THE CARNATIC CORNER

Most repeated questions                 1     Diploma paper1     2    Diploma paper2       

                    Terms related to Thalam  Thalam in Carnatic Music is used as a tool to maintain tempo and also to some extent helps in defining the structure of the song. This Sanskrit word is derived by combining two words 'Thadavam ' and 'Lasyam'.   Thadavam represents Lord Shiva and Lasyam Parvathi.      Aavartham:  one cycle of a Thalam is said to complete one Avartham. Aksharakalam : The time taken to sing one short syllable  Parts of thalam ( Thalangas) : The word Thalangas can be derived from Thalam and Angam ( Sanskrit word for parts )  There are 3 important  Thalangas  a)  Anudhrutham:    This thalam consists of a single beat of the right palm.  This can be identified in   Jhampa thalam. The common symbol of Annudhrutma is '  U ' b)  Dhrutham : Dhrutham is the combination of Anudhrutham i.e a single beat of the right palm and turning the palm facing upwards. Dhrutham is represented with '  O ' Dhrutham occurs in many thalas, it occurs twice