Drut Laya Practical
Gat Nikas
"Gat" means speed and "Nikas" means to walk at that particular
speed. In Gat -Nikas a dancer portrays a particular character in a particular walk.
Gat -Nikas is popularly called Gat. The components of a Gat are Palta, Nikas, and
Chal. In this one can find Gat -Palta before the start of any Gat -Nikas. In
Gat -Nikas, a dancer tries to show the walk of a particular character, for e.g. walk
of Krishna with flute in his hand or Radha/Gopi holding a pot on her head.
The Gat -Palta is where a dancer performs a rhythmic movement with half turns
from both left and right sides. Following this is the Nikas where the dancer takes
the pose to portray the character. The Chal is a formalized rhythmic walk that
portrays the personality of the character. Typically a Gat ends with the dancer
traveling back in double speed followed by a Tihai.
Baant
Baant means to equally distribute. Baant is performed through Tatkar or
footwork. Variations of Tatkar
through different rhythmic patterns is called baant. The bols of tatkar are 'Ta
Thei Thei Tat, Aa Thei Thei Tat.
' In Baant, one can find laya variations. While
presenting Baant, the dancer divides and renders the Matra-s of the Tal in
various ways, thereby creating different Palta-s or elaborations.
Thaat
Thaat is the rhythmic blossoming of body movement which is slow,
gentle, and graceful. The literal meaning of the Hindi word Thaat can be
described as a combination of pride, confidence, and grace. Thaat highlights the
Sama of a Taal cycle in a poised way. In Thaat, the dancer dances a few phrases
with taal and smoothly ends on Sama, usually done in Vilambit Laya.
In Thaat, a dancer subtly suggests Sama, which is the final pose with eyebrow,
neck and wrist movements. The space between two Uthan-s in a Thaat is filled
with such movements. These movements are called 'Kasak -Masak'
. Kasak or
Kalas means movements of wrists. Masak is the vertical and controlled
movements of the torso.
'Gardan' has to do with the movements of the neck.
'Jhum/Dol' is the swaying of the body. Thaat concludes with a Tihai, giving the
composition a striking ending.
Laya
Laya means rhythm. A constant speed or tempo is called Laya. When the gap between any two consecutive rhythmic beats does not vary, but remains the same, then the beats are said to be in Laya. When clapping at a constant tempo,
then maintaining the gap between every two claps is called Laya. All types of singing, playing an instrument, or dancing involve Laya. The three main types of Laya are Vilambit, Madhya, and Drut Laya. Laya can also be classified as Barabar,
Dugun, and Chaugun.
Sama
The first beat of any Tal cycle is called Sama. Every Avartan or cycle of Tal
begins and ends on the Sama. All compositions, or Bandish-s, like Toda, Paran,
Chakradar, Tihai, Aamad begin and end on Sama. When dancing, the dancer ends
the composition on Sama in a striking way, therefore being an important aspect
to the composition as a whole. It is also denoted with an 'X' in Tal Lipi.
Gat-Palta
"Gat" means speed and "Palta" means to turn at that speed. Gat -Palta
is used in Gat -Nikas and Gat -Bhav. This marks the beginning of Gat -Nikas. It is a
type of Hastak in which a dancer takes a spin from their right, while doing
circular wrist movement of the right hand and then repeats the same sequence
from the left. More often than not, Palta is repeated towards the end of the Gat,
typically after Chal. In advanced storytelling pieces called Gat -Bhav, when the
dancer has to display all the characters in a story just by themself, the dancer
uses the Palta to switch from one character to the other. Gat -Palta is also used to
show a change of place or time.
Tihai
A rhythmic phrase which is repeated exactly three times and ends on sam.
Tihai can be a stand-alone piece generally performed as a footwork composition
or it can be the ending of a bigger composition like a Toda or a Paran. Tihai-s can
be formed in various languages like Kathak or the language of Tabla or Pakhawaj.It can also be formed using Hindi numbers in which it is known as a 'Ginti ki
Tihai'
. Most compositions end with a Tihai. The three parts of a Tihai are known
as Palla-s.
There are two types of Tihai-s: Damdar, when there is a gap between the two
pallas of a Tihai, and Bedam, when there is no gap
Rangmanch Pranam
Pranam / Namaskar is a way of greeting by joining both
hands at the heart. When a particular toda ends with either a Pranam or
Namaskar, it is known as a Rangmanch Pranam. In this, the dancer offers their
salutations to the Rangmanch (stage) , musicians and Guru, and the audience
members. During the Mughal Era, the dancers used to offer salutations through
a Salami but post -independence, the Salami was replaced by a Rangmanch
Pranam.
Vilambit
This Laya is very slow, usually half the speed of Madhya Laya. In Kathak, we use it for Layakari, That, and Aamad.
Taali
Taali, in Hindi means clap. Every Taal is divided into groups of Matra-s
called Khanda-s. The first Matra of every Khanda is indicated either by a Taali ora Khali. Taali is when the start of a Khanda is shown by a clap. Denoted by
numbers, 1, 2, 3 in Taal Lipi, also Trital got its name from the fact that it is three
Taali-s.
Thaat
Thaat is the rhythmic blossoming of body movement which is slow,
gentle, and graceful. The literal meaning of the Hindi word Thaat can be
described as a combination of pride, confidence, and grace. Thaat highlights the
Sama of a Taal cycle in a poised way. In Thaat, the dancer dances a few phrases
with taal and smoothly ends on Sama, usually done in Vilambit Laya.
In Thaat, a dancer subtly suggests Sama, which is the final pose with eyebrow,
neck and wrist movements. The space between two Uthan-s in a Thaat is filled
with such movements. These movements are called 'Kasak -Masak'
. Kasak or
Kalas means movements of wrists. Masak is the vertical and controlled
movements of the torso.
'Gardan' has to do with the movements of the neck.
'Jhum/Dol' is the swaying of the body. Thaat concludes with a Tihai, giving the
composition a striking ending.
Salami
Salami is an Urdu word with its literal meaning being salutations. It was
introduced in Kathak during the Mughal Era. It is a courteous greeting, mainly to
the King, musicians, Gurus and audience. Through Salami, the dancers offered
salutations to the King as soon as they stepped in the court.
Madhya Laya
This Laya has a medium tempo, neither slow nor very fast. This Laya is faster than Vilambit and slower than Drut. In Kathak, we use it forTukda-s and
Toda-s.
Khaali
Khaali generally indicates the beginning of the second half of the Taal
cycle. Every Taal is divided into groups of Matra-s called Khanda-s. The first
Matra of every Khanda is indicated by either a Taali or a Khaali. Khaali or Kal is
when the start of a Khanda is shown by waving the right palm. In Taal Lipi is
denoted with an 'O'.
Track progress
Aamad
Aamad is a Persian word, which means to enter/arrive. It has Natwari
syllables like 'Ta Thei Tat Tat Thei.
' And to these syllables when you join a Paran,which includes traditional bols like 'Dha Ta Ka Thunga, Dhage Dige Ta' (Lucknow
styles). It is called Paran Judi Aamad. Judi means to connect.
Druta Laya
This Laya is very fast, faster than both Vilambit and Madhya Laya;
Usually double the speed of Madhya Laya. In Kathak, we use this Laya in
Gat -Nikas, Gat -Bhav, and Tatkar
Tatkaar
Tatkar means footwork, more specifically, when a dancer taps or stomps
their feet and produces a sound similar to 'Tat'; Which is where Tatkar got its
name. The basic Tatkar of Trital is identified by 'Ta Thei Thei Tat, Aa Thei Thei
Tat'.
Fast Tatkar with intricate rhythm patterns is a special feature specific to Kathak.
Kathak is the only Classical Indian dance style with such fast and intricate
footwork, known as Tatkar.
Tukda
Tukda is the smallest bandish, or composition in the language of Kathak
dance. The language of Kathak has syllables such as 'Ta, Thei, Tat, Tigda, Digdig'
.
Tukda is shorter than a Toda and typically only lasts for one or two avartans.
Matra
Matra means beat. It is the measure of the rhythm or Laya. It's the smallest unit used to measure time in music, similar to a second when measuring time. Matra are numbers or syllables that are used to count the rhythmic beats in
a Tal. Matra-s are shown with Taali ( claps), Khali (open palm), and counting on
the fingers. Every Tal has a specific number of Matra-s. For example, Trital has 16
Matra-s.
Toda
Toda is a bandish ( composition) made up of using syllables from the
Kathak dance language. The language of Kathak has syllables such as 'Ta, Thei,
Tat, Tigda, Digdig'. A Toda is made up of said rhythmic phrases strung together
and generally ends with a Tihai.