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Raga and Tala are fundamental to Indian music. Some idea about the raga has been given in the previous section. A brief note on the Tala system is presented in this section. The Tala system of South Indian music has several unique features. The time measures used in South Indian music are innumerable and varied and they occupy an important position in the system. Talas organize rhythm in music. All aspects of percussion are bound by a constantly repeated metric cycle of beat called Tala. The Talas are not just recurrent time cycles; they rather have their individual structure and influence on music. Just as a raga extols the bhavam (mood) of the song, so does the tala, which reveals the mood of the The word Tala - is said to be derived from the combination of the words Tandavam & Lasyam. Tandavam is the dance of Lord Siva and Lasyam is the dance of Goddess Parvati. song.

2.15.1 Laya & Tala In Indian Music Traditional Indian 58 thought sees time itself as a cyclical phenomenon and attributes two aspects to it: the eternal and the transitory. Events occurring in transition, as for example a musical performance, occupy a certain slot of eternal time. Tala may be considered a method regulating and measuring this slot. The tempo or gait at which this regulation occurs could be considered laya. The importance of laya in music is implied in the aphorism: - "Sruti Mata Layah Pita" is a saying which is often quoted by teacher, learner and performer alike. It means," The tone is mother and the rhythm is father". But laya is not limited to music; it has a wider dimension. It denotes a state of existence, of attaining harmony between one's innate tendencies and the facts of one's experience. 2.15.2 Structure of Tala: Each and every tala has a structure, which is governed by the rules pertaining to it. For example, if we take the most common Tala - Catusra Jati Triputa Tala (Adi Tala), we can very well try to describe the progression and process of the tala thus. One beat of the palm of the hand on the thigh, followed by counting three fingers, then beating the palm and turning it over twice. If we count a number each for every beat, finger count or turn of the palm - the number comes to eight. So the Tala has eight units.

59 The units are called Aksaras and the Adi Tala has 8 Aksaras. The first part of the tala, which consists of the beating of the palm and counting, is called Laghu. Here the number of units is 4 (Catusra) and the laghu is Catusra laghu. The Jati of the laghu determines the Jati of the Tala so the tala is Catusra Jati Adi Tala. The next process of beat and turning the palm is called Druta. It is done twice, so the tala has 2 Druta. Thus Catusra Jati Triputa Tala (Adi) has one Catusra Laghu and two Druta. The symbol for laghu is 1 and the number written beneath it represents the Jati and the symbol for Druta is 0 and hence, this Tala will be represented thus 1400. Thus we understand that a Tala has a laghu and a Druta and these are called Angas (parts) of the Tala. In some cases, there may be half of Druta, i.e., just the beat of the palm without turning it and is called Anudruta. 2.15.3 Angas & Jatis: There are seven basic Talas that are called Suladi Sapta Talas, which are given, in the following page: 1. Dhruva Tala 2. Matya Tala 3. Rupaka Tala 4. Jampa Tala 5. Triputa Tala 6. Ata Tala 7. Eka Tala In a Tala, the Druta has two units and Anudruta (if it is part of a Tala) has one unit and this is a constant. But the units of the laghu vary according to the Jati. MUL PhD 3227

60 60 So, depending upon the Jati, the units of the laghu vary. And the Jati of the laghu determines the Jati of the Tala. Also, depending upon the Jati of the laghu, the Aksaras of the Tala vary. For instance, the Triputa Tala has the following Angas - one laghu and two Drutas and symbolically 100. Now, if the Triputa is Tisra Triputa, the laghu will have three Aksaras 1300 and the Tala will have three Aksaras. In the tala Kanda Triputa, the laghu will have 5 Aksaras and the Tala will have 9 Aksaras 1500. Thus the 7 Talas in combination with the 5 Jatis give 35 talas in South Indian music. Among these, the Catusra Jati Triputa (Adi), Rupaka, Kanda Chapu, Misra Chapu are most widely used Talas. All the 7 Talas in one of the Jati is taught in the preliminary exercise of "Alankara". These talas are called Desi Talas. 2.15.4 Marga Talas Apart from the Desi Talas, there are other sets of Talas called "Marga Talas ". These Talas, in addition to the Angas in the Desi Talas laghu, Druta and Anudruta have other Angas called Guru, Pluta, and Kakapada. The 108 Talas and other groups of talas come under this group. 1 beat and counting 7 fingers 1 Guru 1 Pluta 1 Kakapada 1 beat, 1 kriya & 1 sarpini 1 beat, 1 kriya, 1 sarpini & 1 pathaka 1 kriya, is waving the hand towards left, it has 4 aksaras. 1 sarpini, is waving the hand towards right, it has 4 aksaras 1 pathaka is raising the hand vertically, has 4 aksaras These Talas are complicated and are found in very few compositions. In fact, the music of Tamils in ancient times had complicated rhythm patterns like Chandha tala. Rhythm was given importance. The Tiruppugazh is a classic example of the variety and complex nature of tala pattern in South Indian music.

61 2.15.5 Texts on Tala: Treatises like Natyasastra and Sangita Ratnakara as also minor works like Tala Samudram and Tala Prabandha, describe in detail about all aspects of Tala system. Some more works on Tala that may be mentioned here are: i. Tala Laksana by Kohala ii. Talaprastara is another work iii. Taladasapranaprakarana of unknown authorship iv. Talakalavilasa & Caturasabha Vilasa (K. Krsnamacariar - History of Classical Sanskrit Literature - TTD Press Madras - 1937 p. 849-883.)