TARANA - INDIAN VOCAL FORM

Tarana is based upon the use of meaningless syllables in a very fast rendition. There is an interesting legend concerning its origin:

The story refers to a music competition during the time of Allaudin Khilji. It had come down to two finalists; a Hindu by the name of Gopal Nayak, and a Muslim named Amir Khusru. Gopal Nayak was well aware that he was up against a formidable opponent. He therefore sang a very fast song in Sanskrit, knowing quite well that Amir Khusru did not know the language. Amir Khusru then sang the same song, note for note, but substituting Persian words for the Sanskrit. The resulting performance was thrilling even though it was unintelligible. In this way Amir Khusru won the competition and invented tarana.

This legend is entertaining but highly unlikely. It is likely that the transformation from intelligible Persian lyrics to the present unintelligible syllables took a long time.

Tarana is found all over India. In south Indian music it is called tillana or thillana and is commonly used in dance performances.



Other Indian Vocal Forms
Bhajan
Dadra
Dhammar
Dhrupad
Film Music
Folk Music
Gazal
Geet
Kheyal
Kirtan / Dhun
Lakshan Geet
Qawwali
Shabad
Tappa
Thumri


Streaming Video
Bageshri Tarana - A tarana in Bhageshri


Streaming Audio
Tilana - by Chandrakantha Courtney.
Kedar Tarana - A tarana based upon Rag Kedar by Chandrakantha Courtney
Fast Tarana - A drut (fast) tarana in rag Bhairagi Bhairav. It is set to tintal of 16 beats. This is by Chandrakantha Courtney
Durga Tarana - by Aswini Bhide