Maintaining the tempo

sadgurucharan · Post by **sadgurucharan** » 15 Dec 2006, 13:59

As advised by Sri AM Sharma,I would like to clarify the doubts reg the original 'PANCHAMUKHI & SHANMUKHI ' system of tala avadhanas & the mukhi system of talas developed by DR.Balamurali.The former one has got mythological origin which is there in the authentic sanskrit text 'NANDI BHARATHAM' whereas the latter one is the creation of DR. Balamurali. In the appreciation letter given to me he wrote that he has seen the legendary Pandit Sri ADIBHATTA NARAYANA DAS of Vijayanagaram,A.P demonstrating Panchamukhi taala avadhaana when he was a child,.So, it is established clarly that this Panchamukhi taala avadhaana&the Mukhi system of Dr Balamurali have no connection. Simply speaking an AVADHANAM MEANS A PERSON PERFORMING MORE THAN ONE ACTION SIMULTANEOUSLY. There are 3 varieties of Panchamukhis namely Eswara,Vishnu &Brahma.& 1 shanmukhi.
IN ESWARA PANCHAMUKHI :

One should show the 5 gatis of rhythm namely Tisra, Chaturasra, Khanda, Misra and Sankeerna with his two legs, two hands, both the arms moved together simultaneously â€“ each of the parts showing one gati each while singing a composition. When once all these five parts start showing the 5 gatis, they meet only after 1260 letters. A deviation of even a single letter will lead to the failure of the demonstration. Extreme concentration and perfect control over the movements of different pats of the body are must for the demonstration. Here
Left leg shows Tisra gati ( 3 units )
Right hand shows Chaturasra gati ( 4 units )
Arms together shows Khanda gati ( 5 units )
Left hand shows Misra gati ( 7 units )
Right leg shows Sankeerna gati ( 9 units )

The other 2 Panchamukhis are slight variations of the first one but are more complex,hence I feel they need a little bit of memory along with Laya balance.In SHANMUKHI the two arms are used independently and the total no. of independent parts are made six. Here all the six parts show the audible beats(Sashabda kriyas) of ADI TALA only but in different speeds as below:

Left leg I Speed Right leg II Speed
Left hand III Speed Right hand IV Speed
Left arm V Speed Right arm VI Speed

No. of letters/cycle is 256.

To conduct a demonstration of PANCHAMUKHI & SHANMUKHI, six experts in laya are required to check the correctness of the 5 gathis/6 speeds by the 5/6 parts of the body as described above.
With perfoming experience of 11 years in Taala avadhaanam &22 yrs as a mridangist ('A' grade staff artist,A I R ,Vijayawada), I will try my level best to clear your doubts though I donot claim to be an authority in this subject.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 16 Dec 2006, 09:34

Oh gosh!

I can't even think about it!

Even among the masters of Laya to be found among mridangists, can there be many who can achieve this?

chalanata · Post by **chalanata** » 16 Dec 2006, 22:30

nick,
were you in unni's concert in mylai fine arts today the 16.12.06?

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 16 Dec 2006, 23:23

(no. My neighbour gave me a season ticket to Brahma Ghana Sabha, so I am mostly to be found at Sivagami Petachi Auditorium)

msakella · Post by **msakella** » 20 Dec 2006, 20:44

Dear member,mridhangam, Please refer the post No.101 of this thread written by Mr. Sadgurucharan, the only exponent presently alive on the earth who can successfully demonstrate the â€˜REAL-MUKHI-TALASâ€™. amsharma.

gb · Post by gb » 17 Feb 2007, 20:37

Hi,
Hope i can add up to what GSN says.. I think he has made the point clear that the duration remains the same...
ok you guys will be practicing 1st kalam, 2nd kalam and 3rd kalam...
1st kalam - Adi talam
tha ka dhi mi | tha ka dhi mi ||
2nd kalam
thaka dhimi thaka dhimi | thaka dhimi thaka dhimi ||
3rd kalam
thakadhimi thakadhimi thakadhimi thakadhimi | thakadhimi thakadhimi thakadhimi thakadhimi ||
so here the speed of thalam(duration) does not change but the speed at which you play changes.. similarly now when you play tisaram it will be
thakida thakida thakida thakida| thakida thakida thakida thakida ||

Hope it helped:):)

msakella · Post by **msakella** » 03 Mar 2007, 05:19

Dear member, gb, You have very nicely elaborated the three degrees of Chaturashra-gati in which the 3rd degree consists of 4-units per each Kriya. But, in Trisra-gati you have directly shown 3-units per each Kriya without showing the 1st or 2nd degrees of it. It would have been more justifiable had you explained it in some more detail. Would you, please? More over, you wrote â€˜the speed of thalam (duration) does not change but the speed at which you play changesâ€™. It would have been more justifiable had you made it clearer that the change is in number of units per each Kriya. This is a suggestion. msakella.