Padhant in
Hindustani classical music
Hindustani classical music is the Indian classical music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent's northern regions. It may also be called North Indian classical music or ''Uttar Bhartiya shastriya sangeet''. The term ''shastriya sangeet'' ...
or
Indian classical dance
Indian classical dance, or ''Shastriya Nritya'', is an umbrella term for different regionally-specific Indian classical dance traditions, rooted in predominantly Hindu musical theatre performance,, Quote: All of the dances considered to be part ...
refers to the recitation of rhythmic syllables, known as
bol, during a performance. The term is derived from the
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
word ''padhna'', meaning "to read, study or recite". ''Padhant'' is closely associated with the percussion instrument
tabla
A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...
and the classical dance
Kathak
''Kathak'' is one of the eight major forms of Classical Indian dance, Indian classical dance. Its origin is attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern India known as ''Kathakar'' ("storyteller"), who communicated stories from the ...
, and the recitation of rhythmic patterns before playing them is considered an art in itself.
The dancer in Kathak would pause at intervals to recite the rhythms before executing them through dance.
The recitation is often accompanied by hand gestures.
The recited syllables are also used in storytelling, creating an atmosphere or inducing a mood in the audience; for example, in a performance of Kalidasa's ''
Meghaduta'' (''Cloud Messenger''), the sounds ''ghe-ghe-thi-ta'' can signify a rumble of clouds or, its expanded version, the arrival of clouds.
In
Carnatic music
Carnatic music (known as or in the Dravidian languages) is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and southern Odisha.
It is o ...
, a similar concept is called
konnakol
Konnakol (also spelled Konokol, Konakkol, Konnakkol) ( koṉṉakkōl) () is the art of performing percussion syllables vocally in South Indian Carnatic music. Konnakol is the spoken component of solkattu, which refers to a combination of konnako ...
.
References
{{reflist
External links
A documentary on the art of Padhant
Indian classical music
Hindustani music terminology