Sunday 11 January 2015

Tarana & Tillana : Interplay of syllables and rhythm

Tarana (Urdu: ترانہ‎, Hindi: तराना) is a type of composition in Hindustani classical vocal music in which certain words and syllables (e.g. "odani", "todani", "tadeem" and "yalali") based on Persian and Arabic phonemes are rendered at a medium (madhya) or fast (drut) pace (laya). It was invented by Amir Khusro (1253-1325 CE), and is similar to the Qalbana form of Sufi poetry. In modern times the tarana is most commonly associated with the singer Amir Khan, who helped popularize it and researched its origins and the syllables used.


Tillana (Sanskrit: तिल्लान, Meaning: engrossed) is a rhythmic piece in Carnatic music that is generally performed at the end of a concert and widely used in dance performances. A Tillana uses tala-like phrases in the pallavi and anupallavi, and lyrics in the charanam. Tillana originated from the ancient 'KaiVara prabandha'. The kaivAra prabandha is a variety of the prabhandha that existed in the medieval period. In this, the jatIs (or solkaTTu) figured in the mAtu or the concluding session. The prabandha begins and ends with the pAtha. This aspect of the prabandhas led the composers of the later period to evolve a new form called the tillAnA. Tillana thus came to be composed by classical composers who lived in the 18th century.

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