Tanam - Part 2

After an elaborate raga alapana, the playing or singing of the tanam provides a contrast and it appears as a very lively piece. Flat notes are used in madhyama kala as gamaka-s may cause the speed to sag. Although gamaka-s cannot be rendered, the raga phrases have to be kept in mind and the tanam must retain the beauty of the raga.

You can prolong a note while singing the tanam, but the repetition of the ‘nam tam’ syllables, creates the illusion of short notes. It is not possible to sing with karvai as in raga alapana, or mix slow and fast tempo. Manodharma must be displayed only in the madhyama kala.

While there is no avartana count or tala cycles in tanam, the chatusra movement, and the gait of sarvalaghu are maintained all along. Absence of avartana-s probably gives the freedom to elaborate any pattern, for any length of time. A restriction in terms of avartana cycles could curtail the imagination of the artist.