Yatis as Purvanga of Korvai– Framing innumerable rhythmic varieties with

reference to Carnatic Percussion

Mannarkoil J Balaji

The best korvais are those that are aesthetic to the ears
but sophisticated to the Brain-Chitravina Ravikiran
Abstract
Yatis are extensively used in Carnatic percussion in various cadential forms. This
article is an attempt to quantify Yati patterns, which can ultimately be used as Purvanga in a
Korvai. (Yatis can also be used as Utaranga but I have focused only on Purvanga or the first
portion of a korvai in this article).
Keywords: Tala, South Indian rhythm, Gati, Jaati, Solkattu, Yati, srotovaha yati,
srotogata yati, gopuccha yati, mridanga yati, damaru yati, sama yati, vishama yati,
korvai, purvanga, utaranga, Pipeelika Yati, Vedamadyama Yati, Trichy Sankaran korvai,
Pudukkottai Dakshinamurthy Pillai, Chitravina N Ravikiran.
Introduction
Carnatic rhythm is replete with umpteen different types of rhythmic varieties, with
which rhythm artistes (even melody artistes) frame innumerable patterns to give value to the
existing rhythmic ideas. One such rhythm prototype which offers innumerable scope for
continuous variations is the use of Yati. In this article I will be focusing on the use of Yati in
Purvanga of a Korvai.
Definitions by preceding literature
“Yati means the orderly flow of rhythmic patterns” (Somaskanda Sarma, 1989). In
Tamil literature “Yati” is known as “Muzhakku Kolam” (Sundaram and Murugan, 1988).
According to Muzhakku Kolam there are four types, Udukku (Damaru), Maddalam
(mridangam), Nagaswaram and Tabla. In one of the Sangam Literary work, in a Poetry type
called “Kalippa”, we can see the use of Muzhakku Kolam or Yati. Use of Muzhakku Kolam was
predominantly used while singing Tevaram and some of the Yatis were in use even before the
times of Tolkaappiyar (Tolkaappiyam is one of the oldest literary works on Tamil Grammar
written by Tolkaappiyar). “Yati” signifies the order or discipline of angas in any particular
phrase (Sundaram, 1987). Vidya Shankar opines that Yati is the manner of procedure in a Tala;
“ya” means to go. Yati is the rhythmic pattern possessed by the anga-s of a Tala (Vidya
Shankar, 1999). Smt Vidya Shankar interprets that a particular type of yati can be determined
by taking into consideration, the magnitude in the duration of angas of the talas.
 Yati, according to Sangita Ratnakara, Sangita Chudamani and Sangita Samaya Sara
(Sarngadeva (5, 47-50), Jagadekamalla (16, 59) and Parshvadeva (7, 16cd-17ab)-(Arati Rao,
2013), was basically formed to regulate the flow of Laya or Tempo. To ensure an orderly flow
of Laya, Yati was added as an instrument in the Tala Dasa Pranas, where Sama Yati means flow
of Laya is in a single tempo such as Vilamba, Madhyama or Druta, while Srotogata or
Srotovaha the Laya changes from Vilamba to Madhyama to Druta and vice versa in case of
Gopuccha Yati. Yati relates to the disposition of the Angas in a Kaala (time) for a rhythmical
design (Rajagopala Iyer, 1988-89).
According to Dr N Ramanathan, Yati refers to the manner of change of laya. (Dr N
Ramanathan, 2003). He opines that without the change of laya in the melodic or rhythmic
phrase the arrangement of phrases would then form part of “alankara” (ornamentation) and
not Yati, as envisaged by definition of Yati in Tala Dasa Pranas.
Yati is a concept of shape that can be applied to many different aspects of music,
including the verse form of a song text, the melodic phrasing, the arrangement of angas in an
avartam (Avartam means one cycle. We generally use “Avartanam” in Tamil which is also
equivalent to Avartam. Some people say “Avarti” also. All these mean “one cycle of a Tala”)
the arrangement of rhythmic phrases of drumming patterns within the tala, and, in fact, to
any large formal structure that is made of smaller parts (Brown, 1965).
We also have use of these yatis as part of lyrics in kritis by Muttuswamy Dikshitar in
kritis like “Thyagaraja yoga vaibhavam”, in the Raga Ananda Bhairavi, “Srivaralakshmi
Namastubhyam” in the Raga Sri and “Maaye tvam yaahi” in the Raga Tarangini. I also came to
understand that Oottukaadu Venkatakavi has extensively used Yati in many of his
compositions.
Considering all the above we can see that Yati is used for measuring Laya to measuring
the magnitude in the duration of angas to their practical use in a composition or in framing
rhythmic patterns or phrases. On many occasions we have seen that there is a dichotomy
between theory and practice, which means that there is always a practical usage or a particular
term is used loosely to have a pointer towards a theoretical aspect.
From all the foregoing Yati is a musical ornamentation used for rendering rhythmic
patterns or swaras or even talas in various ways as given below:

Sno Type Technical Name

1 Ascending Srotovaha or Srotogata Yati

2 Descending Gopuccha Yati

3 Descending-ascending Damaru Yati or Vedamadyama
Yati
4 Ascending-descending Mridanga Yati
5 Straight Line or even Sama Yati
6 Random Vishama Yati
 Table 1: Different types of Yatis
We also know that various elements are defined in Tala Dasa Pranas (10 vital aspects of
Tala - Kaala, Marga, Kriya, Anga, Graha, Jaati, Kala, Laya, Yati and Prastaara) of which Yati is
one of the elements. Many books give different yati names and add or remove some of the
technical names mentioned above. I have given the above list, as has been accepted broadly
by various scholars. Three yatis are listed in Natyasastra viz., Sama, Gopuccha and Srotovaha
while the other three, namely Mridanga, Damaru and Vishama, are mentioned in Sangita
Ratnakara (Dr N Ramanathan, 2003 and Dineen, May 2015). Robert E Brown gives examples of
3 Yatis in his Book.
There are some differences in understanding Yatis by different authors. For example,
Dharmala Ramamurthy in his book “The Theory and Practice of Mridanga” equates Pipeelika
as Damaru yati while other authors including Trichy Sankaran have considered Pipeelika as
Sama Yati. Ramamurthy considers physical structure of a single ant (pipeelika means ant) and
has approached this yati in one way while others have considered “ants” as collective entity
which go in a straight line and hence considered it as Sama yati. Before embarking on how
Yatis can be used as Purvanga of a Korvai, let us briefly see what a korvai is in the next section.
Korvai
Korvai is a rhythmic structure having a defined Purvanga or the first part and an
Utaranga or the ending part. Both are arithmetically quantifiable but have some internal
structural differences, in terms of artistic execution. If a tala has 64 pulses (Adi Tala-8 beats
per cycle Tala-with 32 pulses per cycle for 2 cycles gives us 64 pulses assuming 4 pulses per
beat) then the following table explains the possible purvanga (divide by 3 principle) and
utaranga is the remainder.
 Adi Tala 2 cycles with 16 beats and 64 pulses
Sno Purvanga Utaranga
1 48 16*
2 45 19
3 42 22
4 39 25
5 36 28
6 33 31
7 30 34
8 27 37
9 24 40
10 21 43
11 18 46
12 15 49
13 12 52
Table 2: Purvanga and Utaranga combinations for 64 pulses
Table 2 is not exhaustive but only suggestive. Korvai is not as simple as this. It is very
complicated and multi-dimensional. For simplicity sake I have given the most basic and
utterly rudimentary example represented by numbers above, as dividing some number by 3 is
just one of the ideas for executing a purvanga. For more insight into making korvais please
refer to my article “Rhythmic Syllables – Introduction, Analysis and Conceptual Approach in
Carnatic Music of South India, Vol VII, No3, Rupkatha Journal, ISSN NO: 0975-2935,
December 2015 at http://rupkatha.com/v7n3.php). I have given generally used numbers which
could be converted into rhythmic patterns for making a legitimate korvai. If you carefully
observe the above table, the Purvanga is exactly divisible by 3 and none of the uttaranga is
divisible by three. We may also see that in Serial No: 1, the purvanga pattern contains a value
of 48, when divided by 3 gives a result of 16 and the value for utharanga is also 16, it won’t be
used or played as a legitimate korvai. As per traditional korvai making methods, the minimum
utaranga pattern could be 15 (3 * 5) in odd number category and 18 (3 * 6) in even number
category, to make it into a semblance of a legitimate korvai ending or utaranga. 16 is an even
number which is below 18, and hence Purvanga of 48 and Utaranga of 16 as a korvai structure
won’t be normally used. All others are straight forward divisions of 3 in Purvanga and the
other column viz., Utaranga is a remainder, which could easily be filled with rhythmic
combinations. Whatever number one gets by dividing the purvanga by 3 will become the
pattern to be rendered thrice. For example, let us take 24 for Purvanga and 40 for Utaranga.
24 / 3 is 8 and the Korvai will be rendered as 8-8-8 and some other pattern for 40, which we
shall see in the next table.
 (P-24)
t tm . t d g n tm
t tm . t d g n tm
t tm . t d g n tm/
(U-40)
t . . d . . g . . n . . tm . .
t. d. g. n . tm .
t d g n tm-t d g n tm-t d g n tm//(Ta)
Table 3: A korvai in Adi tala for P-24 and U-40
The above table contains Sama Yati in the purvanga (P-24) while there is another yati
in utaranga(U-40). The 40 is expressed as a pattern for 5 (in this case t-d-g-n-tm) is rendered
with 3 gaps for each of the syllables, totaling to 15, then render 5 with 2 gaps for individual
syllables, totaling to 10 and the remaining 15 is distributed as 3 * 5 or /t d g n tm/ rendered
thrice.
There are lots of principles and concepts for using numbers in different ways in
Carnatic music and explaining all of them would be beyond the scope of this article. I would
like to focus here only on Yati which can be used as patterns to form Purvanga of a Korvai.
Incidentally, since the above korvai contained a yati in Utaranga I made a mention of it, but
the rest of the article will cover examples of Yati that can be used as Purvanga.
Yati as Purvanga
Let us now examine how the 24 could be made as a Yati pattern. Following table gives
numbers for which 24 could be handled as yati:
Sno Number Pattern Yati used
1 1,2,3 with 6 gaps each T tm . . . . . Srotovaha Yati
Tk tm . . . . . or ascending
Tkt tm . . . . .
2 3, 2 1 with 6 gaps each Tkt tm. . . . . Gopuccha Yati
Tk tm . . . . . or descending
T tm. . . . .
3 10, 8, 6 T. d. tkdn tm . Gopuccha Yati
d. tkdn tm .
tkdn tm .
4 9, 8, 7 T .d. tkt tm . Gopuccha Yati
D . tkdn tm.
Tdgntm tm .
Table 4: Some yati examples for P-24
In the above table I have used only Gopuccha and Srotovaha (both are interchangeable
also – 10, 8, 6 is Gopuccha and 6, 8, 10 is srotovaha).
The descending number series of /10, 8, 6/ could be expressed in different ways also.
Assume 10=x, 8 = y and 6 = z, then y-1 and y+1 could be considered as an yati series until left
side of y is equal to 1 and the right side of y is(y*2)-1. In our case the yati could be formed until
when x=1, y=8 and z=15. The sum of x+y+z will always be 24 only. The following table gives a
list of combinations possible for 24 in x, y, z format.
Series X Y Z
y=8 8 8 8
y-1, y+1 7 8 9
y-2, y+2 6 8 10
y-3, y+3 5 8 11
y-4, y+4 4 8 12
y-5, y+5 3 8 13
y-6, y+6 2 8 14
y-7,y+7 1 8 15
Table 5: Variations Chart
Examples in Mridanga Yati
Mridanga Yati for the same number 24 is explained:
t k tm .
t k t tm .
t k d n tm .
t k t tm .
t k tm .
The shape resembles that of a mridangam and hence called Mridanga Yati. Now
replace this 24 with the one given in Table 3 for P-24 we get a different combination for 24 as
given in the following table. In the following example, both 24 and 40 have Yati patterns.
(P-24)
t k tm .
t k t tm .
t k d n tm .
t k t tm .
t k tm . / (U-40)

Table 6: Use of Mridanga Yati in Purvanga - P-24 and U-40

Use of Kaarvai
By judiciously using kaarvai (gaps) between patterns we can either increase or decrease
the pulses at will. To represent the same 24 with use of kaarvai we get different Mridanga Yati
with different kaarvai. (In the following example /t . ./ spans for 3 pulses vocalized as /taangu/
or /tongu/ transcribed as /tng/. “-“is given only for clarity and readability.
 t- t n g
t k- t n g
tkt-tng
t k -t n g
t -t n g
Table 7 uses this Mridanga yati pattern replaced for 24 for Purvanga, while retaining
the 40 pulse utaranga.
(P-24)
t -t n g
t k -t n g
tkt-tng
tk-tng
t- t n g

Table 7: Different Mridanga yati for P-24 while retaining 40 as U

This way any number could be framed as yatis to get the desired numbers for making
innumerable korvais.
By just using 24, we made a few korvais. Assume if we use larger numbers for
Purvanga then our ideas will expand immensely.
The shortest mridanga Yati could be 4 (1 2 1) which can be expanded using kaarvais
also. But caution must be exercised, when using smaller numbers or smaller yati series, for
expansion using kaarvais ensuring that they are not too elongated or disproportionate to the
yati patterns. Refer to the next section where I have mentioned that having miniature yati
patterns should generally be avoided. This is only for academic interest. For making Damaru
or Mridanga Yati minimum 5 yati patterns could be used so as not to lose out on the aesthetics
of the patterns and kaarvais. Chitravina N Ravikiran is one of the very few musicians to have
effectively used Mridanga Yati in korvais and a pioneer amongst us. His formula to create
Mridanga Yatis is given in Annexure II.
Examples in Damaru Yati
Damaru is a very famous instrument since the mythological stages of evolution of
Percussion instruments. This is also an instrument found in the hands of Lord Shiva. It is also
mentioned that the sound of Damaru was so high that Lord Shiva broke the instrument into
two and joined the sides to make it look like Mridanga. Hence Damaru looks like Hourglass
and Mridangam looks like the joined sides of Damaru. Damaru yati is also known as
“Vedamadyama” Yati.
 Instead of 24 we can take some other number for doing purvanga with Damaru Yati.
Let us take the following example of Damaru Yati and see how many pulses it spans.
t k d n tm .
t k t tm .
k t tm .
t tm .
tm .
t tm .
k t tm .
t k t tm .
t k d n tm .
(The dot in the above yati series is a kaarvai. /tm ./ spans 2 pulses).
The above example looks exactly like an Hourglass and a Damaru. The total pulses
would be 38 which can be used as Purvanga with the judicious use of Yati, in this case Damaru
Yati. As a thumb rule whichever purvanga number when not divisible by 3, then, we
can look for options in one or more of Yati prototypes. Annexure 1 gives a suggestive list
of such numbers not divisible by 3 but still can be used as valid Purvanga with the help of Yati.
The shortest Damaru yati could be 5 (split as 2 1 2). The number series is very small
and veteran musicians opine that for mridanga or damaru yati to be musically and
rhythmically aesthetic they should preferably contain minimum 5 patterns. For example, 3 2 1
2 3 could be a starting point for Damaru yati and the reverse 1 2 3 2 1 could be the starting
point for Mridanga Yati. As I mentioned earlier without kaarvai both the patterns and the
series lose their significance and hence judicious use of kaarvais is very important.
One may ask whether we can have Yati in the format of 1 2 3-3 2 1 or 3 2 1 - 1 2 3. It is
possible to have such patterns also. By this process we can have Damaru Yati for 24 pulses, as
given below:
t k t tm .
k t tm .
t tm .
t tm .
k t tm .
t k t tm .
With such endless options bringing out different permutations an artiste could
constantly explore the ideas and bring about stunning rhythmic combinations.
Use of other yatis
The other two important yatis are Gopuccha and Srotovaha yati. Gopuccha means
“cow’s tail”. As the cow’s tail is broader at the beginning and tapers down at the end, the
rhythmic patterns follow this logic of larger number to a smaller number with or without
kaarvais.
Srotovaha means “rivers”. As the river starts from a small water source or a small
crevice and broadens as it travels, the rhythmic patterns start with a smaller number and end
with a larger number. The choice of numbers to begin or end is left to the artiste’s choice, in
both the cases, while keeping in mind the aesthetics. Only odd numbers or only even
numbers (with or without kaarvais) could also be used. Examples of Gopuccha and srotovaha
are given below:
Gopuccha Yati
tdgntm – tkdm – tkt – tk – t
Srotovaha Yati
(The reverse of the above) t – tk – tkt – tkdm – tdgntm
In both the cases the end-result in terms of pulses would be the same (15 pulses in this
case) but rhythmically they give a different effect. But, a professional doesn’t play the
Gopuccha or Srotovaha without kaarvais. If one carefully observes the above, the pattern
set /t-tk-tkt/ for 6 pulses, split as 1, 2, and 3, gives the feel of /tkt-tkt/. Hence, while rendering
or playing this will sound more like a pattern for 6 and becomes difficult to decipher this as
yati pattern for 1, 2 and 3. Hence, for this reason, use of kaarvais becomes absolutely
necessary.
When this Yati is used, an artiste could play the first and second rounds of a korvai (A
Korvai is generally played thrice) with Gopuccha yati and the third round with Srotovaha yati
also. He can also play the first round with Gopuccha Yati, second round with Srotovaha Yati
and third round with Sama Yati also (if the number chosen accommodates all three yatis).
If you add 6 to the above the total pulses would be 21 then 3 of the Yatis could be used
in three rounds of the Korvai as follows:
First round Purvanga (Gopuccha Yati )
td.gntm - tdgntm – tkdm – tkt – tk –t (continue utaranga for 43 pulses)
Second round Purvanga (Srotovaha Yati)
t – tk – tkt – tkdm – tdgntm – td. gntm (continue utaranga for 43 pulses)
Third round Purvanga (Sama Yati)
Tkdm tng – tkdm tng – tkdm tng (continue utaranga for 43 pulses)
 As you might have observed that without Kaarvai the phrases in first and second
rounds where we have 1,2 and 3 looks like /t k t – t k t / and as I explained adding kaarivais is
mandatory here, which makes each of the Yati phrases uniquely heard and they become
aesthetically appealing.
If we give 3 kaarvais after each constituent portion of yati we have to add 18 to the total
to make it 39 (21 + 18). Let us see how the yati looks now:
Gopuccha Yati with 3 kaarvais
Td.gntm tng- tdgntm tng - tkdm tng - tkt tng - tk tng - t tng/
(39 pulses Purvanga)
Even this korvai above can be played in 3 different ways as the number 39 is divisible
by 3 and can accommodate Sama Yati also. So the first round will be Gopuccha Yati, second
round will be Srotovaha Yati and the third round will be Sama Yati.
Generally, in gopuccha or srotovaha the kaarvais, can also be added as a standalone
phrase in the end for gopuccha and added in the beginning as standalone for srotovaha apart
from adding the karvai in between patterns. While using kaarvais the barest minimum kaarvai
should be 2 /tm./ which will be musically aesthetic though one kaarvai could also be given for
the sake of challenge, in which case it cannot be prefixed or suffixed.
Assume ‘k’ as the kaarvai and ‘n’ as the pattern number then Gopuccha format is as
follows:
n (k) n -1 (k) n-2(k) n-3 (k) n-4 (k) … (k)
If n = 5 and k = 4 then the format is:-
5(4) 4 (4) 3 (4) 2 (4) 1(4) (4) so total would be 39.
The same, if reversed then the kaarvai will come in the first for srotovaha yati and then
the patterns.
(4) 1(4) 2 (4) 3 (4) 4 (4) 5 (4)
For mridanga yati the standalone kaarvais could be added at both ends while in
Damaru Yati they become the centre point and hence used only once as shift phrase.
In practice, we have assumed that Srotovaha or Gopuccha as Yati with numbers either
reducing or increasing. Originally Yati meant a change of Laya from Vilamba to madhyama
and to Druta and hence I have attempted a purvanga with a change of Laya. Observe the
following:
T … k … d … n … (tng)
T . k . d . n . (tng)
T k d n (tng)
The above Srotovaha yati spans for 37 pulses and the rest can be made with 27 (9 * 3) pulses to
make a korvai in Adi Tala for 64 pulses. If you reverse the above it makes a Gopuccha Yati
Korvai. We can have different karvais also instead of /tng/ (3 pulses) also, as we know that the
karvais can be manipulated at will. Not only this, we have different numbers and change the
laya to make interesting yati patterns.
Another purvanga with change is laya is listed below:

t… k… d… n…
t.k.d.n.
tkdn–
t… k … t …
t.k.t.
tkt–
t… k …
t.k.
tk–
The above spreads for 63 pulses and the remaining 65 can be filled up for uttaranga for
a korvai for 128 pulses or 4 cycles in Adi Tala. Such endless options are available with the
massive use of Yati.
Sama Yati
For Sama Yati any number could be used and any kaarvai can be given also (a word of
caution that giving too much kaarvai between patterns and giving too much kaarvai to a small
pattern or vice versa should also be avoided) in the following format where ‘n’ is the number
and ‘k’ is the kaarvai.
n (k) n (k) n (k)
Assume we are having 24 as Purvanga we can split them as follows:
5(3) 5(3) 5(3)
ttkdn tng- ttkdn tng- ttkdn tng
Same way any other number could be taken up also. For example, observe the following for 21
pulses:
tkdn – tng / tkdn – tng / tkdn – tng /
The remainder could be filled up with some phrases for Utaranga depending on the
tala being used.
Using sama yati as the core we can even make gopuccha or strotovaha yati purvangas.
Let us analyse the following example:
 ttkdn tng - ttkdn tng- ttkdn tng/
tkdn tng - tkdn tng - tkdn tng/
tdn tng - tdn tng - tdn tng/
dn tng - dn tng - dn tng/
t tng - t tng - t tng/
tng – tng - tng
The above is for 99 pulses, even though this number is divisible by 3, yet gives us a very
aesthetic looking yati pattern. This is a recursive yati (yati inside yati) where, it uses “sama
yati” as its internal structure for individual series but, if taken as a whole, forms Gopuccha
Yati. If reversed, then it becomes Sama yati within Srotovaha yati.
Vishama Yati
This yati has no order to follow and hence is bereft of any logic. They are randomly
chosen phrases “which do not follow any discernible order (Sankaran, 2010)”. This is generally
avoided in performance, but we have a few examples in Vishama Yati, as they were accepted
by large number of artistes. Vishama yati can be in any of the above yati (except Sama Yati)
but has some salient pattern missing in them or the series of patterns defy a cognizable logic.
Carefully observe the following arudi (it is a short ending played by percussionists to mark the
end of a section of a song or to signify the end of a song itself) for 6 beats.
---- ---- tr tr kt dn t dm . kt dn dn dm . dn t dm . dn t dm .
dn t dn t//dm
Table 8: Arudi of 6 beats with Vishama Yati
In the above yati a series of numbers with 2 as kaarvai has been given (/dm ./ recited as
Dheem). The phrase /tr tr kt dn dn t/ takes 6 pulses while /kt dn dn t/ takes 4 pulses. Any
reduction or increase in number must follow certain logic of 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 or 6, 4, 2 or even 5,
3, 1. In the above example, pattern for 5 is missing and could be considered as a Vishama Yati
as the Yati is 6-4-3-2-1.
Trichy Sankaran, has done an aesthetic looking korvai using the above idea by giving
different kaarvais. In the utaranga part of the Korvai he has also made use of both Yati and
change in Nadai. I have given the korvai in the following table.
1st cycle (P 32)
tr tr kt dn dn n - dn . n . dn . n . spans
kt dn dn n - dn . n. for 4 pulses
dn dn n - dn . n . vocalized as
dn n - dn. n . din na
t/
(U64) (k) is Khanda
t. . d . . g . . n . . tm . . Nadai
t . d . g . n . tm .
 t d g n tm -t . . . . .
t d g n Tm- t d g n tm t . . . . .
(k) t d g n tm - t d g n tm - t d g n tm
2nd (P 28)
cycle. tr tr kt dn dn n - dn . . (Td) is double
kt dn dn n - dn . . tisra nadai
dn dn n - dn . . each beat
dn n - dn . . having 6 units
t/
(U 68)
t. . d. .- . . . g . . n . .tm . .
t . d . . . g . n . tm .
t d . g n tm - t . . .
t d . g n tm – t d . g n tm - t . . .
(td) t d. g n tm - t d. g n tm - t d. g n tm
3rd (P 24) (M) is Misra
cycle tr tr kt dn dn n - dn . Nadai
kt dn dn n - dn .
dn dn n - dn .
dn n dn .
t/

U (72)
t . . . . . d . . . . . g . . n . . tm . .
t . . . d . . . g . n . tm .
t . d . g n tm t .
t . d . g n tm – t . d . g n tm . t .
(M) t . d . g n tm
t . d . g n tm
t . d . g n tm //ta
Table 9: Use of Vishama Yati in Korvai
A beautiful Lakshya Korvai (there are two types of korvai, not mentioned in any
literature as the system is mainly oral, one is Lakshana and another is Lakshya. The former
being logically and aesthetically perfect while the latter is logically not correct but
aesthetically widely used and became popular) where he has used the yati of 6, 4, 3, 2 in the
Purvanga with 4 karvais in first cycle, 3 karvais in second cycle and 2 karvais in 3 rd cycle. The
phrase “t” in the yati series (at the end) is bereft of any kaarvai which adds aesthetic appeal to
the korvai and a “sudden twist” at the merging point between purvanga and uttaranga. If you
take the korvai as a whole, then the gaps also use yati, as in the first turn 4 gaps, 2 nd turn it is 3
gaps and in the third turn it is 2 gaps.
In the uttaranga Sankaran has used 5, 6, 7 as patterns with //15, 10, 5(6) 55(6) (k)555; 18,
12, 6(4)66(4) (td)666 and 21, 14, 7(2) 77(2) (m) 777// as the yati idea, which has a very beautiful
logic which contains increase in patterns but reduction in kaarvais. The increase in the
numbers is compensated with both kaarvai reduction and change in Nadai. Such aesthetic
ideas have always found their elevated place in the Carnatic rhythm and they are here to stay.
 Another Korvai purvanga popularly played could be considered as Vishama Yati.
/t . - tm . . . t k - tm . .t k t - tm . ./ for 17 pulses.
In the above we have a vishama yati in the sense that /t ./ and /t k/ both take 2 pulses
each and then the next phrase /t k t/ spans for 3 pulses. Not only this, the kaarvais are also not
spaced with equal duration. The first kaarvai after the phrase /t ./ spans 4 pulses and for the
subsequent phrases viz., /t k/ and /t k t/ the kaarvai spans only 3 pulses. See Annexure I for
making logical Yati patterns for 17 as Purvanga.
As I mentioned earlier such korvais have high sense of aesthetic appeal and were
played and popularized by giants in this field and hence they always have a special place in the
circuit, whether backed up by logic or otherwise. Rhythm cognition requires the listener to
have familiarity with the patterns and requires listening to them, repeatedly, for several times
and hence oft-repeated korvais, irrespective of whether they are lakshya or lakshana, are
accepted and applauded. When I asked about this korvai logic to my Guru Ramanathapuram
M.N.Kandaswamy Pillai he gave a Yati idea that is popular in Palani style, which is a perfect
split with no karvai change or yati mismatch. The idea is given in the annexure 1.
Yati ideas and korvais by Sriman Dakshinamurthy Pillai
The first lesson for any rhythm artiste is /t d tm nm/. Pudukkottai Dakshinamurthy
Pillai has composed a beautiful Gopuccha Yati with this basic lesson, as exercise for students
that can rendered in three speeds. On the basic lesson, he has also mixed different speeds to
make it interesting and engaging. I am giving the yati format and then the following table
gives the three-speed exercise.
The idea is as follows:
t d tm nm – t k t
d tm nm – t k t
tm nm – t k t
nm – t k t
The above is the idea. The underlined pattern viz., /tkt/ has to be rendered in the
immediate higher speed as the case may be. For example, if you are rendering /t d tm nm/ in
first speed (1 syllable per beat) then /tkt/ will be in second speed (2 syllables per beat) and so
on for the subsequent change in speeds. The following table gives the exercise in three speeds.
t. . . d. . . tm . . . nm. . . t.k. t.-d. . . tm . . . nm .
. .t . k . t .- tm . . . nm . . . t. k . t . - nm . .. t. k.t.
t . d. tm. nm. t k t -d . tm . nm . t k t- tm . nm . t k t-nm .tkt
t d tm t k t- d . t k t – t k t – t d tm t k t - d . t k t – t k t –
nm tm nm tm nm nm t k t nm tm nm tm nm nm t k t
t d tm t k t - d . t k t – t k t – t d tm t k t - d . t k t – t k t –
nm tm nm tm nm nm t k t nm tm nm tm nm nm t k t
Table 10: Three speed exercise given by Pudukkottai Dakshinamurthy Pillai
The same logic can be applied to any Tala (This is an improvisation by the Author.
Trichy Thayumanavan used to say that whenever doyens make or create rhythmic ideas or
exercise, they give huge scope for improvement, additions and improvisations). For an 8 beat
tala like Adi Tala, if the end-phrase is /tkt/ then, replace it with /t/ for Rupaka; /tk/ for Tisra
Triputa; /tkdm/ for Khanda Triputa; /tdgntm/ for Misra Jhampa and so on and so forth,
without changing the basic lesson phrase /t d tm nm/.

One Vishama Yati used by Sriman Dakshinamurthy Pillai (Thayumanavan, 2013) for 29
pulses as purvanga is given below:
t . d. t k t tm . (9 Pulses)
t k d . t k t tm . (9 Pulses)
t k t t k t tm . (8 Pulses)
t k t (3)
It doesn’t follow any logical sequence, but a type of reduction is there and could be
considered a “Yati” and since there is no “discernible order” this could be taken as “Vishama
Yati”.
There are many such korvais, using both lakshana and lakshya yatis, found in the book
by Trichy Thayumanavan.
Seamless Korvai
“Seamless Korvai” is a concept innovation by Chitravina N Ravikiran which, at its basic
level, is concerned about rendering thrice, one of the uttaranga patterns consisting of 5, 6, 7, 8,
9 and 10 without karvais. What it means is that, the utaranga should be 15, 18, 21, 24, 27 or 30,
if so, then the purvanga will be (for adi tala 2 cycles with 64 pulses) 49 (5*3=15), 46 (6*3=18), 43
(7*3=21), 40 (8*3=24), 37(9*3=27) and 34(10*3=30). If the cycles increase or decrease, the
purvanga values will be correspondingly adjusted, while the utaranga will be one of those
numbers mentioned above. Effectively, in the process of Seamless Korvai, we should ensure
that there are no remainders to be adjusted, as kaarvai between the patterns, in uttaranga, to
square off Tala Cycle.
If we observe, none of the Purvangas listed above (49, 46, 43, 40, 37, 34) are divisible by
three and hence, we must look for options in Yati only, majorly in mridanga, damaru and
gopuccha/ srotovaha yatis. Sama yati will not work as none of the numbers are divisible by
three and I won’t be using Vishama Yati since that is again bereft of logic.
The following table gives the logical rhythmic Yati ideas for the Purvanga Numbers of
49, 46, 43, 40, 37 and 34 to accommodate Uttarangas of 15, 18, 21, 24, 27 and 30 respectively.
 t d . g n tm-t . . . Gopuccha Yati
49 ttkdn–t... 6(4)5(4)
t k d n- t . . . 4(4)3(4)
tdn-t... 2(4)1(4)
dn-t... (4)
t -t . . .
t . . ./(U-15)
t t k d n-t k d n- t . . . Gopuccha Yati
t t k d n-t k t- t . . . 5-4(4)
46 ttkdn–tk-t... 5-3(4)
t t k d n-t - t . . . / 5-2(4)
(U-18) 5-1(4)
t. kt tm .- (3) 3-4-5(12)
43 t . t. kt tm .– (4) 3-4 (6)
t . d . t . kt tm . (5) 3 (3)
t . d . . . g . n . tm . (12) This korvai was
t. kt tm .- (3) told by Shri
t . t . kt tm .– (4) Guruvayur Dorai
t d . g n Tm (6)
t . kt tm . (3)
td. g n tm (3)/ (U21)
t k d n Tng Damaru yati for
40 t k t – tng 40 pulses
t k- tng
t – tng
t k – tng
t k t – tng
t k d n – tng/ (U-24)
t k t – t k d m- t d g n tm – Gopuccha
t.... 3-4-5 (5)
37 tkt–tkdm 3-4 (5)
t.... 3 (5)
tkt
t . . . ./(U-27)

Another Idea
t d. g n tm – tng 6 (3)
t t k d n- t t k d n – tng 5 5 (3)
t k d m- t k j n – t k d m – tng/ 4 4 4 (3)
(U-27)
t – tng tng Srotovaha Yati
34 1(6)
t k - tng tng 2(6)
3(6)
t k t – tng tng 4(6)

t k d m – tng tng/(U-30)
Table 11: “Seamless Korvai” ideas for 2 cycles in Adi Tala using Yati
A complicated use of Yati is given below for these “seamless” korvai numbers which
requires practice and perfect execution.
 Number Portion A Portion B
td.gntm (6) t…k…t…
49 Tdgntm (5) t.. k.. d.. m..
Tkdm (4) t . d . g . n . tm ./
U-15
Table 12: Seamless Korvai- Yati Idea by Author
Using the same logic, we can get patterns for all the numbers viz., 46, 43, 40, 37, 34 to
get uttarangas of 15, 18, 21, 24, 27 and 30 respectively.
For getting 46 we just need to change the Portion A by reducing one number ie., 6 will
become 5, 5 will become 4 and 4 will become 3 and so on and so forth for the other numbers
while retaining Portion B.
The following table lists portion A for 46, 43, 40, 37 and 34:-
Number Portion A Portion B
tdgntm (5) t … k … t ..
46 tkdm (4) t.. k.. d.. m..
tkt (3) t . d . g . n . tm ./
U-18

tkdm (4) t … k … t ..
43 tkt (3) t.. k.. d.. m..
tk (2) t . d . g . n . tm ./ U-
21

tkt (3) t … k … t ..
40 tk (2) t.. k.. d.. m..
t(1) t . d . g . n . tm ./ U-
24

tk(2) t … k … t ..
37 t(1) t.. k.. d.. m..
- t . d . g . n . tm ./ U-
27

t … k … t ..
34 t.. k.. d.. m..
t . d . g . n . tm ./ U-
30

Table 13: Complicated patterns for “Seamless korvai” by the author

For 34 there will be only Portion B which will give us a result of 30 to make the pulses
to 64 and a perfect seamless korvai too.
 This way seamless korvais can also be formed for any talas using Yati as purvanga.
Each tala has a different purvanga count based on seamless korvai idea. For more information
on “Seamless korvais” refer to bibliography.

Some Talas that follow Yati

As I mentioned earlier that Yati is basically used to show how different angas in a tala
can be differently arranged.
Only Matya Tala, out of the 7 talas of Suladi Scheme, follows Damaru yati. There are
innumerable Talas which follow one of the yati, which can easily be learnt from the lists
available through various sources. Dr B M Sundaram’s book “Tala Sangraha” lists over one
thousand Talas culled out from various sources and remains a ready reckoner for such deep
study.
Conclusion

Through this article I have quantified a topic, Yati, less written in the literature, with
an eye on its practical aspects. In this article I have covered Yati as Purvanga of a Korvai.
Having done an exclusive on “How to make korvais using a custom-made chart”, I have
written various different articles on how to make use of them and actually make a korvai. Yati
is another aspect which adds beauty to a Korvai, on which I have not dealt with, in any article
so far and hence it is my first attempt at giving Yati a new dimension in Carnatic music
literature.

Caution must be exercised while reciting the patterns or reciting the korvais based on
written works alone, as the tradition is mainly oral. An earnest student must always get his
doubts cleared with the author or a Guru who has deep knowledge in the subject and also get
them verified while trying to render, in order to maintain the continuity and utmost care must
be taken not to tarnish the original image of the korvai, its idea and its originator.
Annexure 1
Some of the numbers not divisible by 3 but still could be made as Purvanga with the use of
Yatis are given below:
tm. 14 Srotovaha Yati
t-tm.
kt-tm .
t k t-tm .
t .d. t jm . 17 Gopuccha Yati
d. t jm . (an idea given by my Guru
t jm . Ramanathapuram M N Kandaswamy
jm . Pillai)
t tm . 19 Mridanga Yati
k t tm .
t k t tm .
k t tm
t tm .
tkdn-tm. 20 Gopuccha Yati
tkt-tm.
kt-tm.
t-tm.
tm.
ttkdn –tm . 22 There is a freedom to stop the yati at
tkdn-tm . any point also as in this case where I
tkt-tm. have used 5, 4, 3, 2 with 2 gaps each. I
Kt-tm. have not added 1 in the end to make it
complete, so to say.
t . d . t tm . . . 25 This is using the pattern for 17 and
d . t tm . . . having additional kaarvais.
t tm . . . If we use 3 kaarvais instead of 2 we can
tm . . . also make 20 into 25 using the same Yati
format.
t k t tng 26 Damaru Yati
t k tng
t tng
t k tng
t k t tng
t tm . . . 29 Mridanga Yati
t k tm . . .
t k t tm . . .
t k tm . . .
t tm . . .
t k d n tng 31 Damaru Yati
t k t tng
t k tng
t k t tng
t k d n tng
The list could be endless. I have given only some simple ideas and an earnest student
always can work his way constantly to get more ideas either through this method or by some
other means, both ways being beneficial to the world of rhythm and rhythmic ideas.
Annexure II
Formula to Calculate Number of Units in
Mrdanga Yati Sequences by Chitravina N Ravikiran

Formula 1: For a sequence of X number of Terms (Tx) of successive numbers T1, T2, T3 etc
formula for total aksharas (internal units) A is:

A = [(X+1)/2]2
For instance, if we have a sequence with 5 terms (which is the minimum required for
Mridanga and Damaru Yatis) where the first term T 1 = 1, T2 = 2, T3 = 3, T4 = 2 and T5 = 1 the
total aksharas would be

A= [(5+1)/2]2 = (3)2 = 9.

Obviously, the next possible sequence will have 7 terms and it will have a total of (4) 2 = 16 and
the next will be (5)2 and so on and so forth for the rest of the terms.

Formula 2: If we have sequences where the first term is 2, the formula can be extended based
on the number of terms:

A=[(X+1)/2]2+ [(X) * (T1-1)]

For instance, if we have a sequence with 5 terms with 2, 3, 4, 3, 2 as Yati units, the total
aksharas would be

[(5+1)/2]2 + [(5) * (2-1)] = 9 + 5 = 14

For 7 terms the total would be 23 by applying the same formula.

If the first term in a sequence is 3 and the sequence is 3, 4, 5, 4, 3 then the total would be:

[(5+1)/2]2 + [(5) * (3-1)] = 9 + 10 = 19

(I personally thank Chitravina N Ravikiran who has kindly allowed me to reproduce this work
which is relevant to my current work on Yatis).
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