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Raudra rasa Ananda Shankar Jayant depicts a furious moment.
Dance
Raudra: One of the navarasas (Learn the Lingo, 23 November 2007), raudra rasa is the quintessence of anger. This is often anger directed at injustice or at the perpetrator of injustice.
The opening of the third eye of Shiva — one of whose names is Rudra — also represents raudra rasa. At peace in the closed state, the eye opens only on extreme provocation. But it results in swift annihilation of its object. The stream of fire that emanates from this eye turns everything in its path to ashes.
Human experience shows that unbridled rage can lead to a situation of irreversible pathos. No wonder the theory of Indian aesthetics speaks of raudra as being the source of karuna, the rasa of pathos or sorrow (Learn the Lingo, 14 December 2007). Seen this way, raudra represents a certain thoughtless rage, whose consequences cannot be undone.
Raudra is represented in dance through swift and vigorous movements as well as through fierce facial expressions. In Kathakali, Raudra Bhima is a famous character type. Raudra Bhima represents Bhima, the third of the Pandava brothers, in his fierce state as a result of the insult done to Draupadi in the Kaurava court. Bhima’s rage cannot be calmed until he has fulfilled his terrible vow of breaking Duryodhana’s thighs and killing Dusshasana. He is sometimes depicted anointing Draupadi’s hair with the enemy’s blood in token of revenge.
Music
Theka: The pattern of drum syllables that represents a time cycle or tala (Learn the Lingo, 9 March 2007). For example, the theka of Teen tala is: Dha Dhin Dhin Dha, Dha Dhin Dhin Dha, Dha Tin Tin Ta, Ta Dhin Dhin Dha (where the commas are meant only for ease of reading and do not stand for a pause or elongation).When a tabla exponent plays only this pattern, while the solo instrumentalist or dancer improvises rhythms against this backdrop, the percussionist is said to be playing the theka. Usually in a concert of Hindustani music, one finds the tabla player plays the theka while the instrumentalist improvises on the rhythm and melody, and then, when it is the tabla player’s turn to improvise on the rhythm, the instrumentalist sticks to a set tune that equals one cycle of the tala. This is called the lehra or nagma.
Teen tala: This is a time cycle or tala commonly used in Hindustani music. Teen tala contains 16 beats. Its theka is given in the example above.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
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Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
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