Sections of a Pallavi

[Mvsm]

Hello,

I have tried to break down the various sections of a pallavi in a Raagam-Thaanam-Pallavi (RTP) performance. Can anybody verify if that is right?

RTP by Chitti Babu (Veena)
https://l.linklyhq.com/l/bZxF

20:58 - Pallavi
20:58 to 21:09 - Purvanga;
21:10 to 21:16- uttaranga
- - - - -
22:03- medium speed neraval
25:24 - fast neraval (short segment)
26:10- ( uttaranga played once)
- - - - - -
26:18 - Pallavi in trikaalam
- - - - -
28:16 - Kalpana swarams 1st speed
31:43 - Kalpana swarams 2nd speed
- -- - - - -
Ragamalika section (each ragam ends with a return to the poorvanga of the pallavi with pitch changes and variations )
34:59- Ragam 1; 35:29- Ragam 2;
36:33 - Ragam 3; 37:39 - Ragam 4;
38:39 -Ragam 5; 40:08 - Ragam 6;
41:08 - Ragam 7; 41:55 - Ragam 8
42:44 - Ragam 9 (probably return to the original Ragam of the pallavi?)
—— —- End——-
(Timestamps are also mentioned in the comments section below the video)

Pls do feel free to let me know if there are any corrections.

[shankarank]

The pallavi fits the sankIRNA jampa tALam in caturaSRa naDai. Eduppu in that case is half after ring finger @ 3-1/2 offset in the first go - as ring finger gets turn before finishing the 9th count , once more in the tALa krama.

[uday_shankar]

Nice recording. Thanks for sharing. Will listen fully when I get the time.

The pallavi fits the sankIRNA jampa tALam in caturaSRa naDai. Eduppu in that case is half after ring finger @ 3-1/2 offset in the first go - as ring finger gets turn before finishing the 9th count , once more in the tALa krama.

Eduppu is right, but talam name not sure. It seems to be:
|OO (8-2-2)

Sankirna jati jhampa talam would have been:
|UO (9-1-2)

[Mvsm]

I have mentioned the timestamps for start of various sections (like neraval, swarakalpana and various speeds and ragamalika etc) Can you verify whether it is right?

[Mvsm]

The pallavi fits the sankIRNA jampa tALam in caturaSRa naDai. Eduppu in that case is half after ring finger @ 3-1/2 offset in the first go - as ring finger gets turn before finishing the 9th count , once more in the tALa krama.

I have mentioned the timestamps for start of various sections (like neraval, swarakalpana and various speeds and ragamalika etc) Can you verify whether it is right?

[Mvsm]

Nice recording. Thanks for sharing. Will listen fully when I get the time.

The pallavi fits the sankIRNA jampa tALam in caturaSRa naDai. Eduppu in that case is half after ring finger @ 3-1/2 offset in the first go - as ring finger gets turn before finishing the 9th count , once more in the tALa krama.

Eduppu is right, but talam name not sure. It seems to be:
|OO (8-2-2)

Sankirna jati jhampa talam would have been:
|UO (9-1-2)

I have mentioned the timestamps for start of various sections (like neraval, swarakalpana and various speeds and ragamalika etc) Can you verify whether it is right?

[shankarank]

@uday_shankar I don't see two arudhis akin to an aTa tALam. I.e like a pUrvAnga and a madyAnga .

20:58 to 21:09 - Purvanga;

This is actually'

20:58 to 21:07 - Purvanga;

21:07 to 21:10 - is what is aruDhi kArvai. Here it is a sankIRNa karvai - 9 syllables from the landing of pURvanga. Somewhat rare! Suggests this may be a sankIRNa jAti Jampa tALam only.

21:10 - 21:16 uttarAnga.

Will post further sections once I hear carefully.

[shankarank]

The way he strums the vINa prior to starting the pallavi it sounds like a triSra naDai pallavi. If so it will be a 3-kaLai pallavi not the usual 1.5 kaLai as they call it. if the pallavi is to fit 1 Avarta then it will be two executions of triSra naDai every major beat of Adi tAlAm. It will be an equivalent of a 4 - kaLAi pallavi in caturaSram. In triSram therefore it becomes 3 kaLai ( 1.5 times 2)

Per the convention that 1 Aksharam is always 4 -mAtras, this will be a 24 akshara pallavi in Adi tALam 3-kaLai.

The eDuppu will be tantalizing reNDU-taLLi or 2 offset. Like after saying 'taka' from samam. kArvai after aruDhi ( the mid point stop) will be same 9 mAtras.

[Sath]

@shankarank, that's interesting, but I'm unable to follow (due to my own lack of knowledge). I understand naDai, and that a tiSra naDai Adi has 24 akSarams (32 for chaturaSra naDai).

I understand "retta kaLai chowakam" would double these numbers, resulting in 48 and 64 respectively. But I'm not understanding 1.5 vs 3 vs 4 kaLai.

If you could point me to posts or resources to understand, I would be most grateful. Thank you.

With apologies to the op about the tangential question.

[uday_shankar]

The way he strums the vINa prior to starting the pallavi it sounds like a triSra naDai pallavi. If so it will be a 3-kaLai pallavi not the usual 1.5 kaLai as they call it. if the pallavi is to fit 1 Avarta then it will be two executions of triSra naDai every major beat of Adi tAlAm. It will be an equivalent of a 4 - kaLAi pallavi in caturaSram. In triSram therefore it becomes 3 kaLai ( 1.5 times 2)

Per the convention that 1 Aksharam is always 4 -mAtras, this will be a 24 akshara pallavi in Adi tALam 3-kaLai.

The eDuppu will be tantalizing reNDU-taLLi or 2 offset. Like after saying 'taka' from samam. kArvai after aruDhi ( the mid point stop) will be same 9 mAtras.

Yes !!! That exactly nails it. All the tala string strums throughout the performance match this framing. Good work.

[shankarank]

Thanks @uday_shankar ! Here is the extended detail that I have read/heard on 3-Kalai, 5 -KaLai nomenclature.

viewtopic.php?p=374266#p374266

[uday_shankar]

Thanks @uday_shankar ! Here is the extended detail that I have read/heard on 3-Kalai, 5 -KaLai nomenclature.

viewtopic.php?p=374266#p374266

Got it.

The Kalai idea is being morphed with nadai/gati and creating some confusion ? So, in this reckoning, the famous Alathur Brothers Adi tala Sankeerna nadai pallavi in Shanmukhapriya in 1964(?) could be considered a "9-kalai" pallavi, or is it 4.5 kalai ?? What Mannargudi Easwaran sir said only makes sense - i.e., kalais are always 2^n where n >= 0. The main speaker seems confused.

For my practice, so long as I understand the total no. matras and stresses and groupings, in that order, nothing else matters. I partition things my own ways for conveniently keeping time with my feet.

[shankarank]

Well 4-KaLai sankIRNa naDai sometimes is not intuitive - as to what is multiplied by 4.

The first basic SankRINA one has an akshara kAlam of 4.5 and a mAtra count of 18 ( for one cApu execution) - for the total number of rhythmic particles.

In the madyama kAla where the language syllables merge with tALa - the number of language syllables (in terms of hrasvas - short syllables) accommodated is 9. ta-ka-dhi-mi-ta-ka-ta-ki-ta.

So you have 3 measures for the same time period 4.5 akshara, 18 mAtras - with 9 language syllables.

1 akshara is 4 mAtras - as for everything - the basis is caturaSram.

The last one - 9 syllables - is an unspoken one, relevant only in the mind of the composer - unless we deliberately state it.

Then you have the total number of kriyAs of the tALa - depending on the tALa chosen.

So in the non mainstream terminology - the kALai is equated to akshara. And they are actually exactly equal in the normal caturaSram. 4 - kaLai is 4 aksharas (16 mAtrAs) per kriyA , 8 kaLai is 8 aksharas (32 mAtrAs) per kriyA.

So that is how they bring in fractional kaLais from the fractional akshara kAlam. 2.5 akshara ( for one cycle of khanDa cApu - used in khaNDa naDai) is 2.5 kaLai.

Remember, the 2.5 akshara designation for one khaNDa naDai or one cycle of khANDa cApu is never disputed - is mainstream - as per the statement in bold above.