Some terms

 

Tāl: Rhythmic time-cycle that repeats again and again.

Mātrā: Beat, Unit of measuring duration of a Tāl

Vibhāg: Division or section of a Tāl

Tāli: literally: ‘clap’. Used to show the accented beat in a Tāl.

Khāli: literally: ‘empty’. A blank beat, negative accent in a Tāl.

Bol: A Bol is a sound or syllable. Helps identify and recite rhythms.

Thekā: Thekā is the Tablā bol for a Tāl that repeats again and again

Ᾱvartan: One cycle of a Tāl

Sam: The first beat of a Tāl 

Tatkār: . Basic footwork  for a Tāl.

Lari: A chain of footwork patterns, ends with a tihāi

Laya: Laya means speed/tempo. Duration between beats determines Laya of a Tāl or a Tāl based composition.

1. Vilamvit laya - Meaning of  vilamvit in English is delayed. In Vilamvit laya the music is played at a slower pace hence the speed of dance is very slow.

2. Madhya laya - Meaning of madhya in English is medium. In madhya laya, the music pace is little faster than vilamvit laya, hence the dance is also in a higher pace.Generally madhya laya is double the pace of vilamvit laya. 

3. Drut laya - Meaning of drut in English is fast. In drut laya, the music pace is very fast hence the dance is also in a higher pace. Drut laya is double the pace of madhya laya.

Layakari :Kari means “to do”. Layakari is just the implementation of various Layas. 

Types of Layakaris

Thah Laya :Playing one bol in each matra is the simplest of Layakaris. A certain Laya is fixed by the accomopanying singer or instrumentalist, and one bol is playeed for each matra. 

Dugun Laya: Playing two bols in one matra is called Dugun. Whenever this is written in notation form, the bols are shown as clubbed together by drawing a line under them –  1 2  3 4  5 6  7 8 

Tigun Laya: Playing three bols in one matra is tigun – 1 2 3  4 5 6

Chaugun Laya: Playing four bols in one matra is called chaugun – 1 2 3 4  5 6 7 8 

Aad Laya: Aad is a specific layakari in which 1.5 bols are played in 1 matra – 1S2  S3S – (S means an empty bol.)

Kuaad Laya:  Playing 5 bols in 4 matras – 1SSS2  SSS3S  SS4SS  S5SSS

Aad of Aad is Kuaad, i.e., 3/2 * 3/2 = 9/4. 

 1SSS2SSS3  SSS4SSS5S  SS6SSS7SS  S8SSS9SSS

Biaad Laya :Playing 7 bols in 4 matras is considered to be Biaad 

 1SSS2   S3SSS4S  SS5SSS6  SSS7SSS

Parhant: Recitation of bols of a composition indicating beats of a Tāl.

Tukrā: A short dance composition -a group of bols or syllables. The most common tukra structure begins with an opening section (mukhra) followed by a tihai (a phrase repeated 3 times).

Torā: A longer dance composition -agroup of bols or syllables that starts and ends on sam.

Tihāi: A tihai is any phrase that is played 3 times in a row. In most cases, the phrase will end in dha and finish on sam, the 1 of the cycle.Occasionally they will end just before sam (anagat tihai) or just after sam (atit tihai).

Damdar Tihai :The most common category of tihai refers to whether or not there is a pause (rest) between the three repetitions. When there is a pause, it is called damdar (दमदार). Dam (दम) means "breath" or "moment". 

Damdar Tihai in Teental: 16-beat cycle) with a one-beat pause between each repetition

Bedam Tihai: Where there is no pause between the repetitions, or a very short pause, it is called bedam . Bedam means “without breath”.

Chakradar Tihai : This has a tihai within a tihai.i.e.-a tihai which is played 3 times.

Chakkar:  A spin. The Chakkar in Kathak is performed on the heel. 

Gat Nikas: A composition describing the movement of a bird / animal/a human character/Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Gat Nikas, is commonly called Gat Vab.

Below is a short list of some of the more common bols used in traditional Benaras gharana tukras. 

tirakiṭadhet – तिरकिटधेत्

dheradherakiṭataka – धेरधेरकिटतक

takiṭadha – तकिटधा

dhā-tirakiṭataka – धाऽतिरकिटतक

ghe-tirakiṭataka – घेऽतिरकिटतक

dhāgeteṭe – धागेतेटे

tāgeteṭe – तागेतेटे

nāgeteṭe – नागेतेटे

teṭekata – तेटेकत

gadigana – गदिगन

kiṭataka – किटतक

tirakiṭa – तिरकिट

takkṛān – तक्क्ड़ां

katadhā – कतधा

kradhā – क्रधा

taṛā–na – तड़ाऽन

dhā–nadhā – धाऽनधा