CHSE Odisha Vocational Odissi Pakhwaj (Mardal) flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Dha and Dhi

Compound pakhwaj bols struck with both hands together: a right-hand open stroke (ta or tin) combined with a left-hand stroke (ga or ge), giving a full resonant sound.

Ge and Ghe

Left-hand pakhwaj bols made by pressing the bass head with the palm or wrist and releasing, producing the characteristic pitch glide rather than a plain thud.

Open versus closed strokes

Open strokes such as dha, dhi, tin and na let the head ring; closed strokes such as ka and kat damp the skin with the palm to cut the sound short and mark articulation.

Padhant

Recitation of bol syllables aloud before or while playing. It fixes the rhythmic design in memory and lets the player check that the pattern fits the tala mathematically.

Syahi striking zone

The right head's black centre patch. Striking near its rim gives a pitched tone; striking dead centre or with a flat palm mutes the ring and produces a closed sound.

Ekatali

An Odissi tala of four matras in a single vibhaga. Its short cycle makes it common for opening items and simple accompaniment patterns.

Khemtatala

An Odissi tala of six matras divided into two vibhagas of three (3+3). It appears frequently in light and devotional Odissi pieces.

Odissi Rupakatala

A six-matra cycle grouped 2+2+2 with khali on the first vibhaga. This differs from Hindustani rupak, which has seven matras with khali on matra one.

Jhampatala

A ten-matra Odissi cycle grouped 2+2+2+2+2, with khali falling on the third vibhaga. It is used for longer rhythmic compositions.

Sam and khali

Sam is the first matra of a cycle and the point of resolution. Khali is the start of an unaccented vibhaga, shown by a silent wave rather than a sounded stroke.

Dwigun lay

Doubling the number of bols per matra while keeping the tala's length in matras unchanged. The sam-to-sam interval halves, but the cycle is not shortened.

Batu Nritya

A pure-rhythm Odissi dance item in which the pakhwaj states the bol pattern and the dancer's footwork locks to the same matras, producing a shared rhythmic statement.

Pallavi accompaniment

In a Pallavi item the pakhwaj holds a steady theka while the melodic line expands the raga. The drummer avoids filling the spaces the raga phrasing needs.

Abhinaya accompaniment

Expressive Odissi items use sparse, low-volume pakhwaj support with minimal ornamentation, because the sung text and the dancer's gesture carry the meaning.

Moksha

The fast closing item of an Odissi performance. The pakhwaj drives the acceleration toward a final sam that dancer, singer and drummer resolve together.

Chhanda

A metrically fixed Odissi poetic composition recited in a set tala. The drummer must match the syllable count of each line to the matra structure.

Upaj

The improvised, exploratory portion of solo pakhwaj playing. It grows from the theka through bol permutation, regrouping and lay variation while staying inside the announced tala.

Bol-bant

An upaj device that splits a single bol across several matras. The split values must add up to the original bol's total duration so the cycle stays intact.

Palla

The fast concluding passage of a solo pakhwaj item. It follows the druta-lay variation and resolves on sam with a decisive damped stroke.

Tihai placement

A phrase repeated three times to end on sam. The player computes the starting matra backwards from the target so the third repetition lands exactly on sam.

Tigun in seven matras

Triple-speed playing does not divide a seven-matra cycle evenly. The player must plan the entry and exit so the concluding phrase still resolves on sam.

Pakhwaj body

A barrel-shaped shell usually of jackfruit or mango wood, with a waist narrower than the two heads, which are made of goatskin.

Syahi composition

The permanent black patch on the right head, made of iron oxide, charcoal and rice paste. Its mass raises pitch and shortens sustain.

Left head tuning

The bass head carries no syahi and is tuned lower than the right, roughly a fourth or fifth below, to give a stable bass and room for the pressed glide.

Gajra and tasma

Leather hoops around each head, threaded by the lacing. Sliding the hoops up or down changes skin tension and therefore the pitch of that head.

Coupled head acoustics

The enclosed air in the barrel couples the two heads, so a stroke on one slightly excites the other. Damping technique therefore affects the whole instrument's sound.

Jagannath temple tradition

The devotional culture of Puri, centred on the Jagannath temple, where pakhwaj and mardal playing accompanied Odissi singing and sustained player lineages.

Gita Govinda

Jayadeva's devotional poem, sung in Odissi style with pakhwaj accompaniment. It is a core textual source for the Radha–Krishna repertoire.

Odissi transmission

Pakhwaj repertoire passes through guru–shishya lineages and temple or matha institutions in Puri and Bhubaneswar, not through North Indian tabla gharana names.

Notation grid

Odissi rhythmic notation places one cell per matra, with vertical lines at vibhaga boundaries, sam marked at matra one, and khali marked with a zero or wave symbol.

Oral authority

In Odissi pakhwaj the guru's recited padhant is the authoritative version of a composition; written notation serves only as a memory aid for the player.

Cycle identification by ear

Count the matras between repeated accents to find the cycle length, then test groupings by locating the lighter, unaccented vibhaga that marks khali.