5.5 The alankaras: Ata and Eka
Complete the seven alankaras with Ata and Eka, and play the whole set in order.
Ata in this set has two laghus of five and two drutams — fourteen beats, arranged unlike Dhruva's fourteen. Eka is a single laghu of four and is the shortest of the seven. Finishing the set is the point at which the tala system stops being a table and becomes something you can feel.
Work through these
Learn the Ata tala alankara, five plus five plus two plus two.
karnATik — Beginner lessons · TutorialLearn the Eka tala alankara, one laghu of four.
Play all seven alankaras in order, keeping each tala with the hand.
Compare Ata and Dhruva, which have the same number of beats arranged differently.
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Links last checked 30 Aug 2026.
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