Mr. Fox Strangways, elaborating the difference between Indian and European time-measures, says:
'Indian rhythm moves in avartas (bars) broken up into vibhagas (beats), each of which contains one or more talas. We can equally say of ours that it moves in sections broken up into bars, each of which contains one or more beats. In what does the difference between the two systems consist? It may be answered that theirs is derived from song, ours from the dance or the march : that both are based on the numbers two and three, but that they add and we multiply in order to form combinations of these. But the answer which goes deepest is that their music is in modes of time (as we saw that it was in modes of tune), and that ours changes that mode at will, principally by means of harmony. In order that rhythm, an articulation of the infinite variety of sounds, may be upon some regular plan, the plan must have some recognizable unit of measurement. India takes the short note and gives it, for a particular rhythm, a certain value as opposed to the long; Europe takes the stressed note and gives it in a particular rhythm a certain frequency, as against the unstressed, and graduates its force. We find the unity of the rhythm in the recurrent bar (which is always in double or triple time, just as our two melodic modes are either major or minor), and have to look elsewhere for the variety; they find variety in the vibhaga, whose constitution is extremely various, and must look elsewhere for the large spaces of time: they find unity in the avarta, and we find variety in the sections.' 'Indian rhythms have their raison d'etre in the contrast of long and short duration, and to identify these with much or little stress is to vulgarize the rhythms. Stress pulses and demands regularity; duration is complementary and revels in irregularity. In order to get the true sense of duration we have to get rid of stress.' 1[1]
The value which Indian music attaches to time may be judged from a description of a certain musician as an excellent timist,' and from the name of sextuple Govinda Nair given to a musician of Travancore, on account of his great skill in singing in sextuple accelerated time. One can hardly imagine such terms being used in the west.
Musical time is based upon the akshara or syllable. Five main note lengths are recognized, made up of a different number of aksharas. They are.
Anudruta ... 1 Akshara ... I Matra Druta ... 2 2 Laghu ... 4 ... 1 v. Guru ... 8 ... 2 ,, Pluta ...12 ... 3 ,, Kakapada ...16 ... 4 ..
- ↑ 1 Music of Hindusthan, pp. 217, 218.
