Taala Dasa Prana

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Bharata in Chapter of Natyashastra talks about the 10  aspects of Taala. “Dasa” means “ten” and “ Prana” means “Life”. Out of these 10 prasans the first five are the Mahaprana and the last  are the Upaprana. Let us understand the details

 

1.       Kaala  - The word literally means time. It is the most important aspect of Taala.  Maintaing time is important for musician as music cannot be sung infinitely. Also understanding the  length of time when the singer will end or beginning the note is important for a dancer to create the chemistry.  Shana is the smallest unit of time measurement in India and the definition of it is given clearly in our texts. The time taken to pierced 1 lotus petal while staking 100 petals  [of similar shape, thickness and size ] is Kshana.  Details of Time measurement is given below.

2.       Maarga  - The word literally means time

3.       Kriya  - 

4.       Anga  - Different parts of the taalam is called Anga. Hindustani classical system has vibhaga while Carnatic system has 3 major Angas. Laghu, Dhruta and Anudhrutam. There are 3 more Angas [Guru, Plutam and Kakapadam]  that are hardly used .

5.       Graha –

6.       Jaati  -The type of Laya is called Jaati. Arrangement of syllables against the number of maatras in measuring the musical time is Jaati. Natyashastra talks about only 2 types – Tisram and Chatusra. These two are taken as the base to create 3 more types of Jaati – Khandam [2 +3], Mishram [3+4] and Sankeernam [2+3+4]

7.       Kaala

8.       Laya   -   Laya is the rythmn, tempo, speed, pace etc. Equal or regular distribution of speed is called Laya. The gap between two beats or akshara can be termed as the Laya. It is of 3 types.  Vilambita [slow tempo], Madhyama [ medium pace] and Dhruta [Fast Pace].

9.       Yaati  - Rythmnmic pattern where the sollus are placed inorder to design a pleasant sound is called Yaati. This may include Angas of taala, Swara or even Sahitya of composition. Mainly words without specific meaning are commonly used [Ex- Tha, Dhing, Tom, Nam]. Now a days lots of experimentations are seen words like Jala, Prana etc are seen to be popular.  Six major variety [ Discussed later]

10.   Prastara  - Prastara   means to speed out.

 

 

Time Measurement

8 Shana                  equals  1 Lava

8 Lava                     equals  1 Kaashta

8 Kaashta               equals  1 Nimisha

8 Nimisha               equals  1 Kalaa

2 Kalaa                   equals  1 Chaturbhaga

2 Chaturbhaga      equals  1 Chaturbhaga

 

 

 

Yaati  Classification

1.       Sama Yaati

2.       Vishama Yaati

3.       Mridangam Yaati

4.       Damaru Yaati

5.       Gopuccha Yaati

6.       Srothavaka Yati

 

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