This is an updated version of an introduction to tala and rhythm I wrote several years ago for our dance class students. 

Note: This does not go into the sapta talas (or 35 talas) or differentiate between that tala system and the chapu tala system. The purpose of this is to provide a basic literacy using the fundamentals of Kuchipudi steps and jathis as a reference point. 

Before we begin...

I cannot dive into this subject without first taking the blessings of my grandfather, Sri Tumuluri Satyagopal. Long before I started learning dance, he was showing me how to delight in music, dance, and rhythm, as well as how to be curious and incisive in my appreciation of performing arts. He is a living example of how these arts are not "ancient" alone, but living, breathing, evolving, and all-encompassing. 

A musicologist, composer, poet, mridangist, violinist, teacher, mentor, and a humble, dedicated, lifelong student of the arts, my grandfather is the bedrock for the artists and art lovers of my family and an inspiration in our community.

I hope I do justice to the simple, joyful way in which he explained fundamentals of tala (and many other topics) to me over the years.  

Rhythm is the foundation of dance, and that's clear from the first step in Kuchipudi, when you stamp right - left - right - left, 1, 2, 3, 4. 

The steps and jathis taught to beginning students combine hand movements, footwork, and body movements, yes, but the underlying core is the tala, the steady heart beat of dance. 

What is Tala? 

Tala can be defined as a "rhythmic pattern" or "time cycle." An example: the first step, and in fact, the entire first half of steps in Kuchipudi, are based on the beat of 8, Adi talam. As someone does those steps, you will be able to clap the beat: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. But it is not sufficient to think of tala as the total number of beats within a cycle. 

Consider two of the talas we cover in the basics of Kuchipudi - Adi tala and Misrachaapu tala. 

Adi tala is first introduced as a cycle of 8 equidistant beats, or kriyas. But the hand movements for Adi tala are laghuvu, drutham, drutham. You keep the beat in the following matter: 

Beat, little finger, ring finger, middle finger

Beat, back beat

Beat, back beat.

1, 2, 3, 4

5, 6

7, 8.

Misrachaapu tala has seven kriyas but only three claps. 

Beat, 2, 3

Beat, 5

Beat, 7

Tha ki ta

Tha ka

Dhi mi

The very rhythms in which the total number of kriyas of a tala are executed changes the essence of the tala.

Another way the essence of the tala is impacted is by the subdivisions of the tala, the gathi. Compare the first half steps and jathis with the first set of second half steps and jathis (Thrisram). Both are set to Adi talam, but the first half jathis are primarily in chaturasra gathi while the first set of the second half jathis are in thrisra gathi. What does that mean? It's the way each single kriya in the tala is subdivided. 

Start counting steadily from 1 to 8 repeatedly. If you were to have a metronome running, each of the bold words align with the beat of the metronome. 

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Tha ka dhi mi tha ka jha nu

Now, divide each beat in half.

1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 5 and 6 and 7 and 8 and

Tha ka dhi mi tha ka jha nu Tha ka dhi mi tha ka jha nu

Now, divide each beat into four.

1 e and a 2 e and a  3 e and a  4 e and a  5 e and a 6 e and a 7 e and a 8 e and a

Tha ka dhi mi tha ka jha nu tha ka dh mi tha ka jha nu tha ka dhi mi tha ka jha nu tha ka dh mi tha ka jha nu

All these variations fit into chaturasra gathi. 

Now, go back to counting to 8

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Tha ka dhi mi tha ka jha nu

This time, divide each beat into threes.

1 and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a 5 and a 6 and a 7 and a 8 and a

Tha ki ta dhi ki ta thom ki ta nam ki ta tha ki ta dhi ki ta thom ki ta nam ki ta

This is the same tala as the one above it, but because the subdivisions are different, the gathi of the tala is different. Sometimes, you'll hear it being described as the "cut" being different. 

When we leanr or recollect steps and jathis, we usually think in percussive phrases: "Do four thakadhimis and three di-di-thais" or "Do the thalangu thom jathi".) 

That is an excellent way of recalling the dance movements but it is not always the best way of ensuring that the tala is being maintained correctly. When we think only in terms of the percussive phrases, we may emphasize the movements instead of of ensuring we are maintaining the balance between the movements and gaps, between the jathi and any overlapping song. That's best done with a conscious practice of saying steps and jathis while putting the tala. But, for a more in-depth understanding, it's best to know how to...

Read Tala

The tala notation I prefer emphasizes the interplay between the tala and the jathi. In other words, the tala notation captures how a jathi fits into the tala, both at the rhythmic pattern level (i.e., laghuvu, dritham, anudritham) and the time cycle level (i.e., the precise location and length of a sound or silence). 

To capture that, we use a slash (/) to separate each beat or kriya; a pipe (|) to signal the end of each anga (loosely, segment) of the tala; and double pipes (||) to indicate the end of each tala cycle (avrutham). 

Standard symbols denote the angas laghuvu (I), dritham (O), and anudritham (U). Each single space, including silences, needs to be captured. Following standard notation, silences are notated with commas (,) and semicolons (;) - a comma is a single aksharam, or subdivision of a kriya, and a semicolon is twice as long as a comma. Depending on the speed of a tala, gaps may seem imperceptible, but they are notated anyway, to maintain precision and balance. 

So, the chaturasra gathi adi tala example from above would be notated as follows:

tha ; , / ka ; , / dhi ; , / mi ; , | 

tha ; , / ka ; , | jha ; , / nu ; , ||

tha , ka , / dhi , mi , / tha , ka , / jha , nu , |

tha , ka , / dhi , mi , | tha , ka , / jha , nu , ||

tha ka dhi mi / tha ka jha nu / tha ka dhi mi / tha ka jha nu |

tha ka dhi mi / tha ka jha nu | tha ka dhi mi / tha ka jha nu ||

Likewise, the thrisra gathi adi tala example from above would be notated as follows:

tha ; / ka ; / dhi ; / mi ; | 

tha ; / ka ; | jha ; / nu ; ||

tha ki ta / dhi ki ta / thom ki ta / nam ki ta | 

tha ki ta / dhi ki ta | thom ki ta / nam ki ta ||

The first avrutham is audibly the same for both variations, but as you can visually see, the balance is different, and that is where the beauty and complexity come in. 

The Simple Version

The simplest jathis and steps to notate are those that fit right in with the beat, like our examples above, as well as the start of the first jathi: 

tha la m gu / thom ; , / tha ka tha dhi / gi na thom , |

tha la m gu / thom ; , | tha ka tha dhi / gi na thom , ||

As you can see, the phrases in the jathi fit exactly into each anga and kriya of the tala. The start of the phrase in jathi matches with the beginning of the avrutham, and the end of a phrase or a gap in the jathi matches with the end of the avrutham in the talam. 

Some additional layers are modifying the speed - double speed or triple speed. To be more precise, the sounds take up half the talam or a quarter of the talam compared to what they would normally. (I generally use underlines and double-underlines to indicate these changes in kala, or speed, but I'm struggling with the out-of-the-box formatting options of this text editor). Here's an example: 

Tha ka dhi mi / tha ka jha nu / tha ka dhi mi / tha ka jha nu |

Tha ka dhi mi tha ka jha nu / Tha ka dhi mi tha ka jha nu | 

Tha ka dhi mi tha ka jha nu Tha ka dhi mi tha ka jha nu / Tha ka dhi mi tha ka jha nu Tha ka dhi mi tha ka jha nu ||

Of course, as any student of Kuchipudi knows, dance can go "off the beat". A more technical term would be syncopation. Essentially, we are stressing a sound that is not the leading part of the beat, which is what you where you are expressing the stress. As an example always helps, here's a look at the complete first jathi. 

tha la m gu / thom ; , / tha ka tha dhi / gi na thom , |

tha la m gu / thom ; , | tha ka tha dhi / gi na thom , ||

tha la m gu / thom ; , / tha la m gu / thom ; , |

tha ka ; / dhi ki ; | tha ka tha dhi / gi na thom , ||

tha ka ; / dhi ki ; | tha ka tha dhi / gi na thom , |

tha ka , di / ki , jhe nu | ; tha dhi / gi na thom , ||

There are two different things going on here - how the phrases overlay the tala, as well as the phrases themselves. Let us look at the overlaying first. 

As the color coding highlights, by the end of the jathi, the phrases no longer neatly fit into each individual kriya of the tala. 

The next layer of complexity is the relationship between the phrases and the silences, especially in the last avrutham. 

tha ka ; / dhi ki ; | tha ka tha dhi / gi na thom , |

tha ka , di / ki , jhe nu | ; tha dhi / gi na thom , ||

The phrases themselves are simple: thaka dhiki jhenu. What makes them remarkable and so well-suited to ending the jathi with flair is how they fit into the tala. Up until this point, the phrases neatly fit into the kriyas. Here, however, they form subsections of three, which overlap with the nadaka of the raga, building up to the finale: tha di gi na thom. 

And then it gets trickier...

Of course, this is just beginning. At some point, I'll come back and write about tala systems and other related topics. But for now, it suffices to say, the combination of syncopation, gaps and silences, different gathis and jaathis make up exciting jathis in Kuchipudi as well as many other forms of Indian classical dance. The best way to learn them is through active participation. 

It is not sufficient to be able to say the jathi without putting talam. It is not sufficient to read the jathi from notation without ever hearing it. Inflections matter. Silences matter. The tala - the heartbeat of music and dance - matters.