Alankar, Palta and Tan in Viva Voce
During a viva, the examiner asks a candidate to distinguish alankar, palta and tan. The candidate says: “Alankar is an ornament; palta is a swara exercise; tan is a fast alankar.” The examiner then asks the candidate to sing an alankar in Raag Bageshri. The candidate sings a straight aroha-avaroha pattern: S g m P n S, S n D m P D g m g R S, without any ornament. The candidate’s school textbook labels the same pattern “Alankar 3” in its exercise chapter, while the practical syllabus uses “palta” for permutation exercises. The teacher must decide how to mark the viva answer and how to explain the terminology so the candidate can answer confidently in the board exam. The candidate has one week and is strong in singing but weak in definitions.
1. Evaluate the candidate’s three definitions. Which parts are acceptable, which are incomplete, and which are misleading?
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The answer is partially correct but too narrow. Alankar has two live senses in Hindustani pedagogy: (1) ornament or grace, such as kan, murki, kampan; (2) a graded swara pattern used as an exercise, which is how many school books label “Alankar 1, 2, 3.” The candidate gives only sense (1), so the definition is incomplete for a practical syllabus. Palta is better defined as a permutational exercise: a pattern that changes the order of swaras, often within a raga, to build flexibility; it can overlap with an exercise-alankar but is not simply a synonym. Tan is a fast melodic movement, usually improvised or composed, with its own rhythmic shape; calling it a “fast alankar” is misleading because a tan can be plain, without ornament, and because alankar is a broader term. The straight aroha-avaroha the candidate sings is an exercise pattern, not an ornamental alankar; under the textbook’s label it is “Alankar 3,” and under the syllabus’s vocabulary it is closer to a palta. So I would award partial marks and correct the missing pedagogical sense.
2. Draft a model viva answer that reconciles the textbook’s “Alankar 3” with the syllabus’s “palta,” and explain how you would coach the candidate in one week.
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Model viva answer: “Alankar primarily means ornament, but in practical training it also means a graded pattern of swaras. Palta is a permutational pattern, often used to develop tans; the textbook’s Alankar 3 is an exercise-alankar, and the syllabus may call a similar permutation a palta. Tan is a fast melodic phrase, not necessarily ornamental.” This reconciles the two vocabularies without contradicting either teacher. Coaching in one week: make a three-column table (term, aesthetic meaning, practical meaning), give one sung example of each, and practise a 30-second answer that starts with “It depends on context.” Have the candidate sing the Bageshri pattern and label it both ways: “as an exercise-alankar” and “as a palta-like permutation.” Then ask the candidate to sing a murki and a tan so the distinction is audible, not verbal only. In the exam, if the examiner uses alankar for the exercise, the candidate should follow that usage and add the ornamental sense as a second meaning; arguing about definitions loses marks.