N. Ramanathan
Tala: A conceptual and structural Analysis
The musical systems in India have always been studied with respect to the three aspects – Svara, Tala and Pada[1]. “Svara” represents all that goes into the melodic part of music while “Pada” refers to the syllabic part, i.e. the words in songs. “Tala” is the temporal framework in which rhythmically organized compositions are set.Functions of Tala
Tala has formed a part of music since ancient times and even today it figures in both systems of music, namely North Indian (Hindustani) and South Indian (Karnataka). The use of Tala is found in three arts, namely, music, drumming and dance[2]. The last one, dance, is a composite art and in the Indian tradition, it has music and drumming as inseparable limbs. The function of Tala has been stated to be that of measuring music, drumming and dance[3]. Further, another function of Tala has been mentioned, which is to bring about coordination between the various limbs of an art say, dance[4].
Thus we learn of two functions of Tala, one of measuring and the other of coordinating activities. The questions that would normally arise are (a) Why should music (or, for that matter, dance or drumming) be measured ? (b) How does Tala bring about coordination between the various limbs of an art? It is perhaps in finding answers to these questions that we would be able to have an idea of the nature of tala.
Tala and Rythm.
We have mentioned earlier that tala is associated only with rhythmically organised music. In music there are two kinds of structures. One is non-rhythmical, like the “alapanai” in the Karnatak and the “alapa” in dhrupad and the “alapa” in the “gatkari” type of instrumental music. The other rhythmical kind of structure is found in krti, varna, niraval, etc. in Karnataka and the khayal, gat etc., of Hindustani music. What we mean by “rhythmical” is this; Music consists of a melodic structure built up of units of sound. Each sound unit has a definite duration. The extent of this duration is marked by a period of rest following the sound (however infinitesimaly small it may be), or the units are formed by stresses (or pulses) in the sound. If the units thus formed make perceptible pattern there is rhythm in the melodic line.
Non-rhythmical (alapa) structure
– .... – . – . – – –
Rhythmical structure :
(a) .... ... ....
(b) ... – ... – ... – ... –
In the second rhythmical structure (b) shown above, the pattern is very clear. However in the first rhythmical structure (a) all the stresses are of equal duration. One can ask how the grouping of fours could be made perceptible. This is done by giving accents on the first stress, the fifth, the ninth and so on[5]. In such a case however, the melody has to be moulded in such a way as to have an accent at regular intervals. This would greatly restrict the freedom in composing melodic structures. It is in marking this rythm that we have an external accenting device, namely tala. Tala requires certain actions of the hands involving the palm and fingers. These actions are rendered at regularly spaced intervals or at irregularly spaced intervals forming a pattern.
a) melodic stresses
....
....
....
....
tala
1
1
1
1
b) melodic stresses
....
. .
....
. .
....
tala
1
1
1
1
1
Now with the existence of such a device namely tala, in whatever way the melodic structure be conceived, the fundamental rhythm will be mantained.
Framing time through actions and pauses.
However tala does not merely consist in executing the same acts at regural intervals to mark the rythm in the melody. Actions of various types are executed with the hands, in particular, with the palms and fingers. By juxtaposing different actions, temporal sections of different durations are formed. With these temporal sections the duration of an entire musical composition and its individual sections are measured while the rythm is also kept maintained at the same time. It is here that we come to the basic aspect of time in music. Through its stresses the melodic line manifests time trough the actions of the hands; tala does the same.The manifestation of time takes place only when there are events. Time appears as a chain which links different events separated from one another by periods of rest or absence of events[6]. In fact, but for periods of rest in between actions, time cannot give the impression of time. This is because, as said above, time itself is regarded as that which has been conceived to establish a relationship between different events or actions. Or we can say that actions marked by periods of rest in between create the feeling of time.
In music we see that the melodic line when infused with stresses creates a more perceptible time than one with fewer and irregurarly spaced breaks (as in alapa). Similarly, tala also, through the actions of the hands, literally creates time and in this respect, it is almost a clock. And it is this which measures the melodic line. Thus the time manifested by the melodic stresses is measured by the time created by tala. Firstly, the temporal aspects of the melodic line and tala are gripped together by the rhythmic flow (stresses) of the melody, regulated by the actions of tala. Further, tala, time measure, measures the entire duration of the melodic line. In ancient music, the entire span of a song was matched by a tala time span of equal duration. In modern times a section of small duration is repeated a number of times to get a larger time span. This time span presents the framework or canvas on which the melodic line is painted. Perhaps, more than measuring, tala provides the temporal framework which gives the basic form to the melodic structure.
Link between the flow of melody and the flow of tala.
For there to be some connection between the melodic flow and the tala flow, there have to be rythmic stresses in the melody. If for instance, we were to render a tala along with raga alapa, the two will flow without any mutual connection. Even in khayal singing, quite often, in the beginning of the alapa portion, there does not appear to be any sustained link between the tala line expressed by the tabla and the melodic line[7]. On the other hand, we have certains forms in music where the melodic line does express a rhythm but there is no tala rendering along with it. For instance, during tanam in Karnataka, jod in gatkari and nomtom alapa in dhrupad in Hindustani music, there is no rendering of tala. In these forms rhythm is projected through accenting of the tones.
Co-ordinator of activities.
Mention has been made earlier of another function of tala, namely, that of co-ordinating different activities, which we shall examine now. Take the case where the three arts of dancing, drumming and music are combined in performance. A dance recital consists of the dance executed by the movements of the limbs, accompanied by the playing of a drum (mrdangam or tabla) and singing. The movement of limbs creates beautiful figures in space, while the drumming produces a pattern of syllables and the singing contributes pleasing melodies. All these are different kind of action or events and are of entirely different nature. However, the common characteristic shared by the three is the rhythmic flow. The steps in the dance, the syllabic structure of drum playing and the melodic stresses express rhythmic organisation. At times the rhythmic organisation of all the three are regulated by the same time measure or tala. Thus the playing of the cymbals (rightly called talam) in a dance concerts marks the actions of the tala and regulates the dancing, drumming and singing and the attention of all the three performers is directed towards the cymbal player[8]. So also in a music concert, as for example, the singing and mrdangam playing in Karnataka or the singing and pakhavaj playing in dhrupad in Hindustani music, are mutually linked by their dependence on tala. Quite often the drum players provide a rhythm different from that of the melodic line to heighten it by contrast. Here tala keeps the two independent actions under control. In music itself tala coordinates the melody and rhythm. Sometimes for melodic reasons, there could be a tendency to extend the duration of a note a trifle more than admisible. Tala arrests it, acting as regulator.
We have so far tried to understand the notion of tala in a rather abstract way. We shall now take concrete examples from the music of various periods to see the practical application of tala.
Tala in Music – Historical account
In the earliest system of music, namely Samagana, there is no mention of tala. It is only in the later “Gandharva” that we come accross the use of tala. The Natyasastra of Bharata (pre-4th Cent. A.D.) (along with the commentary “Abhinavabharati” of Abhinavagupta, 11th cent. A.D., the Dattilam of Dattila (pre-4th Cent. A.D.) and the Sangitaratnakara of Sarngadeva (13th cent. A.D.) are the main sources of information on Ghandharva. These works deal with an elaborate and intricate system of tala. In comparison with the Samagana which has no tala basis, the Gandharva musical forms present a different structural set-up altogheter, in which the tala framework is the dominant aspect. It could be conjectured that prior to Gandharva, tala figured only in dance and its introduction into classical music began only with Gandharva.
Tala in Gandharva
Among the different kinds of musical forms in Gandharva, some varieties called Gitakas exhibit sectional divisions described in terms of tala sctructures. The action unit in tala was referred to by the term kala, and later, by the term kriya[9].There were different types of kriyas. These were classified basically into two groups, sounded (sasabda) and soundless (nihsabda) . The snapping of two fingers, falling of the right palm (on the left), striking the two palms together, were some of the sasabda kriyas. Drawing an outstretched hand inwards with the palm facing up, moving an outstretched palm from left to right, etc. are nihsabda kriyas[10] As mentioned earlier, a kriya followed by a rest manifests time. This rest adhering to a kriya or intervening between two kriya-s was technically called laya[11]. In fact it is laya or the duration between two kriyas which becomes the basic measuring unit[12]. The kriya as well as its duration was referred to by the term kala. Kala-s can be of uniform duration or of differing durations. Normally three kinds of units were used in Gandharva, namely, laghu, guru and pluta (meaning short, long and prolated, respectively). When all the kala-s are of uniform duration they will be of the duration of guru. These units are given equivalence with the time units used in day today life. “Matra” is the reference unit which is equal to the time taken for uttering five short syllables (e.g. ka, ca, ta, ta, pa). A laghu is equal to one matra, a guru equal to two and a pluta to three matras[13]. Certain basic temporal sections are formed with reference. Some of the basic structures are made up of all the types of units, laghu, guru and pluta. Some others of longer duration are made up uniformly of guru kala-s. These structures are classified into three states, short-medium and pluta. Some others of longer duration are made up uniformly of guru kala-s. These structures are classified into three states, short, medium and long. The short structure called ekakala state normally contains all the types of kala-s, namely laghu, guru and pluta. The medium (dvikala) and the long (catuskala) consist only of guru kala-s. The kriya-s are usually all sounded ones in the ekakala state. In the corresponding dvikala and catuskala states, there are unsounded ones. An example may make this clear. “Caccatputa” is the name of one of the tala structures whose time divisions and kriya-s are given below, in the three states[14].
Ekakala
time units:
S
S
1
S'
kriya-s:
sk
sk
sk
sk
Dvikala
time units:
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
kriya-s:
nk
sk
nk
sk
sk
nk
nk
nk
Catuskala
time units:
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
kriya-s:
nk
nk
nk
nk
nk
nk
nk
sk
nk
nk
sk
nk
nk
nk
nk
sk
1 = laghu, S = guru, S' = pluta, sk = sasabda-kriys, nk = nihsabda-kriya
The short structure is described in terms of its kala varieties, namely, guru-guru-laghu-pluta. The medium and long structures are given in terms of the number of units (all gurus), namely eight kala-s and sixteen kala-s respectively. It is also seen that the number of sasabda kriya-s we started with in Ekakala remains the same, the additional krya-s being only nihsabda-s. Thus for a listener the pattern expressed by the sounded beats in ekakal, dvikala and catuskala-s will be the same.
It is on the basis of these and other tala patterns that the melodic sections of the various gitakas have been defined. For instance the first section in the gitaka called Rovindaka is of the duration of ninety-six kala-s (equal to six times catuskala Caccatputa)[15]. Within the tala structure the rhythm in which the melodic line of a gitaka expressed itself was four stresses in a guru kala (or two in laghu and six in pluta)[16]. In order to regulate the rythm of the melodic line tala rendering had to be precise. For this purpose a tala “renderer” was present in Gandharva who mainteined the tala with the help of cymbals and hand movements and controlled the singer from slipping[17]. There are many other aspects of this tala system, like marga and graha, which we shall not go into here[18].
Disi-talas
While Gandharva was the classical music of the period, there was music as a part of drama and dance as well. In these arts music was a subservient limb. For instance, in the dramatic art described by Bharata in the Natyasastra, music has a very important role and figures as “dhruva gana” (songs occuring at various stages in the play). The tala-s used in dhruva-gana were simpler and were influenced by the metre of rhythm of the song text[19]. Again in the musical forms called prabandha-s talas of similar nature were used. These were known as Desi tala-s. In these tala-s three-tier structures are not seen. The structures are short and consist mostly of laghu kala and kala-s of shorter duration called druta and later or even shorter duration called anudruta. There was also provision to increase the duration of a druta or laghu by half its value by adding a pause called virama[20].
Because of the rather light application, more than one hundred structures of Desi tala-s are listed. For instance, Darpana tala – 0 0 S (druta druta guru) – is one . In these forms different kinds of actions were not employed as found in Gandharva. Only one sasabda krya was mainly employed, and extended in its duration according to the kala( druta, laghu etc.) it manifested[21]. In Prabandha-s, it is no clear what rhythm was expressed, by the melodic line. Sometimes it appears that the duration of laghu was slightly extended to accomodate more melodic stresses. In the Desi the standardising of units, laghu etc., is not done against a matra but against time units used in day- to-day life Ksana, Lava, Kastha, etc.[22];.
Further it is in the dhruva songs that we find for the first time the tala framework of a melodic line being formed by the repetition of a basic tala structure number of time. This cyclic notion of tala continues till the present time.
Accounts of tala -s used in dhruva gana are found in the Natyasastra and tha Bharatabhasya of Nanyadeva (12th cent. A.D.). Desi tala-s are described in many works starting from tha Manasollasa of Somesvara (12th cent. A.D.) up to Sangitaparijata(17th cent. A.D.). However the descriptions of tala used in Karnataka and hindustani music are not met with in any work till the 19th century. But there is much room for surmising that the desi tala system gradually acquired classical elements. For instance, the duration of time units (e.g. laghu) increased and extra actions were introduced to sustain the increased duration of time units.
Modern period: Karnataka System
In Kar¡ataka music there are tala-s which all the krya-s are of uniform duration and also tala-s in which the duration of krya-s is not uniform. For instance, take Adi tala and Misracapu tala; in the former the eight krya s- are all of uniform duration whereas in the latter among the three krya-s the first krya has a duration one and a half times that of the next two. However the differing time units in misracapu have not been given any nomenclature such as laghu, guru and pluta as in Gandharva. Though the terms laghu and druta occur in present day Karnataka music, they have lost their ancient connotation.
In the talas having krya -s of uniform duration the measuring unit is called ak³ara (literally sillable). an aksara is the time which elapses between two krya-s. However the duration of an aksara becomes too flexible.
Among the tala-s with time units of uniform duration, the three-tier system of ekakala, dvkiala, catuskala and even higher figures is in vogue. The krya-s in use today are (a) the falling of the right palm on the thigh or the left palm called a tattu or ghatam or beat (b) finger movements starting with the little finger and (c) the falling of the hand with the palm facing upwards called a viccu or visarjitam or wave. The last two are unsounded actions. Eg:
Adi-tala
Ekakala
Aksaras
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Krya-s
sk
nk
nk
nk
sk
nk
sk
nk
beat
little
ring
middle
beat
wave
beat
wave
finger
finger
finger
When this tala is rendered in dvikala and catuskala etc., the time units and krya-s are simply duplicated and quadrupled. In talas of the class of miscrapu(with units of varying durations) only one kind of action namely, the beat, is used and the differing states ekakala, dvikala, etc. do not obtain here.
The songs are set to a tala framework formed by the cyclical recurrence of a basic tala. And in the music, apart from composed songs, there are melodic passages which are shaped during the performance. Neraval and kalpanasvara are examples and these are performed to tala. In both neraval and kalpanasvara different sections of short to long durations are sung. Their duration conforms to a exact number of cycles of the tala.
The melodic line expresses itself in many kinds of rhythm, which is called its gati or nadai (gait). Normally 4,3,5,7 or 9 stresses or their multiples can occur in one unit duration (aksara) of a tala. The normal gait however consists of four stresses to an aksara.
Hindustani Music
The tala system in Hindustani music indicates a slightly different tradition. Apart from the usual mode of reckoning tala, by actions of the hand, the actual manifestation of tala is done by certain syllables produced on the drum “tabala”[23].These syllables are called “Bol-s” and the act of playing them on the tabala is called “theka”. In fact the total duration value of a tala is equal not to the number of krya-s of hand but to the syllabic groupings (bol-s) played on the tabla. For instance, in the most popular tala “tin tala”, the kriya-s are only four, namely two sasabdakriya-s followed by one more sasabdakriya. But there are sixteen syllabic groupings prescribed for this tala and hence its total value is sixteen matra-s.
Kriya-s
sk
sk
nk
sk
Bols
dha
dhin
dhin
dha
dha
dhin
dhin
dha
dha
tin
tin
ta
ta
dhin
dhin
dha
Matras
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
The krya-s of hand are of only two types, a beat called tali and a wave called khali. The time unit is matra which is again of a flexible duration like the ak³ara in Karnataka music. There are many basic tala structures which are cyclically repeated over the entire lenght of the musical piece.
Thee are tala-s in which the syllable groupings are not of uniform duration. For example.
Dipcandi
Kriya-s
sk
sk
nk
sk
Bols
dha
dhin
-
di
dha
dhin
-
ta
tin
-
dhà
dha
dhin
-
Matra-s
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
In this tala there are fourteen matra -s while the bol-s are only ten.
The rhythm of a melodic line in Hindustani is also varied as it is in Karnataka music, namely the occurence of the gait of four, five, six, etc. In concerts of classical music elaborate song structures are not used. Mostly, a performance consists not of songs but of the shaping of the melodic structures afresh. This is popularly referred to as improvisation. In forms like Khayal, non-rhythmical alapa is also rendered to the accompaniment of tala executed on the tala.
The purpose of this article has not been to give an introduction to the talas used in Indian music but to explain the concept of tala itself that can be gathered from musical practice during the various periods of the history. The function of tala has been one of regulating the rhythmic flow of the melodic line and providing a temporal framework or form to music. In order to perform this function the repeated rendering of actions of specific durations is required. These actions manifest units of time of uniform or varying duration. The rhythmic expression of melody within the framework of tala is regulated. The total value of the tala duration measures the duration of the music and provides the temporal background to the progression of the melody. The execution of tala is seen to be done varyingly by hand movements, cymbal playing and later by drum instruments. While in Gandharva the tala of a song indicated the linear arrangement of temporal units which matched the duration of the entire song, in the subsequent systems a short time span repeated over the duration of the song came into practice.
Notes[1] Natyasastra, 28, 11ab; Dattilam verse n. 3.
[2] Sangitaratnakara, 5, 2.
[3] Ibidem,5, 3.
[4] Abhinavabharati on Natyasastra, 31, 1, p.152, In. 9 to 11.
[5] Victor Zuckerkandl would however not agreee with my statement. His stand is clear, from the following sentence from his book Sound and Symbol, p. 168: “Now we see the wrongness of the doctrine that musical time, that is grouping of beats into measures, springs from differentiation of accents. There is no need for externally derived accents in order to distinguish weak and strong beats from one another and thus establish the metrical pattern.”
[6] See Kslasamuddesa of Bhartrhari’s Vakyapadiya, verse, 4, 5, 27, 28.
[7] cf. Article “Musalman, Gajal, Kavvali cur Khyal” by Acarya Brhaspati in Sangeet (monthly), Jan.-Feb. 1976 Khayala Anka, p. 63.
[8] See note 4 above.
[9] In Natyasastra and Dattilam, the term Kriya does not occur. However in the commentary Abhinvabharati and later books, the term is used profusely.
[10] Natyasastra 31, 30-37; Sangitaratnakara 5, 4-10.
[11] Sangitaratnakara, 5, 43-44.
[12] Abhinavabharati on Natyasastra 31, 6, p. 154, In. 6.
[13] Sangitaratnakara, 5, 16-17.
[14] Ibid. 5, 28-32
[15] Ibid. p. 100-101
[16 ] Abhinavabharati on Natyasastra, 31, 157.
[17] Sangitaratnakara, 5, 38-39.
[18] Marga indicated the act of extending (successive doubling) of the duration of the kriya -s of a tala without the addition of any kriya. Graha is the practic of commencing the song slight earlier or later than the time of commencement of tala execution. It also suggested the syncopated movement of the melody.
[19] Abhinavabharati on Natyasastra, 32, 252, p. 345 in. 14-15,
[20] Kalanidhi commentary on Sangitaratnakara 5, 261-262.
[21] Sangitadarpana, verse Nos. 683 and 684, p.117.
[22] Ibid., pp. 638-641, pp. 11-112.
[23] Sangitopanisatsaroddhara of Sudhakalasa (1350 A.D.) is perhaps the first to give syllabic groupings for tala-s. See the second chapter of this treatise.
Sources cited:1. Dattilam of Dattilamuni, ed. by K. Sambasiva Sastri, Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, Trivandrum 1930.
2. Natyasastra of Bharata Muni, with the Commentary Abhinavabharati of Abhinavagupta, ed. by M. Ramakrishna Kaviand J. S. Pade, Gaekwada’s Oriental Series by Oriental Institute, vol. IV, Baroda, 1964.
3. Sangitaratnakara of Sarngadeva with the Commentaries Klanidhi of Kallinatha and Sudhakara of Simhabhupala, ed. by Pandit S. Subramanya Sastri, Adyar Library Series, vol. III, Madras 1951.
4. Victor Zuckerkandl, Sound and Symbol, Bollingen Series, XLIV, Princeton, University Press, 1973.
5. Kalasamuddesa of Bhartrhari’s Vakyapadiya, with Helaraja’s Commentary, translation in English by Peri Sarveswara Sharma, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi 1972.
6. «Sangeet», Monthly Magazine, Sangeet Kayalaya, Hatras U. Platone.
7. Sangitadarpana of Damodara Pandita, ed. by Vasudeva Sastri, Saraswathi Mahal Library Series, Tanjavur 1952.
8. Sangitopanisatsaroddhara of Sudhakalasa, ed. by Umakant Premanand Shah, Oriental Institute, Baroda 1961.
Dr. N. Ramanathan
Professor & Head 18 Fourth Main Road Department of Indian Music Raja Annamalai Puram University of Madras Chennai 600028 Chennai 600005 Tele:(44) 45 9430 Tele:568778 ext 277
