Tala means cyclic rhythms of beats. According to some scholars, it is derived from ‘ta’ (referring to Shiva’s Tandava aspect) and ‘la’ (referring to Pallavi Lasya). The union of these two or of the right and left hands produce tala.
The smallest unit measured in tala is one akshara kala.
There are mainly three angas of tala-
- Anudrutam- It has one akshara kala, represented by a clap only, its symbol is U.
- Dhrutam- It has two akshara kalas, represented by a clap and a wave, its symbol is 0.
- Laghu- It is represented by a clap and a few counts on the fingers beginning with the little finger. Its symbol is 1.
Based on the above, the seven basic talams along with their symbols are as follows:
Triputa- 100
Dhruva- 1011
Matya- 101
Rupaka- 01
Jhampa- 1U0
Eka – 1
Ada- 1100
The laghu varies according to the jaatis of tala, namely, Chatusra (4 beats), Tisra (3 beats), Misram (7 beats), Khandam (5 beats) and Sangeernam (9 beats).
Hence, each of these talams can be further divided into 5 types by changing the jaatis of the laghu. This format creates 35 Different talams, where each talam can be classified into all five categories of the jatis.
Let us try to illustrate all the talams in different jatis according to the talalipi:
FIVE JATIS WITH TALA LIPI
1. The tala lipi of Misra jati Ada talam
(1100, where 1 represents 5 beats) is as follows:
S R , G, l S, R G , l M, l M , ll
R G , M , l R , G M , l P, l P , ll
G M , P , l G , M P , l D , l D , ll
M P , D , l M , P D , l N , l N , ll
P D , N , l P , D N, l S , l S , ll
S N , D , l S , N D , l P , l P , ll
N D , P, l N , D P , l M , l M , ll
D P , M , l D , P M , l G , l G , ll
P M , G , l P , M G , l R , l R , ll
M G , R , l M , G R , l S, l S , ll
2. The talalipi of Chatusra jati Dhruva talam
(1011, where 1 represents 4 beats) is as follows:
S R G M l G R l S R G R l S R G M ll
R G M P l M G l R G M G l R G M P ll
G M P D l P M l G M P M l G M P D ll
M P D N l D P l M P D P l M P D N ll
P D N S l N D l P D N D l P D N S ll
S N D P l D N l S N D N l S N D P ll
N D P M l P D l N D P D l N D P M ll
D P M G l M P l D P M P l D P M G ll
P M G R l G M l P M G M l P M G R ll
M G R S l R G l M G R G l M G R S ll
3. The talalipi of Tisra jati Matya talam
(101, where 1 represents 3 beats) is as follows:
S R G l S R l S R G ll
R G M l R G l R G M ll
G M P l G M l G M P ll
M P D l M P l M P D ll
P D N l P D l P D N ll
D N S l D N l D N S ll
S N D l S N l S N D ll
N D M l N D l N D M ll
D P M l D P l D P M ll
P M G l P M l P M G ll
M G R l M G l M G R ll
G R S l G R l G R S ll
4. The talalipi of Chatusra jati Rupaka talam
(01, where 1 represents 4 beats ) is as follows:
S R l S R G M ll
R G l R G M P ll
G M l G M P D ll
M P l M P D N ll
P D l P D N S ll
S N l S N D P ll
N D l N D P M ll
D P l D P M G ll
P M l P M G R ll
M G l M G R S ll
5. The talalipi of Misra jati Jumpa talam
(1 U 0, where 1 represents 7 beats) is as follows:
S R G S R S R l G l M , ll
R G M R G R G l M l P , ll
G M P G M G M l P l D , ll
M P D M P M P l D l N , ll
P D N P D P D l N l S , ll
S N D S N S N l D l P , ll
N D P N D N D l P l M , ll
D P M D P D P l M l G , ll
P M G P M P M l G l R , ll
M G R M G M G l R l S , ll
6. The talalipi of Tisra Jaati Triputa talam
(100, where 1 represents 3 beats) is as follows:
S R G l S R l G M ll
R G M l R G l M P ll
G M P l GM l P D ll
M P D l M P l D N ll
P D N l P D l N S ll
S N D l S N l D P ll
N D P l N D l P M ll
D P M l D P l M G ll
P M G l P M l G R ll
M G R l M G l R S ll
7. The Talalipi of Sangeerna Jaati Eka talam
(1, where it represents 9 beats) is as follows:
S , R , G , M P D ll
R , G , M , P D N ll
G , M , P , D N S ll
S , N , D , P M G ll
N , D , P , M G R ll
D , P , M , G R S ll