Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
learn the lingo
In fury Khandita nayika shows her anger at her lover’s infidelity through tears, sighs or sarcasm, as exampled by Swapnasundari here.
Dance
Khandita nayika: This is often translated as the angry nayika (Learn the Lingo of 7 September 2007). The reason for her anger, or, more specifically, loss of patience, is her lover’s infidelity. She is not willing to accept his dalliance with other women. It could be real unfaithfulness, or she might even be imagining it, but the Khandita nayika is in no mood to accept excuses or explanations and defies him openly. This type of nayika is characterised by tears, sighs, an angry outburst or a highly sarcastic tone. “Why have you come here? Did you lose your way? This is not the way to her house,” she might taunt her lover.
A Khandita can also be depicted talking about her lover in his absence to her sakhi (friend). Her choice of words and gestures, her plans to confront him, are ways in which she is revealed to be in the Khandita state. She may tell her friend, “I think too much studying has made him light in the head.” Or she may say, “Let him come. I’ll show him the door.” Also, her reaction to and interpretation of his past action is diametrically opposed to the way she would have evaluated his deeds had she not been angry. For example, in the Gita Govinda of Jayadeva, when Radha is venting her anger on Krishna for neglecting her and spending time with other gopis, she interprets his slaying of the she demon Putana as an example of his callousness, as a crime against a hapless woman. She even refers to Putana, who was sent by King Kamsa to kill Krishna, using the affectionate derivative “Putanika”.
Music
Avartan/avartanam/avritti: These are synonymous terms for a cycle or circle, and most commonly used in the context of rhythm (tala – Learn the Lingo of 9 March 2007). While the words avartan or avritti are used in Hindustani music parlance, the commonly used term in Carnatic music is avartanam. It refers to the complete cycle of a tala. For example, Adi tala is a time cycle of eight beats, so one avartanam of Adi tala contains eight beats. An avartan of Jhap tala is 10 beats, and so on. Using avartans as units simplifies the process of calculation and orchestral planning. For example, one might note that a particular musical phrase has to be, say, four avartanams or avrittis long. If there are four avartans of Jhap tala, the total number of beats will naturally be 40, and if it is, say, two avartans of Adi tala, the total number of beats will be 16.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
|
