Tarana

'Tarana' is a popular genre of North Indian classical music. It mainly uses syllables such as Na, Ta, Re, Dani, Odetan, Tanom, Yalli, Tad, Redani etc. In many taranas, along with these syllables, the words of Sargam and bols of Sitar, Kathak, Mridang or Pakhavaj are also used. Meaningful words are not used in taranas, but meaningless words are also able to make a wonderful impact on the listeners through rhythm and tone. 

The beauty of tarana singing is not in its words but in the tone groups contained in it, which are taken through different rhythms. This song type consisting of sthayi and antara is generally sung in Madhya, Drut and Ati Drut rhythms. Some taranas are also composed in vilambit rhythm, which are called Khayal-Numa tarana, but nowadays it is performed less.

The key focus in a tarana are tayyari, layakari and uccharan abhyaas. Singing of Tarana in drut laya is said to bring clarity in the voice. Tarana is sung after the chota khayal. The tarana is the fastest paced composition in a concert. The words used in tarana are language independent syllables and the focus is on notes and rhythmic variation. 

Taranas can be sung in any raga and taal. Taals usually associated are teen taal, ektaal, jhaptaal.

A tarana exponent must have a flexible voice, with a range of upto three octaves, and clear pronunciation of syllables. Different rhythmic patterns, layakaris are formed and concluded with powerful tihais. Taankari is Tarana are very fast and skillfully executed in the avarthan.

It is said by the great Kumar Gandharva- “when in singing, everything has been sung before and the feeling of inadequacy persists, a tarana satisfies your quest”.

Historically, the form of Prabhand was composed using Swar, Taal, Tena and Pataaksharas. The use of na, ta, re, daani etc. letters in Tarana can be taken as part of the name 'Tena'.  which are considered a different forms of the prayer 'Om Narayan Anant Hari' etc. The bols of Mridang and Pakhawaj indicate the use of the part called 'Paat'. We can see the origin of the modern Tarana style in those compositions in which only the parts called Paat and Tenn are used. Meaningful words are also used in many Taranas.

Many scholars have given special meaning to the words used in Tarana instead of calling them meaningless. 

Taranas today has evolved and now sung in many styles. Some musicians add Alaap in Tarana, some improvise based on the instrumental ang and some in the khayal ang. Sargam also is added in tarana like in Carnatic Tillana. In tarana there are different kinds of rhymthic patterns, layakaris formed through syllables and sargams used in fast pace. The tihais are powerful and impressive. The then main feature is the energetic Taans skillfully fitted in an avarthan.

There are many opinions on the origins of the form and the term Tarana. Tarana in Persian language means 'Nagmah' or 'song' i.e. a special type of song which is often used for Happy tunes. A similar word is Tarannum, which is from Arabic language, it means sweetness of voice, Khushilhani (happy voice, chirping, clacking throat), light song, sweet song. Tarannum is not related to words but to voice. 

The literal meaning of the words used in Tarana and similar words has been given according to Persian English Dictionary, Hindi, Sanskrit and Urdu dictionary, which is as follows: -

• Tan – Body

• Tanana – To stretch, Spread

• TanTanaa— Effect of Anger

• TanTanaanaa – To get angry

• Tarana – Song, singer, modulate voice

Scholars have expressed different opinions on the origins and developement of Tarana as an art form. According to some, the lyrics of tarana are meaningful i.e. meaningful and according to some, they are meaningless i.e. useless. There is no consensus among scholars regarding the origin of tarana. Some have linked it to aspects of Sam Gaan, some to prabandh, some have considered Amir Khusro as its inventor and some have linked it through folk songs. 

It can said with certainty that this singing style did not come from outside, rather it was a part of Indian culture which has been continuously changing with time.

The opinions of some different scholars related to this subject are as follows

It is said in 'Naghmatul Hind' that Tarana was invented by Amir Khusro. Its lyrics are in Persian and Hindi languages. Like tom tan dir daani, tadin, din tom, tadani, yallayali lalli et

In 'Marifunnagamat' written by Raja Nawab Ali, it is said that this tune was invented by Amir Khusro of Delhi. In the Iranian style, some special words with special meanings - Yala, Yalal, Tom, Tana, Tadani etc. are used in it and it is sung with opposite alaap and ta

According to Sharangdev, "Among the various forms of sthaya, 'Vadya Shabd Sthaya' can also be the basis of study in the context of 'Tarana'. Imitating the sounds produced by musical instruments and pronouncing them is called 'Vadya Shabd Sthaya'. Sounds produced by musical instruments can be divided into two categories - one is sounds produced by string instruments like Veena etc. and the other is sounds produced by leather instruments. If the sounds produced by string instruments like Veena etc. are listened to carefully, it will appear that many sounds like To, No, Si etc. are produced by the combination of Mizrab, Gaz etc. It is possible that in ancient times, the Tarana song style was created by imitating these types of words.

According to Sharadchandra Shridhar Paranjape, "While describing Samgaan, we have mentioned that in it, the hymns were sung using meaningless words like haha, hoohoo, etc. It seems that in modern music, the use of words like tanana, riri, tom, tanom, udtan, etc. indicating alap, is indicative of these dry letters

Apart from Khayal singing, Khan Rahab was also particularly interested in Tarana singing. He used to say about Tarana that Tarana is so beautiful that it is worth listening to.

Amir Khan Sahab's tarana singing was most influenced by Amir Khusro's philosophy and literature. Amir Khan Saheb believed that this singing style (Tarana) invented by Khusro was connected to the spiritual in its original form. The repetition of words reflects the state of spiritual pain and ecstatic ecstasy. In the words of Amir Khan Saheb himself, "Tarana was created by Amir Khusro for his religious guru (Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya). Some special words are kept in it which are repeated."

According to Ustad Amir Khan Saheb, "Nadirdirdir daani to daani" is a Sufi chant, and his conclusion is that the tradition of Tarana started from then

Some opinions are that there is no meaning in these syllables. A thorough research had been done by Ustad Amir Khan on Tarana . According to him, each syllable of Tarana has a meaning and later on many musicians added the tabla, pakhawaj and mrudangam bols to the Tarana (e.g. Dha Kid Tak Dhum Kid Tak etc.) and distorted the form.

The words are from arab-farsi language used for prayer to gods. Amir Khushro’s work consists of the poems with verses containing specific words which are repeated during a vocal performance. These poems/verses are devotional in nature. In any religious song, repetition of words is necessary. These repetitions are useful to devotees in reaching towards God or Allah through ‘Nama Smarana’ or ‘Japa’. In the Sufi cult, music is used invariably in singing taranas. 

There is a rule in Fakirism that a devotee cannot reach God without music, so for this the repetition of this song was created, the words of which are from Persian and Arabic-

"Dara dara daratan, darat daratan daratan". - That is, he is saying to God, 'Come inside, come inside the body, come inside the body.'

The meaning of some of the ‘Pharsi’ words used in taranas are:

• O daani – He knows

• Toh Daani- You know

• Dar – Bheetar, Aandar (inside)

• Dara – Andar Aa (get in or come inside)

• Dartan tadeem– Tanke Aandar (come inside the body)

• Tanandara – Tanke Aandar Aa (Come my body and heart)

• Tom – Main Tum Hun (I am you)

• Nadirdaani – you know the most

• Tandardaani – one who knows the heart and body

• Nadirdani – Tu Sabse Adhik Janata Hai (You know more than anyone else)

• Tandardani – Tanke Aandarka Jannewala (One who knows what is inside the body)

One of the simplest tarana compositions is this: “ Dara dara dartan, darat dartan dartan” It means: ‘Aandar Aao, Tanke Aandar Aao’

Simple words used for addressing Allah are: ‘Ya La La La Lom’, which means Alla, Alla repeated several times. Ye, Yali, Yale, Yala, Yalale: these are short forms of ‘Allah’.

Jaidev Singh also accepts the words of Taraane as meaningful, he says that

"Tarana is a Persial word meaning a song. Tillana is a corrupt form of the word. Firstly he (Amir Khusro) introduced mostly Persian words with soft consonants secondly he so arranged these words that they bore some sense. An example of the words used by him together with their meaning follows :-

• Dani - (Persian) - You Known thou knowest.

• Yela - ("") freedom

• Yalala - A short form of 'YaAllah' (Ya Alli) meaning God.

• Yalali A short form of "Ya Allah or YaAlli".

• Tantanam - Expression of anger in Hindi

• Derana - (Persian) - meaning 'Old'

• Nadir - (Persian) - 'Unique'

• Diya - It means 'gave' in Hindi

• Tomana or Tumna - It means 'you' in Sanskrit.

Pandit Bhatkhande ji has said in his book "Kramik Pustak Malaika, Part 4" that songs with these names are mostly sung by Hindustani singers. The songs are in different rhythms. The words do not have much importance in them. Their words are like Na, Ta, Re, Dani, Odani, Tanom, Yalali, Yaloom, Tadredani. There is joy of raga and rhythm in the songs.

In the 1967 issue of Rangit Kala Vihar, Shri Bhairav Prasad Srivastava has said - The trend of expanding the raga with syllables like Nom Tom Tanana etc. was started by Tansen. There is a legend in this regard which is being given here in brief.

Once, on repeated requests of Emperor Akbar to sing Raga Deepak, Tansen's performance of the Raga lead to burning in his body while singing. Even after treatment by great doctors, Tansen's fever did not subside, then Tansen said that if someone sings Raga Megh Malhar and makes it rain and I take a bath in it, then this fever will subside. On the orders of Akbar, a caravan went with Tansen in search of the singer of Raga Meghmalhar. On the way, the caravan stopped on seeing some women filling water from the well. Tansen asked those women to give me water to drink, on seeing Tansen

One woman said to another woman, "It seems that this fever is due to raga Deepak." On hearing these words, Tansen said, "O ladies who understand my pain, I want to know your identity." Then those two sisters told their names as 'Tani and Nani'. Some scholars believe this name to be 'Tana-Riri'.

On Tansen's insistence both the sisters agreed to sing Raga Megh, but they said that you should promise us that you will not talk about us to anyone. Both the sisters started singing Raga Megh, showers started pouring, slowly Tansen started getting better. But this secret could not be hidden from Akbar for long and the emperor asked both the sisters to come to the court.

The next day in Akbar's court, the Emperor became mesmerized by the singing of the two sisters. Meanwhile, both the sisters very nimbly took out daggers from their waist and ended their lives.

It is possible that both the sisters were skilled singers of some city and influenced Tansen. Even today, the Taana-Riri is being used in the Nom-Tom in Tansen's Dhrupad singing. 

It is also said that Amir Khusro heard a musical composition with Sanskrit words from the mouth of the great musician Nayak Gopal in the court of Delhi King Alauddin Khilji. He could not understand the meaning of those words due to his lack of knowledge of Sanskrit language but being influenced by those tones, he composed meaningless words and sang various Hindustani ragas which became famous as 'Tarana'

Amir Khushro was a disciple of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia (Avalia). Amir Khushro composed taranas for his guru. After the death of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia, Amir Khushro spent the rest of his life at his tomb and composed a number of taranas. A popular legend around the invention of Tarana – Since most compositions were in Sanskrit and Amir Khusrau wanted to compose something which the pandits cannot understand! 

A historical event which shows that even an anti-music ruler like Aurangzeb changed his decision after listening to the Tarana.

One day, a thought came to Aurangzeb's mind that these eunuchs who are neither men nor women are useless creatures and they are having a bad effect on the environment. Thinking this, the king ordered that all the eunuchs be loaded into boats and sent to the Yamuna.

They should be drowned in the river. Hearing this order, all the eunuchs got scared and went crying to Hazrat Khawaja Saidhasan Rasool Imam Saheb (who was a great Sufi and elderly saint of that time) and prayed for their help. Hearing the prayer, Hazrat was impressed and consoled them and taught them a song and told them to sing it while passing in front of the king. 

The brief meaning of this song is that 'O King! If we cannot survive in the street of infamy and we are so reprehensible and bad that you do not like us, then do one thing that instead of giving us death, change our fate.' When the king heard this song, he became completely disturbed and fell unconscious on the ground. On regaining consciousness, the king said to the eunuch that- 'Deciding someone's fate is the work of Allah, not of any human being'. Saying this, the king ordered to spare everyone's life. 

Our Indian music is said to be the heritage of Vedic tradition. Music has been directly related to Vedas, Puranas and even before that, to the origin of the universe. The universe originated from the word 'Om'. With this word 'Om' a musical sound emerged and the universe came into being. Therefore, it can be clearly said that there is a close relationship between literary music or musical literature. In ancient times also, similar letters with spiritual meanings have been in use. 

In the Vedic period, they existed in the context of mantras which are called Stobhakshar or Shushkakshar. They have also been called meaningless letters, whereas their meanings are also found in Chandogyopanishad.

Although no letter in the universe is meaningless, there is always some hidden meaning in it. When people of ancient times used to communicate with each other, they must have used similar sounds through which they used to express their feelings.

Stobhakshar

In ancient times, some Shushkakshar(meaningless letters) were used. Not all the meaningless letters were used and neither were all pronounced the same. With the help of Kaku, the element that brings meaning in it, some special Shushkakshar were selected and they were sung in Vedic mantras. According to Acharya Brihaspati Shushkaksharis also refered to as 'Mangalarth' in his book. They were used for the purpose of invoking the gods.

We can clearly see in the Vedic period how these Shushkakshar or Stobhaakshar were used to give a melodious form to the mantras while chanting them in Samgaan. These were for the purpose of praising God and these meaningless letters were used to fill the sentence in the Mantras

Whether it is Alapchari of Dhrupad or Khayal, these meaningless letters were used in the worship of God. 

There are meanings to these terms and hence we find their mention in the great texts like the Vedas.

In general definition or most of the people have a notion that the letters or words used in Tarana are meaningless but when we look from the Vedic point of view, we come to know that the Alaap of Nom Tom used in Tarana were already present in Indian music in the form of Stobhaakshar. 

Saam Gaan

Vedas are considered to be the original source and among these four Vedas, Samveda has an important place from the point of view of music. The entire Vedic literature considers 'Sam' as music and the entire musicology of Bharat considers 'Sam' as the origin of music.

According to 'Chhandogyopanishad' related to Samveda, the essence of entire Samveda is contained in Udgeetha. Analyzing the Upanishadkar Udgeetha, he says

'Vaak' is Rig, Prana is Sama and this syllable 'Oo' is Udgith. The one who worships this syllable 'Oo', gets all the desires fulfilled.'

Looking at the importance of the letter 'oo' in the Samgaan, We also see that Dhrupad singing usually begins with Nom Tom Alaap and it is also present in Tarana - Tom Tom Tannan Tom Tana Dere Na etc. Sama is mainly a mantra which was formed in the song, that is, the meaningless letters used in today's Tarana have already been used in the Samgaan as Stobha letters.

Samavikar

Some changes are made to give any Richa (Mantra) the form of a song, these are called Vikar. These are of 6 types. Among these, 'Stobha' is the main one. Jaiminiya Brahman states that stobhas are embellishments of hymns.

Stobh is a type of alaap which is used to make the mantras suitable for singing. Two types of Stobha have been described

1. Varna Sthob – Like eekaar

2. Pad Sthob – Like Hau

Sridhar Paranjape has mentioned another type

3. Vakya Sthob

In Chandogya Upanishad, 13 Sthob akshars have been specified along with their meanings.

1. Hau – The world we live in

2. Hayi – The Atmosphere

3. Atha – Moon

4. Eha –  Soul

5. Ee - Agni

6. Om - Aditya (Sun)

7. Ye – Invocation

8. Ohomi – ohi or ohova (group of Gods_

9. Him – Prajapathi

10. Aa – Swar and Prana

11. Yaa – Food 

12. Vaak – Speech

13. Humkaar - God

Geetak

After the mention of Vedas, we get Geetaak itself in the lyrical form in the context of Shushkakshar, which has been briefly described by Bharat in his book Natyashastra.

'Geetak' is the oldest available form of the music developed from Samagaan but different from Samagaan, which was used for religious purposes in drama also called as 'Gandharva'.

According to Bharat, the use of songs was basically in the context of drama. They were used in a special way in the Purvarang method of drama (the ritual of worship of the Rangdevta). Purva Rang has two parts, 

1. Antaryavanikagat (Closing of the performance) 

2. Bahiryavanikaagat (opening of performance)

Dattila has only described 'Saptarup' and mentioned Geetak is said to have originated from Samaveda and performed by Sages.

The verses of Geetak  given in Natyashastra are all related to Shiva Stuti. With respect to songs in terms of dance, instruments and acting, we can say that in the beginning of songs there are parts like Upohana, Pratyupohana etc. Along with them there is pure dance without Abhinaya, that is, there are only physical movements. These Geetaks used Shushkakshar or Stobaksharas.

Geetkas are of two types- Kaluk and Chedhak. Three distinctions were made between both types of Geetkas.

1. Niryukt – includes Bahirgeet, anga, Shaaka

2. Aniryukt – without Bahirgeet and Anga 

3. Padniryukt – without bahirgeet

Bahir Geet

According to Abhinav, the Bahirgeet has the form of Upohana and Pratyupohana. Bharata has called the use of Swar in the beginning of the song as Upohana which is composed of syllables. these were a set of fixed and meaningless words like Jhantun, Jagatiya, Valitaka, Titicha etc. and was used as Shushkakshar.

The word Upohan is synonymous with Nirgeet and is used here in a figurative sense. In Bahirgeet, like Upohan-Pratyupohan, only Shushkakshar are used, so here Bahirgeet is synonymous with Upohan-Pratyupohan.

Bharat has mentioned, that Niryukt uses meaningful padas; small angas using meaningless words, Swar and Taal and bigger musical passages using Swar, Pad and Taal. There was use of all three aspects in Niryukt Geetak.

The term Pad was used for both meaningful and meaningless words and for the use of meaningless words, Bharat has mentioned Bahirgeetheen.

Hence, there was a special genre of singing like Geetak, which was a combination of Swar-Taal-Pada and a clear mention of meaningless words. They were used to express a meaningful emotion through the voice in Indian music. These meaningless words or Shushkakshars have been an integral part of Indian music since ancient times.

Dhruva

The NatyaShastra mentions the use of Musical compositions called Dhruva which served as the lifeforce of any theatrical performance.

The musical piece which is a beautiful combination of Pada, Swar, Laya, Taal, Yati with a definitive relation between each element is called Dhruva.

Even in the Bahirgeet used in the prologue before the beginning of the drama, the Dhruvas with meaningless words have special importance because they are a highlight of the musical instruments.

Dhruva can have both meaningful and meaningless words. Generally, the Dhruvas used in a drama have only meaningful words, but the Dhruva performed after, can also have meaningless words played with instruments. Its use depends on the nature and ability of the singer, and according to occasion.

Due to the use of meaningless letters i.e. jhantumaadi, these were called Nirgit. Since Nirgit was adopted by the demons, the gods started calling it Bahigeet, but in the Purvaranga, these are used as an opening for Bhaandavadya and Dhruva and also give a place to showcase specialties of of Veena. Abhinav has mentioned that due to being used along with the Veena instrument called Sushkha, these are also called SukshaVadhya

The meaningless words used in Nirgit are called Shushkakshar or Stobhakshar. According to Bharat, its inventor is Narada.

There are ten types of Nirgit, these are also known as Dashvidha Nirgit. In various types of Nirgit, along with meaningless letters, meaningful letters and stobaaksharas were also used in the padas to complete the sentences. 

There are ten Padas made of stobaaksharas

1. Jhantu

2. Jagatiya

3. Valitak

4. Kuchajhal

5. Titijhal

6. Pashupati

7. Digidigi

8. Digre

9. Ganapati

10. Titidha.

Parivarthini Dhruva

This form of Dhruva has 13 letters in which all are Laghu aksharas except the last one which is a Guru Akshara. In this, Panchpadi Gaman, Digvandan, Devtabhivadan and Jarjarpuja - these four give importance to meaning of words, hence the word scheme is according to the subject and the acting is according to the meaning. Word scheme and acting are complementary to each other. But during the Jarjarpuja, Use of Kutap and Bhaandprayog is prescribed and singing is done only using the Stobaksharas, Bharata has prohibited the use of meaningful words.

Shushkaavakrushta Dhruva

Dhruva has 18 letters. It has all the characteristics of Avkrishta Dhruva, only instead of a meaningful word, there are meaningless words are used, hence it is a noun Sukhavakrishta.

दिङ्ग्ले दिङ्ग्ले दिङ्ग्ले दिङ्ग्ले जम्बुक पलितक तेते चाम् 

Kapaal Gaan

In ancient times when Dhruva Gaan was in vogue, there was another form called Kapal Gaan. In this, Shiva Stuti verses have been described with the help of stobha aksharas. 

According to a story available in Sangeet Ratnakar by Sharangdev, once Lord Shiva went out for almsgiving and sang in Shadjadi Jatis. Due to his expressive singing, nectar started flowing from the Chandra situated on his head. When the nectar fell on the garland of skulls (human heads) around Shiva's neck, the skulls in the became alive and started singing songs of Shiva. Hence, the songs which originated from the singing skulls, were are called 'Kapalgaan'. These songs were also seven in number, which originated from the each of the seven Jaathis. Their names are also respectively according to the seven Jaathis.

The examples of Kapal songs given include verses of Shiva's praise and hymns like 'Jhantu', 'Hau Hau' etc. which are set according to the Taal, but they do not have a Swar or Taal, some are also metrical.

Abhinav has also included Kapala in the Sapta Geet. The tradition of using stobha aksharas can be seen in the example of Kapala and Panika songs of Nanyabhupal's Bharatbhashyam book.

In this way, we also see the tradition of using stobha aksharas in Kapala gaan.

Shadji Kapal Geet

झन्टुं झन्टुं खट्वांङ्गधरं, दंष्ट्राकरालम्, तडित्सदृशजिह्र

हौ हौ हौ हौ हौ हौ हौ हौ

बहुरूपवदनं घनघोरनादम

हौ हौ हौ हौ हौ हौ हौ हौ हौ

उूँ उूँ  हाँ रौं हौं हौं हौं हौं

नृमुण अमणिडतम 

हूँ हूँ कह कह हूँ हूँ 

कृतविकटमुखम्, 

नमामि देवं  भैरवम्

Prabhand

Prabhand is an ancient form of music which is equivalent to the word Bandish used for Musical compositions where the three elements of music - swara, taal and pad are used according to rasa, bhaav and nature, by planning the composition in fixed meters or Chhand. In the medieval scriptures, the terms Prabandh, Vastu, Rupak are found for the prescribed lyrical composition.

Prabhand consisted of four dhatus and six angas - swara, virud, pad, tenak, paat and taal.

The angas Tenak and Paat uses meaningless syllables.

The use of auspicious words in the Prabhand is called 'ten'. The use of letters like ten, tenn, tenna etc. in a prabandha or song is called 'Tenak'.

The root word in this is tat. In Om Tatsat Tattvamasi etc. (Shruti-Puraan reference), the word Tat is Brahmavachak, hence it is considered auspicious.

The letters 'Te' and 'Na' of Tena are considered to be the origin of music. Letters indicating prayers are placed in the category of Tenak. The words used for auspiciousness from the mouth of the singer in song, musical instruments etc. are called Tenak.

The letters produced by musical instruments are called pataakshar. That is, the pronunciation of musical instruments is called pataakshar.

Pataksharas mainly indicate the sounds of percussion instruments like madung, tabla etc. However, for the sake of consistency, Kallinath has also included the sounds produced by wind and string instruments in the Pataksharas. Words like dhi, gi, ni gi, kadandha, dha, dhumkit, dir tom, dir etc. are meaningless. Even in ancient times, they were used in Gandharva songs like Geetak etc. which were called Vakkaran. Today's Tarana Chaturang, Trivat song types have compositions consisting of Pataksharas.

From the perspective of Prabhand, Tarana, Chaturang and Trivat are the three forms consisting of swaras, taal, tenak and pataaksharas. In many taranas, meaningful words are also used. In taranas, the use of na, ta, re, daani etc. letters can be taken from the part called ten because these are the corrupted forms of the ancient spiritual words like Om Narayan Anant Hari etc. The Bols of Mridang and Pakhavaj indicate the use of the part called pata.

The origin of the modern Tarana style can be seen in the pure class of prabandha called Patkaran, Tenkaran, Mishrakaran and the viprabandha called Abhinanda and Shukachchu. In which only the parts called Paat and Tenak were used.

Shuddh Prabhand

Patkaran

The characteristics of Paat Karan were similar to Swar Karan, but Swar is used in Udgraah and Pataksharas are used in Dhruv. By reversing the order of the parts used in its Udgraah and Dhruv, two types of it were formed. First, in which Swar and Hastpaat were used in Udgraah and Dhruv respectively and second, in which HastPaat were used in Udgraah and Swar in Dhruv.

Tenkaran

In Ten or Tenn Karan, Swar were used in Udgrah and in Tena in Dhruv

Mishra Karan 

In this form , Swar, Patakshars and Tenakshars were used. These parts were combined in the Udgrah and Dhruv.

In some Taranas we find the use of Swar and Padas which are similar to the following types of Prabhand

Viprakeerna Prabhand & its forms

Abhinand

Pataksharas and Tennakaaksharas were used in the composition named Abhinanda

Some Tarnaa , in which the use of Swar and Pada is also seen, are at par with compositions like Aamod, Vijay, Vartanananda etc. which are based on the no of angas used in Prabhand.

Aamod

Swaras were used in Udgrah, Patakshars and Tennakakshars were used in Dhruva, and words were used in Abhog.

Vartananand

In the Prabhand called vastu was made of three angas namely Swar, Tenak and Pada. In this, The Abhog used Padas and only Swar was sung in the ending.

Vijay

In the prabhand named Vichitra, angas of Swara, Pad and Tenak were used. Its composition was in many native languages like Sanskrit and Prakrit.

Narthan

In the composition called Nartana, only Swar and Paatakshar were used.

The form of Prabhand would vary depending on the use of dhatu and angas. By varying the number of Dhatus and Angas, we get many forms of Prabhand

1. With the combination of Udgraah, Dhruv, Dhatu and two parts of Swar, Taal, a type of Sargam will be created.

2. The composition which is created by the combination of swara, virud and taal is called 'Akshiptika' by the scholars. For example, Khayal, Dhrupad, Dhamar etc. come under this category.

3. With the combination of Swar, Ten and Taal, a 'Tarana' type arrangement will be created.

4. A 'trivat' type of composition will be made by the combination of Swar, Paat and Paal. It is also called kaivad prabandh.

5. A 'Chaturang' type of composition will be created by the combination of Swara, Prabandh, Pad, Paat, Tenak and Taal.

Kaul and Kalbana

The forms of Kaul Qawal Kalbana are attributed to Amir Khusrau in the 12th Century. There are many similarities in the presentday Tarana and the syllables used in Kaul and Kalbana

Kaul 

'Kaul' means a special statement. Statement, promise, talk, discourse, or pledge.

Kaul is the beginning of the Qawwali in which a saying of Prophet Hazrat Muhammad or a verse from the Quran in melodized form. According to Acharya Brihaspati- “Amir Khusro had given Arabic sayings to the music of the Qawwali.

They were decorated with Indian and non-Indian tunes and popularized in the world of singing. These compositions were called 'Kaul'.

The real name of Kaul is 'Kolha'. Amir Khusro has used many verses of Hadith (teaching book told by Hazrat Muhammad) in his own way for singing Kaul. There is a statement in Hadith- 'Man Kunto Maula Fa-Ali Maula.' It is in Arabic language and it means- 'Ali is the Maula of the one whose Maula I am.' It describes the greatness of Hazrat Ali who was the son-in-law of Prophet Hazrat Muhammad and also became the Caliph. This line is very short and could not be sung in Indian music style because it is in Arabic language. Therefore, to give it the form of Hindustani music, Amir Khusro presented it in a certain way.

Kaul contains words from Arabic and Persian languages and sayings of Muslim Sufis, sometimes with lyrics from Tarana added to it.

In Maadanul Musiqi, Karam Imam has divided the singers into two categories - first is of Kalawant, who sing Dhrupad, Dhamar, Sadra etc and second is of Qawwals, who sing Khayal, Kaul, Tarana etc.

Kalbana

The root of Kalbana is 'Kalbhoo'. Kalbana has Arabic and Hindi words. It is sung in Sawari taal and Tritaal. The definition of Kalbana given by Pandit Amarnath is as follows- "Kalbana", the Urdu word synonymous with soul, Especially the Sufi poetry related to soul. Kalbana, is sung in the style of Qawwali.

One difference between Kaul and Kalbana is that Kaul has tarana lyrics with Arabic words and Kalbana has Hindi words along with Arabic words and another difference is that Kaul is in one raga and one taal but every piece of Kalbana has a melody and it rhythm also changes. This is why some scholars also call Kalbana as 'Taalsagar'.

Tarāna has only two sections:

1. Sthāyi

2. Antara

Sthāyi:

This is the introductory part of Tarāna. In this part the Rāga elaboration will be in low and medium pitch. The word ‘Sthāyi’ means constant. This part contains the meaningless syllables, the bols of Pakhāvaz and Tabla. These meaningless syllables are set in a very faster tempo, according to the Tāla it is composed in. This part may or may not carry the lyrical content. Manodharma( creative) aspects like Tāns, sargam may be done in this part.

Antara:

This is the second and concluding part of Tarāna. This part usually dwells in Tāra saptak, i.e from High Sa. The literal meaning of the word ‘Antara’ is difference. The rhythmic patterns set in this part are different to the patterns set in the Sthāyi. Usually, the improvisation part is done in this part i.e. the manodharma aspects of rendering tāns, sargam are all done in this section. Like Sthāyi, this section may or may not carry the lyrical content. Usually every Antara of Tarāna ends up with a set of rhythmic bōls, popularly known as ‘Tihāyī’ and again it goes back to Sthāyi.

Tarānas are set in different Rāgas and different Taals. Most of the Tarānas are set to Teen Taal, Ek Taal, Ada Chautaal and some Tarānas are also set in the Taals used in Dhrupads

One can notice the variety in the compositions of Tarana, for example, some taranas have only tarana lyrics, some have tarana and pataakshar lyrics, some have tarana, pataakshar and sargam lyrics and some taranas have a mixture of Shushkakshar, pataakshar and literature. This part of literature can be in different languages in different taranas - Hindi verses, Sanskrit verses, Persian couplets etc.

Tarana with only syllables

Usually, the compositions of Tarana have only Tarana lyrics in both sthayi and antara. At present, many musicians sing Tarana of this type. We find this variety of Tarana in a large number in books too.

Tarana containing Pataakshar

In some compositions of Tarana , there are lyrics of Tarana in the Sthayi and antara along with the lyrics of Taraane, there are Patakshar of Tabla or Pakhavaj etc. This type of Tarana is also very popular in the present times.

Tarana with sargam

In some compositions of Tarana , sargam is used along with Tarana in the sthayi and tarana lyrics in the interlude.

Tarana containing Patakshar and Sargam

This Tarana has the lyrics of Tarana , sargam and pataakshar in the sthayi and the Antara. It is worth mentioning here that despite being composed of three parts, it is classified as a Tarana and not a trivat.

Tarana containing Persian couplets

There are also such compositions of Tarana in which the lyrics of the Tarana are in the stanza and a Persian couplet is in the interlude, which has some deep meaning. Ustad Amir Khan sahab used to sing the couplets of Hazrat Amir Khusro in many taranas.

Tarana with rubai

There are some compositions of Tarana in which the lyrics of tarana are given in the sthayi and a Persian rubai is given in the interlude. One such example is given below. Whose rubai was written by poet Hafiz and Ustad Amir Khan Sahab used to sing it. Rubai are persian couplets which are sung with special relation with the rhythm of music. The manner in which Rubai was sung was called Tarana in the language of music.

Kaiwad Prabhand Tarana

Some taranas come under the category of kaivad prabandh, in which there is a meaningful composition of the lyrics of tabla or mridang. This composition is a meaningful composition based on the lyrics of tarana.

Khayalnuma Tarana

Under this tarana, just like the Bada khayal, there are vilambit taaraanas by the name 'Khayalnama'.  Khayal numa is another format where the tarana is sung in the style of khayal in Madhya laya in taals like Jhap taal, Ektaal, Ada Chautaal

Pt. Raja Bhaiya Poonchwale used to sing vilambit taaraanas by the name 'Khayalnama' in the mehfils. Many taaraanas are also found in his book Swarang Darshan by the same name. Compositions of many khayal-like taaraanas have also been published in the Kramik Pustak Malika by Pt. Bhatkhande ji.

Tarana with Sanskrit Vocabulary

In such compositions of Tarana , the lyrics of the Tarana are found in the Sthayi and the lyrics of the Tarana are found along with Sanskrit words or sometimes in the antara, instead of the lyrics of the Tarana , a Sanskrit word is found. Such Tarana have also been found in which Sanskrit verses come after the sthayi and the Sntara. Pandit Shankarlal Mishra has also discussed one such tarana in Hansdhwani in his book (Naveen Khayal Rachnaavali)

Tarana in Hindi Language

Some such compositions of taranas have been found in which along with the lyrics of the Tarana there are also Hindi words. In the book of Pandit Balwant Rai Bhatt, composition of two such Tarana is found.

Tarana with two antaras

In general, compositions of Tarana have only one Antara. But there are some compositions with two Antaras.

Tarana with Dance syllables

The tarana which is sung with dance. It is called a Nrittyanugat tarana. It is a coordination of Taal Instruments and the beats of the ghungroos. In this type of tarana, there is a mixture of the Geet, Laya and emotions of the dance which has a wonderful effect on the listeners. For example, Takdhilang, Tigdadigdig, Bam-Bam, Chhom, Chhananan words are used.

Tarana with Sanskrit

 Gokulotsav Maharaj Ji of the Indore Gharana, adopted a new approach towards the Tarana singing. He composed Taranas in Sanskrit language. Acharya ji considered the connection of the Alaap and syllables of Nom-Tom used in Tarana singing with ancient mantras and prosody.

Beejaksharas of mantras have been used in Tarana. Tarana is a form of singing of ancient classical music in which the essence of mysterious oriental sciences is hidden.

According to Pandit ji:

1. 'Deem' means one who is worthy of giving donations (Sadguru, God in the form of Saraswati) and 'Tadeem' means one who gives prosperity. In this, the seed of Kleem has been given. This is the seed of lust because if there is no life then the body will be called dead. If 'I' is removed from Shiva then 'Shava' will remain. If 'Eem' is added to this 'Di' then 'Deem' is formed, Din is an indicator of divinity.

2. In Tadare, Re is the seed of fire and 'A' i.e. Ye is the seed of Saraswati Vidya. 'Hey' also means address. There is 'Tat' (that) in 'Tadare'.

3. Dri, Dem is a sign of respect and is also a Venus mantra. Its details are available in Sabij Navgrah Strot, Vibhasya.

4. Dir dir tadre means to play with the sound in a friendly manner i.e. to stay with it.

5. Daani Daani – You are a giver and kind.

6. In Yalan (4) 'Yati' means one who gives speed in life

7. Yallali, who gets all the desires, God fulfills all his wishes.

Acharya ji has said the Re, the Agni Beej makes one energetic, Tanan increases Lakshmi. The expansion of Tan in the body makes life auspicious. It is also said that the Alaap of Dhrupad is the mantra-filled secret of Nom-Tom or Tarana.

According to the literature, in Tarana, there is also the use of Magan, Tagan, Nagan etc. Just as vowels are expressed and expressed with consonants, similarly, meaningful meanings were expressed through the Stobhaaksharas. These Stobhaaksharas were used as a symbolic language. For example, if someone is addressed as 'Ai', then that person immediately understands that he has been called. There is a deep meaning hidden in that sound. Just as there were Jatapath, Ghanpath, Sutrapath, Kavyali Path etc. to memorize the Vedic mantras, similarly, the words, vowels and silent feelings were expressed through the Stobhaaksharas in the 'Tarana' text.

Acharya Gakulotsav ji has composed such tunes in many ragas in which Sanskrit vocabulary is used in the interludes.

'Tarana', is considered under 'Khayal' sytle of Hindustani Classical Music. Usually, only Khayal singers sing it. After Vilambit and Drut Khayal, the singers perform Tarana, but many times it is seen and heard in music gatherings that after singing Vilambit Khayal, the artist does not sing Chota Khayal (Drut Khayal) but directly sings Tarana. While the songs of Khayal singing are meaningful, Tarana seems attractive and beautiful due to its syllabic word composition.

Though the importance of rhythmic syllables in this form influences one to perceive it as a rhythmic form, a deep observation makes us understand that it is more a melodic form. It is the flow of Rāga that is focused on, using rhythmic syllables. This form helps us to understand the curvature of the Rāga easily as the total concentration would be on the melodic aspect in the absence of meaningful lyrics. Being a form which allows lot of manōdharma, it emphasizes on creating more melodic structures within the given Tāḷa. So, the tāns, the ālāps in between become the channels to explore the Rāga.

Tarana is usually sung in medium and fast rhythm, but taranas in slow rhythm (which are called 'Khayalnuma Taraane') can also be heard, but at present their popularity has reduced.

Taranas are also presented in the style of Khayal which includes all the features of Khayal singing such as decorating the lyrics with rhythm, using the taans in the style of Khayal, singing sargams etc. 

Tarana is known for its ryhtmic play of words. The musician uses the aspects of Taal, laya and Layakari in drut to elaborate the sthayi and antara. When the artist molds the specific words of the tarana according to various rhythms and meters and gives them a beautiful rhythm, the listeners become mesmerized in the joy of voice and rhythm. While for the general audience, the words are meaningless and hence the musical aspect is paramount, that is why Shri G.H. Ranade has called it "the ideal form of pure musical expression."

Tarana singing starts with Madhya Laya and gradually increases and ends with Drut or Ati Drut Laya. 

The singing style is like the jhaala of sitar playing, by gradually increasing the rhythm, it reaches a very fast rhythm, whose very fast pronunciation seems very pleasant. In fact, tarana is a medium to show the preparation of singing. 'Tarana' is not a sentiment-oriented but a Vaichitra-oriented type of singing. This is the reason why tarana singing is considered entertaining singing.

The main objective is to show the skill of tongue, ability of breath and rhythm. Beautiful bol-taans based on the words of Tarana are also used at appropriate places which adds to its attraction. In Drut Laya,phrases like 'dir-dir-dir-dir-dir-dir-deem-ta nananananana' around Taar Shadj sounds like playing a string instrument. 

This form cannot be sung for long during a stage performance, but still the artist can present it for a little longer as per his ability by using different rhythms like Bolbaant, Taans, Sawal-jawab with the Tabla player, etc. But still it cannot be performed for as long as Dhrupad, Dhamar and Khayal.

According to Vieeṇā Sahasrabuddhē, "Just as different layakārīs are involved in Dhrupad taking the lyrical content, here in Tarāna also different layakārīs are executed taking the syllables of Tarāna in to consideration.

Tarāna is the closest musical form to Khayāl. It is very entertaining because of the tāns, bōl tāns involved in its execution. In a khayāl there is limited scope to exhibit the ‘bhāva’ of the song because of the lyrics involved whereas, Tarāna has no bounds to express as there is no lyrical content to restrict the imagination. Any kind of bhāva can be imagined by the performer as well as the listener."

'Tarana' singing is also done by taking various swara sangatis like Jhaale in Sitar. Under this, words like 'na, dir, dir' etc. are used in the tunes of Dut Khayal. This style is also mainly expanded like the Khayal style, but in the beginning, the singing is presented by singing Alaap-Jod of Sitar playing and Toda etc. in preparation. When Meed, Murki, Khatka, Krittan etc. on Veena and Sitar are sung it amazes the listeners. Use of small Taans and showing Sam in different ways etc. is inherent in this style. Ustad Nisar Hussain Khan and Vinayak Rao Patwardhan were very popular for this type of Taranas. This type of Tarana singing is very attractive to the listeners.

The various gharanas also have rich tradition of singing Taranas such as Gwalior, Agra, Kirana, Delhi, Indore, Rampur-Sahaswan

Among the accomplished artists of the Tarana singing style in the Gwalior gharana are Mian Hassu Khan, Hadu Khan, Mian Natthu Khan, Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, Pandit Shankar Rao, Pandit Krishna Rao, Pandit Ramkrishna Buwa Vazhe, Pandit Dattatreya Vishnu Paluskar, Pandit Vinayak Rao Patwardhan (who was honoured with the title of 'Bharat ka Tarana' and Sangeet-Chudamani). The style of singing the Tarana in fast rhythm (drut laya) started from the time of Ustad Nisar Hussain Khan.

Tarana has been the most popular among the dances performed in the tradition of Nirgit. Kathak dancers present 'Tarana' along with Thumri, Dadra, Bhajan etc. in their dance performances. Although meaningful words are not used in Taraana, but its meaningless words are also presented with the combination of rhythm, beat, voice and imagination. This style seems pleasant to the listeners due to its rhythmic specialty. 

From this point of view, Kathak dancers also started presenting it through dance in which on the basis of todes, parans, the words of Pakhavaj like- Tak, Dhun, Kit, Tak Dhadan, Ta, Dhetir Kighat, Tak Ta, Dhilank Dhilanggadi Gin Dha etc. are presented with the predominance of rhythm. Due to the absence of expressions in Tarana and the predominance of words and rhythm, this style comes under the 'Nritta' aspect of dance.

 Tarana is mostly presented in Madhyalaya or Drutlaya. In Tarana presentation, rhythmic footwork is performed. Just as in singing, words are pronounced through the throat, in an instrument, the notes sound in a rhythmic manner through the words, similarly in dance, it is presented through various footwork. Like 'Thumri', 'Tarana' is sung in the background and various rhythms are performed accordingly.

The presentation of Tarana brings a lot of life into Kathak dance. It is sung at the end of Kathak performance and the dance performance in accordance with this singing and the accompaniment with tabla are very enthralling and captivating.

According to Pt. Birju Maharaj Ji, Kathak dance performance with Taraana is the best because it has a sense of melodiousness and playfulness along with the words, and this singing style is full of rhythm. Taraana is full of playfulness and makes one feel joy because it is not dry. In dance, there is only acting in rhythm and acting, but in Taraana there is a mixture of both rhythm and words. There is a mixture of soft lyricism and taiyar speed which is not there in any form of aspect of dance. Tarana dance performance is like a medium of pleasing the Lord by presenting it in the end like his Aarti.

The equivalent form of Tarana is the Tillana in Carnatic Music. It is not known whether Tillāna has been evolved as a dance form or a musical form. It gained its prominence both in the fields of music and dance. The oldest available Tillānas highlight the Rāga aspect in them. But over a period of time, Tillāna became very predominant in rhythm. Rhythmic intricacies started to dominate the form like the calculations, tīrmānams, taggimpulu, kōrvai. So in the present times, Tillāna got established as a musical form with rhythmic importance. Rhythmic syllables are those which are generally used to expand a tāḷa for percussion instruments. Rhythmic syllables like Tōm, Dir, Nā Dir, Taka, Kiṭa, Dhīm, Jham, etc., are used in this form.

In Tillāna, the Rāga presents itself in a clear and compact form. It provides lot of scope for experimentation. The present Tillānas include lot of percussive calculations. So they show the intellect of the composer. The composers of Tillānas need not have great poetic skills as the sāhityam portion is very less in the Tillānas. For a performer, Tillānas do not provide lot of scope for manōdharma. No manōdharma aspects become part of Tillāna rendition. The performers may add one or two melodic variations to the lines and some rhythmic variations in the preset calculations. Here it becomes important for a performer to pronounce the rhythmic syllables clearly in the expected tempo.

We can see the influence of the following forms of geet in the current day Tillāna.

Konnakōl:

Konnakōl is an art of oral rendition of percussion syllables, in particular the percussion syllables of Karnāṭik music. It is the spoken aspect of Sōlkaṭṭu (rendering the syllables of Mridangam showing the tāla component with hands). The syllables used are Tōm, dhir, nā dhir, tām, jham, dhīm, nōm, etc., which are meaningless. This Konnakōl will be same for any percussion instrument in South Indian music, though some syllables differ in articulation.

In Hindustāni music, there is also a similar oral rendition of Tabla syllables. But it is very particular to the placement of fingers on the Tabla. They recite the same syllables what they play. Whereas in Konnakōl, the syllables changes according the stages of learning.

Konnakōl totally focuses on the oral rendition of syllables which improves the vocal performance of an artist.

There used to be the accompaniment of Konnakōl , in oral tradition in earlier musical and dance concerts. This aspect of oral rendition of meaningless percussion syllables might have influenced the composers in framing the form Tillāna.

Svarajati - Jati Swaram:

Jati swaram20 is a nritta piece in Bharata Nātyam. This form is framed with swaras and Jatis (the meaningless rhythmic syllables). There is no place for sahitya in this form. This form has swaras and jatis included in the composition itself. After every C̣araṇam, again the Pallavi is performed. This is a medium tempo composition. The Jatis involved in these compositions have lot of similarity to the syllables used in Tillānas. The structure, the tempo might have had an influence on the form Tillāna.

Svarajati:

Svarajati is a form with svarās, sollukaṭṭu and sāhityam. There are also svarajatis without jati and they are composed full with sāhityam like ‘Sāmbaśivāyanavē’ in Khamās Rāgam and also the svarajatis of Śrī Śyāma śāstry comes under this kind.

Mēlattūr Vīrabhadrayya is considered as the architect of svarajatis.

Jakkiṇi:

The word ‘Jakkiṇi’ is derived from Persian language. In the lakṣana grantha ‘Sangīta Dāmōdara’ by Śubhankara, this form is explained as a pure rhythmic dance form, without Abhinaya. The etymological meaning of ‘Jakkini’ is ‘the sound of anklets’. Though Jakkini and Tillāna are similar forms, Jakkini is totally different because it has no lyrics in it, whereas Tillāna has some Sāhitya to it. Jakkinis are used in Telugu Yakṣagānās. The Jakkini daru-s of Yakṣagāna-s are also considered as precursors of Tillāna-s.

Nirūpaṇam:

There are also similar forms to ‘Jakkiṇi’ in Marāṭhi called ‘Nirūpaṇams’, which were performed in Harikathas and Vīdhi Bhāgavatams and Bharatanāṭyam. These are also pure rhythmic forms with Jatīs. There is also a version of presenting the short in brief in Nirūpaṇams.

Pāṭakaraṇa:

From Brihaddēśi, Karaṇa prabandha chapter, we can see that Pāṭakaraṇas are forms only with Jatīs.

Structure or the Present form of Tillāna

The present structure of the form Tillāna is based on the designs of Śrī Mēlattūr Vīrabhadrayya in the 18th C

A Tillāna has three (3) sections:

1. Pallavi

2. Anupallavi

3. Charaṇam.

Pallavi:

The introductory part of any composition is called Pallavi. In Tillāna, Pallavi is full of Jatis, with the combination of logical, rhythmic, meaningless syllables. There won’t be any lyrical content framed in this section. Usually the rhythmic patterns in this section are a little slower in tempo when compared to anupallavi and c̩aran̩am. (There will be the presentation of different sangatis of the basic structure framed. Both rāga bhāva and tāḷam are equally highlighted.)

Anupallavi:

This is the second part of the form which follows the Pallavi. Anupallavi is also full of Jatīs. Even this section doesn’t carry the lyrical content. This section exhibits the caliber of the composer. It unveils the intellectual mind of the composer. Lot of technicalities, logical structures are framed in this part. The patterns framed here are again repeated in the C̩aran̩am after the main content. The jati-s may be of Sōlkaṭṭu variety. Like in the musical form Kriti, here also the Anupallavi usually captures the tārā sthāyi movements of the Rāga. Usually the composers try to play with the sthāyi aspects of the rāga(octave) in this portion. After Anupallavi again the Pallavi is repeated.

Charanam:

This is the last and concluding part in Tillāna. This part contains some meaningful lyrics. Usually, the lyrics are attributed to some deity. The lyrics may involve the Rāga mudra (name of the rāga in which the composition is composed) or Vāggé̄yakāra mudra (the signature of the composer).

After the lyrical content, again the set of rhythmic structures framed in Anupallavi are repeated. This repetition of the structures beautifies the form itself. Sometimes set of new structures either with Jati-s or with svarās would accompany the lyrical content. The rhythmic structures that flow throughout the composition are very interesting and attractive.

Though the sāhityam is very less in these compositions, we have Tillānas in different languages. We have the languages like Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Sanskrit, Malayalam, Kannada, even in Marathi

Tillāna – Music & Dance concert:

Tillānas are the concluding compositions of the concert. The rhythmic charm in them gives a special colour to the whole concert and gives it a beautiful ending.

It is believed that Tillāna got introduced to Dance through Tanjore Quartet. Particularly, Ponnayya and C̣innayya are popular for their Tillānas. Tillānas are important compositions in Bharatanāṭyam, but in recent times they are also been performed in Kūc̣ipūḍi. In Bharatanāṭyam, lot of foot work and brisk movements are used while performing Tillānas which makes the composition looks beautiful and energetic.

Lot of intricacies of these dance forms are presented through the Jatīs and Tillāna being such a jati dominant form, has lot of scope to showcase the subtleties of the art form. Similar to Tillānas, Jati svarams are also the important compositions in dance. It is observed that the musical form Svarapallavi paved the way for Jatisvarams and another similar form called Tillāna –Pallavi. Here the composition is executed in five naḍās to make it more interesting and challenging. There may be two versions of Tillāna-Pallavis in relation to the naḍās. One is the Pallavi being fixed and the five different naḍās are executed through the respective Jati formats. The other one is to manipulate the Pallavi itself in Five Naḍās

Similarities

1. Both the forms are considered as classical musical forms.

2. Both the forms are attractive rhythmic compositions.

3. Most of the compositions are in medium/fast tempo.

4. The practice of both these forms improves the clarity in diction for the vocalists and skills for the instrumentalists. These two forms are like tongue twisters that can exercise the speedy movements of the tongue.

5. Varieties of rhythmic syllables are used in both these forms to generate sonic beauty. In both the forms the rhythmic variations are projected through the rhythmic syllables set in a Rāga.

6. Both the forms are perfomed in all three forms of music -Vocal, Dance, Instrumental

7. These two forms can be composed in any Rāga and Tāḷa

Differences

1. In a musical concert, Tillāna is placed as the concluding piece where as, Tarāna can be presented at the end of a Raga performance.

2. Only one Tillāna is presented in a concert. But more than one Tarāna can be performed in a concert

3. Tillāna is presented as an individual item whereas most of the Tarānas are presented as linked items to one of items in a Raga presentation.

4. There can be two or three divisions in a Tillāna whereas there are only two divisions in a Tarāna

5. Tillānas are presented without any Creative or manōdharma aspect in them whereas Tarānas involve different manodharma aspects like Tān, Bōl tān, Ālāp in their execution.

6. There is no rule regarding the percussion accompaniment to Tillānas but only Tabla and Pakhāwaj can accompany a Tarāna

7. A Tarāna can begin at any mātra in the Tāḷa whereas Tillānas either begin on the sama graha or anāhata graha. Tillānas in Atīta graha usually do not exist.

8. The interesting aspect of Tarāna is that gradually the tempo increases to that extent which could be handled by the musicians seamlessly. Whereas Tillāna goes in the same speed from beginning to the end. The total Tillāna may be sung at a high speed.

References

1. https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/276105

2. https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/292102

3. https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/108641

4. https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/375869