Part of Carnatic Classical
Carnatic music, the classical tradition of South India, builds on raga and tala and centres on the voice and the kriti. Students begin with exercises in raga Mayamalavagowla.
Historical Timeline
One practitioner account holds that the varnam took its standard form in eighteenth-century Thanjavur under the Maratha rulers Tulaja, Pratapasimha and Serfoji, a generation or two before the composers known as the Carnatic Trinity. Pacchimiriam Adiyappa, a musician at that court, composed Viriboni in raga Bhairavi, set in ata tala, and it remains his best-known work. His pupils included Syama Sastri (1762 to 1827) and Ghanam Krishna Iyer. One composer profile records his title Tana Varna Margadarsi, guide to the tana varnam.
In the early nineteenth century the Thanjavur Quartet, four brothers at the court of Serfoji II, composed many varnams. They are credited with the order of the Bharatanatyam recital, which gives the chauka varnam, the slow pada varnam of dance, its central place. Later in the century came Patnam Subramania Iyer (1845 to 1902) and Ramnad Srinivasa Iyengar (1860 to 1919), composer of Vanajakshiro in raga Kalyani. India's CBSE school syllabus names both men among the composers its students study.
Form Development
Pacchimiriam Adiyappa, a musician at the Maratha court of Thanjavur, composes Viriboni in raga Bhairavi, an ata tala varnam. One practitioner account places the shaping of the standard varnam at this court.
Repertoire Establishment
The Thanjavur Quartet, at the court of Serfoji II, compose many varnams and are credited with the order of the Bharatanatyam recital. Later, Patnam Subramania Iyer (1845 to 1902) and Ramnad Srinivasa Iyengar (1860 to 1919) add their own.
The concert format
The concert format most performers follow today, with a tana varnam as the opening item, is credited to the vocalist Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar (1890 to 1967).
Contemporary Practice
Lalgudi G. Jayaraman (1930 to 2013) composes many tana and pada varnams, several in ragas seldom used for the form. Concert musicians and Bharatanatyam dancers perform them widely.
Playing Techniques
Tana and Pada Varnams
A tana varnam sets words only to its pallavi, anupallavi and charanam and sings every swara passage to solfa. A pada varnam gives words to the swara passages as well, so it carries more text. Pada varnams, also called chauka varnams, move at a slow tempo that leaves room for bhava, the expression of feeling, and their texts dwell on sringara, the romantic sentiment.
The pada varnam belongs to Bharatanatyam. In the solo recital it follows alarippu, jatiswaram and sabdam and comes before the padams. The dancer alternates tirmanam, passages of pure rhythmic dance, with abhinaya, mime that interprets each line of the song, and the item can last about an hour. A pada jati varnam adds jatis, rhythmic dance syllables.
Sources also name daru varnams, ragamalika varnams that move through several ragas, and further variants such as talamalika and grahabheda varnams. Varnam texts are mostly in Telugu, with later works in Tamil, Kannada and Sanskrit, and they address a deity, a beloved or a patron.
Structure of a Varnam
A varnam runs in two halves. The first, the purvanga, holds the pallavi and anupallavi, both with words, then the muktayi swaram (also spelled muktaayi), a solfa passage that leads back to the opening phrase of the pallavi. The second half, the uttaranga, opens with the charanam, also called the ettugada pallavi. A series of solfa passages, the chitta swarams or ettugada swarams, follows, and the charanam returns after each one. One practitioner account counts three, four or six of these passages.
Naming varies between teachers and writers, and some use chitta swaram for the first-half passage too. A few older varnams end with an anubandham, a short texted epilogue that leads back to the muktayi swaram or the opening line. Newer works rarely include one, and singers today seldom perform it.
In concert the words of a tana varnam stay sparse, with long-held vowels, and the solfa passages carry most of the musical weight.
Talas and Speeds
Most varnams are set in adi tala, a rhythmic cycle of eight beats grouped 4+2+2, or ata tala, fourteen beats grouped 5+5+2+2. Others use rupaka, jhampa, triputa or chapu tala. Ata tala varnams tend to be the longer and more advanced. Robert Morris notes that in ata tala varnams each section begins on the third beat of the cycle; this starting point is called the eduppu. A practitioner account says tana varnams usually begin on the first beat.
Morris notes that the second half of a varnam moves faster than the first, while the same practitioner account has tana varnams sung at madhyama kala, medium tempo. Singers also practise and perform varnams at two speeds, and at double speed the tala keeps its original tempo while the composition runs twice as fast.
Journey to Mastery
Follow this structured journey to master this discipline
Before the Varnam
First adi tala varnams
Swara Passages
Ata tala varnams
Concert Application
Past Performances
Featured Artists
Renowned performers of this discipline