After the Bhagavad-gita class, Nanda Kumara led a particularly sweet and ecstatic kirtana. Srila Prabhupada was playing karatals with his eyes closed and a look of intense concentration on his face. Suddenly Nanda Kumara's hand went right through the large head of the drum. Srila Prabhupada opened his eyes abruptly and looked very sternly at Nanda Kumara, who brought the kirtana quickly to a close. Afterwards, Nanda Kumara went to Srila Prabhupada to apologise.
"What happened?" Srila Prabhupada asked.
"I don't know," said Nanda Kumara. "I didn't hit it too hard."
Later on it was discovered that the drum had been released from Sydney airport quarantine only that morning, where the drum had been dipped in formaldehyde, effectively ruining it. Prabhupada's solution was a practical one. "Next time," he suggested to Nanda Kumara, "to avoid such problems, if we take any drums to Australia, we should be sure that the heads are of special pre-tanned leather, not rawhide."
- From "The Great Transcendental Adventure" by HG Kurma Prabhu
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