 

The instrument is given different names according to the material of which it is made. The lau, for example, is made from the bottle gourd. A famous Baul song refers to this in \'sadher lau banaila more vairagi\' (My dear bottle-gourd turned me into a Vaishvava). However, the body may also be made of wood or brass.

Ektaras made of wood-apple shells or coconut shells are comparatively smaller in size. The bowl of the instrument is covered with skin and fixed to a prepared bamboo, approximately three feet long which has been split into four at one end. Two strips of bamboo are carefully cut away and the bowl is fixed between the remaining strips. The string, which is usually made of steel, is attached to the bottom of the bowl and then to the wooden knob, called kan (ear), at the other end. The string is tightened or loosened by turning the knob. 

Each of the instruments belonging to the Ektara family can be classified as a tata vadya, that is, a category of musical instruments in which the sound-making process is generated by the vibration of a string. 

The ektara is a common instrument in Baul music from Bengal. Some controversy has arisen in recent years over the adoption and alleged corruption of Baul music by popular bands and films in Bengal. It has become common to mix traditional instruments like the ektara with more modern sounds in an attempt to appeal to a wide audience, which according to Purna Das Baul is "destroying the true beauty" of Baul music. 

A renowned group of performers specialized in playing the Ektara Gopichand is located in the Bengal region, comprising Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal. They\'re called the Bauls and can be described as a community of mystic minstrels and wandering bards. The Ektara Tuntuna is frequently played in Maharashtra during those socio-cultural events that include the performances of a group of professional musicians called Gondhalis.

A renowned group of performers specialized in playing the Ektara Gopichand is located in the Bengal region, comprising Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal. 

They\'re called the Bauls and can be described as a community of mystic minstrels and wandering bards. 

The Ektara Tuntuna is frequently played in Maharashtra during those socio-cultural events that include the performances of a group of professional musicians called Gondhalis.