Panchavadyam, literally meaning an orchestra of five instruments, is basically a temple art form that has evolved in Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

. Of the five instruments, four -- timila

Timila

Timila is an hour-glass shaped percussion instrument used in Kerala, South India. It is made of polished jackwood, and the drumheads made of calfskin are held together by leather braces which are also twined round the waist of the drum...

, maddalam, ilathalam and idakka

Idakka

The idakka , also spelt edaykka, is an hourglass-shaped drum from Kerala in south India. This handy percussion instrument is very similar to the pan-Indian damaru. While the damaru is played by rattling knotted cords against the resonators, the idakka is played with a stick...

 -- belong to the percussion category, while the fifth one, kombu

Kombu, Kerala

Kombu is a wind instrument usually played along with Panchavadyam, Pandi Melam, Panchari melam etc. This musical instrument is usually seen in Kerala state of south India. The instrument is like a long horn ....

, is a wind instrument.

Much like any chenda

Chenda

The Chenda is a cylindrical percussion instrument used widely in the state of Kerala, and Tulu Nadu of Karnataka State in India. In Tulu Nadu it is known as Chande....

 melam, panchavadyam too is characterised by a pyramid-like rhythmic structure—with a constantly increasing tempo coupled with a proportional decrease in the number of beats in cycles.