Thappu Melam is the symphony of Padayani. Thappu is a small-sized drum. Its plain surface is made of animal skin and the skin is first heated and then cooled by rubbing the leaves of a particular plant and is later tuned to get the desired tone.

Apart from Thappu instruments such as Para, Kumbham, Ilathalam, Kuzhal and Kombu are also used while performing Padayani.