Shri Ram Chandra

Another piece that I am performing is Shri Ram Chrandra, a poem by Shri Tulsidas.
Here is the transliteration into English:

॥ Sri Ramachandra kripalu ॥

Shri Ramacandra kripalu bhaju, mana, harana bhava bhaya darunam ।

navakanja-lochana kanja-mukha, kara-kanja pada-kanjarunam ॥1॥

Kandarpa aganita amita chavi, navalnila niraj sundaram ।

patapita manahu tarita ruchi suchi, naumi Janaka-sutavaram ॥2॥

Bhaju Dinabhandu Dinesha danava-daitya-vansha nikandanam ।

Raghunanda anandakanda, Kaushalachanda Dasharatha-nandanam ॥3॥

Sira mukuta kundala tilaka charu, udaru anga vibhushanam ।

ajanu bhuja shara chapadhar, sangrama-jita Khara-Dhushanam ॥4॥

Iti vadati Tulasidasa Shankara, Shesha munimana ranjanam ।

mama hridaya-kanja nivasa kuru, kamadi khaladala ganjanam ॥5॥

and here is a good translation of it:

O mind! Revere the benign Shree Ramachandra, who can remove the fear of rebirths ।

Who has fresh lotus eyes, lotus face and lotus hands, feet like lotus and like the rising sun ॥1॥

His image exceeds myriad Cupids, like a fresh, blue-hued cloud — magnificent ।

His amber-robes appear like lightning, pure, captivating. Revere this groom of Janaka’s daughter ॥2॥

Sing hymns of the brother of destitute, Lord of the daylight, the destroyer of the clan of Danu-Diti demons ।

The progeny of Raghu, limitless 'joy', the moon to Kosala, sing hymns of Dasharatha’s son ॥3॥

His head bears the crown, ear pendants, tilak on forehead, his adorned, shapely limbs are resplendent

Arms extend to the knees, studded with bows-arrows, who won battles against Khara and Dooshana ॥4॥

Thus says Tulsidas, O joy of Shankara, Shesh (Nag), Mind and Sages ।

Reside in the lotus of my heart, O slayer of the vices-troops of Kaama and the like ॥5॥

The poem is about Ram. Each line is performed twice and there are gestures that accompany each. For the first verse, the dancer forms a lotus with hands and gestures to the eyes, face, hands and feet. 

The gestures make the story come alive. I feel like I get to embody Ram and that I get to act like he does. I like making the facial expressions. For the first verse as well, for the first lines, I stand up very tall with a stern face whereas in the last verse, I gesture like I am writing the poem myself. 

Playing with gestures and emotions has been a fun challenge. First I had to be able to understand the Sanksrit before I could learn what how to gesture or make facial expressions. I have loved learning this and love it especially because this poem is very important to many Hindu people. The dance ties me to the religious culture. 

South Indian Taal system

Today in Bharata Natyum we discussed the taal theory, or basic music theory. The first part of the word, "ta" comes from Shiva, it is the concept of rhythm, and the "l" comes from the word "lasya" which is the grace of Parvati.
There are seven taals, each with its own rhythm pattern. Each taal has five variations and each of those have five variations, for a totaly of 135 total taals. The different taals in order are Druvo taal, Matya taal, Rupak tal, Jhampa taal, Triputa taal, Ata taal and eik taal.
The taals are counted with a mixutre of clapping, counting with fingues from pinky to thumb and then blanks. So for example, Druvo taal consists of a clap and counting, followed by a clap and a pause and then followed by two sets of the clap with the counting.
The number of beats between claps is called lagu. In a set, there can be 3,4,5,7 or 9 claps. These are where the variations come in. Each tal can have these five variations and then within those, the time between beats can be a 3,4,5,7, or 9 count.
The most common taal is the adital, which is triput tal with a four count, so chatura triput tal. This is that taal I use for many of the most common compositions, like Shri Ram Achandra. 

Shabdum

This semester, I have started learning Sanskrit literature in Bharata Natyum. One of the pieces with literature is called Shabdum. This pieces consists of four stories of Krishna. Each story is separated with a short interlude of pure dance. The four stories are of Krishna stealing clothes, Krishna stealing milk, Vishnu and Laxmi, then also Krishna's embarrassment because of all of his pranks.

The first story is of how Krishna stole clothing from a group of maidens. This story has four variations in the telling. The first two narrate, the third is the perspective of the maiden and the third is Krishna stealing the clothes. I like pretending to be him; I like hoping around with my flute (just a hand gesture) and I like pretending to be the maiden as she creeps into the river. I like using the facial expressions seeing as it is not something I have ever done in class.

The second story is of how Krishna threw a rock at pots that contained milk. This story has two variations in gesture. They take the same point of view, both are fun.

The third is about how Krishna teases women. There is a cow herder woman, and she is teased by Vishnu. She scolds Vishnu (Krishna is an avatar of Vishnu) for teasing her. This story also has two variations from the same point of view.

The fourth is about how Krishna thinks that they world is laughing at him, so he hides in a cave in Kerala. The story has one variation, and ends with a prayer to the gods.

Each story is separated by a small section of dance. The count is an eight count and the same pattern starts and ends the piece.

This type of dance is so strange and new to me. I have never had to act. The facial expressions sometimes feel very ridiculous, but it is very fun. I have learned how to better control my face and my hand gestures. Precision is required to properly tell these stories. 

Parts of a Tabla

There are two drums in a pair of tablas. The right hand drum is the Bayan, it is bigger and used for embellishment and the smaller, left hand drum, is the dayan and is the main drum. The dayan is made of a conical piece of teak wood and rosewood and is hollowed out. The bottom third of the drum is solid and the top two thirds are hollow. The hollow space allows vibration to be made. The tuning range is controlled bu the ghatta, which are the small wooded cylinders on the sides; there are seven on the dayan. The bayan has a much deeper sound. It is made of copper or brass (which is less expensive).

The head consists of three rings, the chati, loa (Maidan) and syahi (out to in). The head itself is constructed from goat or cow skin. The chati is overlaid on the main head and it is used to suppress excess vibrations. This skin is bound to the top with the use of a leather braid that also connects the ghatta. The straps that connect from the head to the bottom are made of a plant fiber, animal leather or anything malleable. This is the part that is hit for tuning. The syahi is made of a paste  of starch mixed with a black powder. This piece is crucial to the sound and the vibration of the drum. It is responsible for the pitch and for it resonates.

Tabla Gharanas

A gharana is a system of music in which social organization links gurus and their apprentices. Each gharana has its own musical ideology and they can differ greatly from one another or no. In tabla, there are six gharanas, the Delhi gharana, Ajrara, Lucknow, Banaras, Punjab and Farukhabad. I am studying the Delhi gharana, which is the oldest of the gharanas. The gharana was established in the early 18th century by Siddar Khan. The second oldest is the Benaras gharana founded in the late 18th century. The next oldest is the Ajrara, which was established in the early 19th century in Meerut. Next comes Lucknow, Farukhabad and Punjab which all came about in the 19th century.

Each gharana has its own characteristics. The Dehli gharana features an open sound. Some of the gharanas use a more closed sound. The Delhi gharana was the first to have rules for improvisation. The gharana features many sets of Kaydas, which are set patterns with variation. So if the base of the kayda is da da terekete, there will be 11 or more variations that play off the set of four lines. Each kayda also has a teyhay, which is a line with three other lines that are repeated. The whole teyhay is played three times to end the kayda. The creator on the gharana, Ustad Siddhar Khan, first played the Pakhwaj before he started playing tabla. He composed many pieces for the tabla, and also was responsible for improving techniques, like the glides (Dugga) and playing in the most outer right (the chatti). The gharana is famous for solo playing.