Learn the Lingo
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Learning the technicalities of dance and music the easy way.
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MUDRA A dancer tells a story using hand gestures.
Dance
Aramandi, murumandi: While these are Tamil words literally meaning `half sitting ` and `full sitting', used in the vocabulary of Bharatanatyam, the postures can be found in other classical dance forms too. In aramandi, the dancer turns the toes and knees outwards and bends the knees so that a square or diamond shape is formed between the legs. The heels are flat on the ground and there is a distance of approximately two fingers width between the heels. To reach the murumandi position, the dancer turns the toes and knees outwards and bends the knees, lowering the body, finally raising the heels and `sitting' on heels.
Hasta, mudra: Hasta is the Sanskrit word for hand. The hastas and mudras are the codified hand gestures of Indian classical dance. Each dance form has a set of hand gestures that can be executed with one hand, and another set in which a single gesture requires both hands.
These are commonly referred to as single-hand and double-hand gestures. An important use of hastas is that they can be used to convey a meaning, in which each gesture stands for a word. The term mudra is used interchangeably with hasta. Often mudra refers to the symbol being depicted, for instance the mudra for a girl, the mudra to depict Lord Ram, etc.
Music
Tala: The general translation for tala is rhythm, but specifically it refers to a particular time cycle. Any song is set to a time cycle that repeats itself. Whether in Hindustani or Carnatic music, we can find common rhythmic patterns that are basic to all music.
A common tala of Hindustani music is Teen tala. Despite the `teen' (three) in its name, it is a time cycle of 16 beats. It is identified by these syllables: dha dhin dhin dha/dha dhin dhin dha/ dha tin tin ta/ta dhin dhin dha.
This is comparable to the Carnatic music time cycle known as Adi tala (also of eight or 16 counts).
Carnatic musicians mark the tala pattern using a system of hand movements. There are three basic hand movements to mark the tala: a clap, a wave and counting on the fingers. Adi tala is marked by a clap, three finger counts, a clap, a wave, a clap and a wave to total eight counts. While such hand movements are present in Hindustani music too, the musicians of this genre do not generally use them to mark time, relying instead on the tabla syllables to guide them as to which point they are on in the time cycle.
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