What is an adavu?
An adavu is the smallest complete dance unit in Bharatanatyam, like a letter of the alphabet. It joins three things: a body position (sthanaka/mandala), footwork and hand gestures, all done to spoken rhythm syllables called sollukattu (like "tai ya tai hi").
Most adavus are done in aramandi (ardhamandala): knees turned out and bent, heels together, toes pointing out, back straight, body half-lowered. A full sitting is muzhumandi; standing straight is samapada. Before and after practice, dancers do a short prayer to the floor (namaskaram).
Main adavus and the three speeds
- Tattadavu (tatta = strike): the flat foot beats the floor. Sollu: "tai ya tai hi".
- Nattadavu (natta = stretch): one leg stretches out on the heel (toes up), then returns. Sollu: "tai ya tai hi".
- Other adavus: kudittametti (jump onto toes and strike heels), visharu (sweeping arm), tattimetti (toe-heel), mandi (knee on floor), sarukkal (sliding), tirmanam (ending patterns).
Three speeds (kalams): the tala beats stay the same, but you fit more steps into each beat.
- 1st speed: 1 step per beat.
- 2nd speed: 2 steps per beat.
- 3rd speed: 4 steps per beat.
Practising all speeds trains steady rhythm, stamina and clean footwork.
Talas with hand beats: Adi, Rupaka, Tisra eka
A tala is a repeating cycle of beats, shown with the hand (kriya):
- Adi tala (8 beats): laghu = clap + little finger + ring finger + middle finger (4); drutam = clap + wave (2); drutam = clap + wave (2).
- Rupaka tala (6 beats): drutam (clap, wave) + laghu (clap + 3 finger counts). Dancers often feel it as 3 slow beats.
- Tisra eka (3 beats): only a laghu of 3: clap + 2 finger counts.
The first beat of every cycle is samam (sam). The person keeping tala with small cymbals and calling the syllables is the nattuvanar.
Korvai: patterns that land on sam
A korvai is a chain of adavus that fits the tala and ends cleanly on samam, often with a phrase repeated three times. A tirmanam is the ending phrase (like "tha dhi gi na thom" × 3).
Simple maths helps: in Adi tala at 2nd speed, one cycle has 8 × 2 = 16 half-beats. "Tha dhi gi na thom" is 5 syllables; three times = 15, plus one more step to land on beat 1 of the next cycle. That is why the third "thom" feels like an arrival.
Items of the repertoire (margam) and alarippu
Adavus and korvais build the items of a traditional recital (margam):
- Alarippu: the opening "blossoming" item. Pure dance with no story, usually in tisra eka (3 beats). Eyes, neck, shoulders, arms and then legs move in turn, as a flower opens.
- Jatiswaram: pure dance to musical notes (swaras) in a raga.
- Shabdam: first item with words and expression (abhinaya).
- Varnam: the long centre piece mixing pure dance and expression.
- Padam / Javali: slow, expressive songs.
- Tillana: fast, joyful pure dance to finish, then a short prayer (mangalam).
Pure dance is nritta; expressive dance is abhinaya/nritya.
Key formulas and definitions
- Adi tala = 4 + 2 + 2 = 8 beats (clap + 3 fingers, clap + wave, clap + wave)
- Rupaka tala = 2 + 4 = 6 beats
- Tisra eka = 3 beats (clap + 2 fingers)
- Speeds: 1st = 1, 2nd = 2, 3rd = 4 steps per beat
- Steps in a cycle = beats × steps per beat
- Korvai lands on samam (beat 1)
Worked examples
1. How many foot strikes are in one cycle of Adi tala in 2nd speed?
Adi = 8 beats; 2nd speed = 2 per beat; 8 × 2 = 16 strikes.
2. A student dances tattadavu in 3rd speed for 2 cycles of Adi tala. How many strikes?
8 beats × 4 per beat × 2 cycles = 64 strikes.
3. Show the hand actions for Rupaka tala.
Clap, wave (drutam), then clap, finger, finger, finger (laghu): 6 beats.
4. Alarippu is in tisra eka. How many beats in 4 cycles?
3 × 4 = 12 beats.
5. A korvai phrase has 5 syllables and is said 3 times, each syllable on a half-beat. Does it fit in one cycle of Adi tala at 2nd speed (16 half-beats) and land on sam?
5 × 3 = 15 half-beats. That leaves 1 half-beat of pause, and the next syllable falls on beat 1 of the next cycle, so the pattern ends on sam.
6. Put the margam in order: tillana, alarippu, varnam, jatiswaram.
Alarippu → jatiswaram → varnam → tillana.
Common mistakes
- Letting the knees fall forward in aramandi. The knees must open out to the sides, over the toes.
- Speeding up the tala when moving to 3rd speed. The beat stays steady; only the steps per beat double.
- Counting Rupaka as 8 beats. Adi has 8; Rupaka has 6.
- Thinking alarippu tells a story. It is pure dance (nritta) with no words.