veNbA 101 - an introduction in English to veNbA meter of Tamil

[Siva Siva]

Recently, a friend (who is non-Tamil) wanted to understand veNbA meter. So, I created brief write-up.

I thought it may be of interest to others as well - (now or in the future). So, I plan to post it in this thread.

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[விவேக் பாரதி]

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[Siva Siva]

veNbA 101 - an introduction (in English) to veNbA meter of Tamil

This write up aims to introduce a non-Tamil reader to fundamentals of veNbA meter (which is a popular meter in Tamil poetry). It is assumed that the reader is familiar with basic prosody aspects of some other Indian language.

As it assumes the reader may not be familiar with Tamil prosody, those basics are explained to the extent they are needed in this context.

While there are other scholarly books describing Tamil prosody in detail, this write up is intended as an easy to read, easy to use 'cookbook'.

Terminology of Tamil prosody:

letter: It can be a vowel, or a pure consonant (without any attached vowel sound), or a consonant with a vowel sound attached.

asai (metrical unit): One more letters make up 'asai' - the basic unit of Tamil prosody.

sIr (metrical foot): One or more 'asai' units are grouped in a sIr. (In Telugu / Kannada, they may be called 'gaNam' - [గణము - gaṇamu ]).

thaLai (linkage): Rules for harmony between each consecutive metrical feet pair. Linkage (thaLai) rules for veNbA will be discussed a little later. This concept is probably unique to Tamil prosody. (General discussion of thaLai is not in scope for this write up)

adi (metrical 'line'): 2 or more metrical 'feet (sIr) make up one metrical line of a poetry. (In other Indian languages, this is called 'pAdham' - [పాదము - pādamu ]).

edhugai (starting rhyme in Tamil): The first letters in the 2 sIrs should be of same vowel length (i.e. both short or both long) and the second letters should be the same. (This is commonly referred to as 'prAsam' - [ ప్రాసము - prāsamu ] - or 'dwitheeyAkshara prAsam' in other south Indian languages). edhugai is normally expected across the first sIr of every line in a song. This is the main rhyming requirement. This is a common feature in all south Indian languages.

(Detailed discussion of edhugai of Tamil prosody is not in scope for this write up)

mOnai ( alliteration in Tamil): The first letters in the 2 sIrs should be belong in the same mOnai group (as defined in Tamil prosody). (This is called 'yathi' in Kannada/Telugu - [ యతి - yati ]).This applies to both the consonant part and the vowel part of a letter. (i.e. It is a combination of consonance and assonance aspects). mOnai is normally expected between the first letter of first sIr of a line and some other sIrs of that line. Different lines usually start with different first letters - so mOnai is assessed across sIrs within each line - and not across lines. This is a common feature in all south Indian languages.

(Detailed discussion of mOnai of Tamil prosody is not in scope for this write up)

---------------

[Siva Siva]

Basics of scansion in Tamil:

Each metrical foot (sIr) is scanned as follows:

You have to scan left to right in a sIr.

an 'asai' stop is encountered when any of the following conditions occurs:

1. A long vowel is encountered.

2. A cluster of (one or more) pure consonants (no vowel attached to them) is encountered. (In Sanskrit prosody, this is the condition that makes the preceding letter with short vowel to be treated as a 'guru').

3. When a second vowel sound is encountered. (i.e. an asai can have only 1 or 2 vowel sounds).

4. End of sIr is encountered.

The resulting string - consisting of 1 or 2 letters with vowel sounds and all trailing pure consonants - is that 'asai' unit.

Repeat the process for the remaining letters of the original sIr - till all asai units of that sir have been identified.

Basics of asai (metrical unit):

nEr = has only one vowel sound. (It may be followed by zero or more pure consonants - a pure consonant is a single consonant without any vowel attached to it).

nirai = has 2 vowel sounds. (It may be followed by zero or more pure consonants).

Metrical feet classification - Names (formulas) for sIr (metrical foot) patterns:

Each foot (sIr) is classified as follows:

1 asai:

nAL (nEr),

malar (nirai)

2 asai:

mA set: thEMA (nEr/nEr), puLiMA (nirai/nEr),

viLam set: kUviLam (nEr/nirai), karuviLam (nirai/nirai)

3 asai:

kAy set = thEMAngAy (nEr/nEr/nEr), puLiMAngay (nirai/nEr/nEr), kUviLangAy (nEr/nirai/nEr), karuviLangAy (nirai/nirai/nEr)

kani set = thEMAngani (nEr/nEr/nirai), puLiMAngani (nirai/nEr/nirai), kUviLangani (nEr/nirai/nirai), karuviLangani (nirai/nirai/nirai)

4 asai:

sIr with 4 asai units are used in only a small set of songs - and hence, ignored for this basic introduction.

(Thus, these are sIr classess are somewhat analogous in concept to amsa gaNa of Kannada / Telugu desi chhandas. For example, Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra gaNas of Kannada & Surya, Indra, Chandra gaNams of Telugu).

If one scans any metrical foot pattern formula name, it will resolve to the same sequence of asais it stands for.

Some sIr scanning examples - for those used to Sanskrit prosody concept of laghu and guru syllables:

(I = laghu, U - guru)

If a sIr consists of the pattern UIUU -

UIUU = U/IU/U = nEr / nirai / nEr = kUviLangAy.

e,g, பாடமாட்டேன் = பா / டமாட் / டேன் --- ( पाडमाट्टेन् - pAdamAttEn = pA / damAt / tEn) = (I will not sing).

If a sIr consists of the pattern UUI -

UUI = U/U/I = nEr / nEr / nEr = thEmAngAy.

e,g, ஓடாது = ஓ / டா / து --- ( ओडादु - OdAdhu = O / dA / dhu) = (It will not run).

If a sIr consists of the pattern UUU -

UUU = U/U/U = nEr / nEr / nEr = thEmAngAy.

e,g, செய்யுங்கள் = செய் / யுங் / கள் --- ( सेय्युङ्गळ् - seyyungaL = sey / yu-ng / gaL) = (Please do).

Note: Full discussion of scansion in Tamil - and nuances in handling 'ai', 'au' vowel sounds, 'Aydham' letter, etc. - are not in scope of this write up.

(Q&A:

Question: A nEr can take a short syllable only at the end of a sIr, but not in the middle, is it so?

Answer: When an asai unit starts with a short vowel sound, it can be scanned as a nEr asai only under one of the following situations:

a) That short vowel sound is at the end of a sIr (i.e. there are no more letters to scan in that sIr after that) or

b) when that short vowel sound is followed by a pure consonant cluster - which will automatically terminate that 'asai' unit.

)

--------------

On Wed, Apr 27, 2016 at 8:13 AM, Siva Siva <naya...@gmail.com> wrote:

veNbA 101 - an introduction (in English) to veNbA meter of Tamil

This write up aims to introduce a non-Tamil reader to fundamentals of veNbA meter (which is a popular meter in Tamil poetry). It is assumed that the reader is familiar with basic prosody aspects of some other Indian language.

As it assumes the reader may not be familiar with Tamil prosody, those basics are explained to the extent they are needed in this context.

While there are other scholarly books describing Tamil prosody in detail, this write up is intended as an easy to read, easy to use 'cookbook'.

[Siva Siva]

Rules for veNbA

Permitted feet (sIr) classes for all feet (sIr) anywhere except last foot (sIr) of the song:

2 asai feet - all allowed: thEmA, puLimA, kUviLam, karuviLam

3 asai feet - only kAy set allowed: thEmAngAy, puLimAngAy, kUviLangAy, karuviLangAy

Permitted feet (sIr) classes for last foot (sIr) of the song:

It has to be a one asai sIr or a 2 asai sIr matching certain condition as outlined below.

1 asai - all are allowed: nAL (nEr), malar (nirai)

2 asai - only mA set allowed and that foot has to end with 'u' sound: kAsu, piRappu

Linkage - (thaLai) - Rules for harmony between every consecutive feet pair:

Class (Formula) of first foot (sIr), determines what 'asai' the second sIr should start with .

a)

foot-1: is any mA class (i.e. thEmA, puLimA)

foot-2: must start with nirai asai (i.e. puLimA, karuviLam, puLimAngAy, karuviLangAy)

b)

foot-1: is any viLam class (i.e. kUviLam, karuviLam)

foot-2: must start with nEr asai (i.e. thEmA, kUviLam, thEmAngAy, kUviLangAy)

c)

foot-1: is any kAy class (i.e. thEmAngAy, puLimAngAy, kUviLangAy, karuviLangAy)

foot-2: must start with nEr asai (i.e. thEma, kUviLam, thEmAngAy, kUviLangAy)

Notes:

1) This linkage rule is applied for all feet pairs (sIr) in the veNbA song. (foot-1 and foot-2, foot-2 and foot-3, foot-3 and foot-4, and so on).This applies across lines as well. (For example, between 4th foot of line-1 and 1st foot of line-2).

2) Linkage (thaLai) is checked after applying all euphonic rules (sandhi rules) that govern how words combine.

edhugai / mOnai:

Normal rules of Tamil prosody apply.

Ideal for veNbA is mOnai in 3rd foot (sIr) of each line.

It may be more difficult to achieve mOnai in the final line of veNbA - but good poets strive to have mOnai in that line as well.

Common forms of veNbA:

2 lines - kuRaL veNbA

4 lines - innisai veNbA & nErisai veNbA

innisai veNbA:

4 lines.

All lines can follow same edhugai.

It is also acceptable to have 2 edhugais - first 2 lines follow one edhugai and next 2 lines follow another edhugai.

nErisai veNbA:

This is the most popular veNbA. This follows an extra edhugai in 4th foot (sIr) of 2nd line.

A X X X

A X X A

B X X X

B X X

Metrical feet (sIr) marked with A follow one edhugai and metrical feet (sIr) marked with B follow another edhugai. It is also acceptable to have same edhugai across A and B feet (sIr).

===================

V. Subramanian

On Thu, Apr 28, 2016 at 8:14 AM, Siva Siva <naya...@gmail.com> wrote:

Basics of scansion in Tamil:

Each metrical foot (sIr) is scanned as follows:

[VETTAI ANANTHANARAYANAN]

A detailed write-up on Tamil Prosody, including basic poem components, rules, poem types and examples can be found in: 

"Introduction to Tamil Prosody" [article] Ulrike Niklas

Bulletin de l'Ecole française d'Extrême-Orient  Année 1988  Volume 77  Numéro 1 pp. 165-227. 

It can be downloaded from: 

http://www.persee.fr/doc/befeo_0336-1519_1988_num_77_1_1744

I have had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Niklas while I was a visiting faculty at the National University of Singapore during the winters of 2003-2008. She gave me a copy of the above article which I still have with me. 

Information about About Dr. Niklas may be found in Facebook. A nice account of the growth of Tamil studies in Germany may be found in 

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10150617879057473&id=141482842472&substory_index=0

where Dr. Ulrike Niklas is mentioned as the first homegrown full Professor of Tamil at a German university.

ananth

[Siva Siva]

Thanks.

Yes, I am aware of that paper and the friend who asked me about veNbA was also aware of that.

/"While there are other scholarly books describing Tamil prosody in detail, this write up is intended as an easy to read, easy to use 'cookbook'."/

I would like to know whether my write achieves the above objective.

[Pas Pasupathy]

I remember Forumhub days.... and ..
http://www.forumhub.com/tlit/venpa.txt 

Your write-up is good. Yur friend's feedback may give more info.

On 29 April 2016 at 12:30, Siva Siva <naya...@gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks.

Yes, I am aware of that paper and the friend who asked me about veNbA was also aware of that.

/"While there are other scholarly books describing Tamil prosody in detail, this write up is intended as an easy to read, easy to use 'cookbook'."/

I would like to know whether my write achieves the above objective.

--

பசுபதி

http://s-pasupathy.blogspot.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pas.pasupathy  

https://plus.google.com/u/0/105726362757060425736/posts

http://groups.google.ca/group/yAppulagam

[VETTAI ANANTHANARAYANAN]

Your objective is quite clear and your simplification of otherwise complex concepts and terminology  fulfils that objective. As for the non-Tamil reader, as Pasupathy said, it will be useful to get periodic feedback from your friend and any other non-Tamil readers. 

ananth

 

 

[Siva Siva]

Thanks. 

Yes, he found it useful. He was attempting to write some verses in his language following the veNbA meter. He found this write up to be very helpful in understanding the veNbA rules.

On Fri, Apr 29, 2016 at 2:47 PM, VETTAI ANANTHANARAYANAN <gan...@gmail.com> wrote:

Your objective is quite clear and your simplification of otherwise complex concepts and terminology  fulfils that objective. As for the non-Tamil reader, as Pasupathy said, it will be useful to get periodic feedback from your friend and any other non-Tamil readers. 

ananth

 

 

On Fri, Apr 29, 2016 at 12:30 PM, Siva Siva <naya...@gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks.

Yes, I am aware of that paper and the friend who asked me about veNbA was also aware of that.

/"While there are other scholarly books describing Tamil prosody in detail, this write up is intended as an easy to read, easy to use 'cookbook'."/

I would like to know whether my write achieves the above objective.

[GMAIL]

I remember very well , Dr. Ulrike Nikolas spoke about "கொடிக்கவி" in our ILAKKIA VATTAM on one occasion.

Kumar (Singai)

Sent from my iPhone