Geetams
The term Geetam originally meant song in general. In Carnatic music, Geetams are the simplest musical forms, pioneered by Purandara dasa. These combine melody and rhythm with lyrics. Geetam is the first regular composition to be learnt by a student. Every Geetam has got a definite raga and tala specified by the composer himself. A Geetam offers a miniature presentation of the raga in which it is composed, having all the important characteristics of the raga in a concise form.
In this musical form, there will be no divisions of pallavi. anupallavi and charanam. Geetam is to be sung from the beginning tll the end without any break. The sahithya or text of a geetam is brief and simple. The sahithya are as such in praise of some deity or other, a simple outlay of bhakti or description of some attributes of the deity.
Geelams are of two types: Samanya (Sanchari/Sadharana/Lakshya) geetam and Lakshana geetam. The lyrics are fairly simple in Samanya geetams and usually in praise of God. All the lakshanas enumerated above hold good for a Samanya geetam. Lakshana geetam gives the details of lakshanas or characteristics of the raga in which the geetam is composed.
Geetams are found in Sanskrit, Telugu and Kannada. A few well known composers who have created geetams include, Gurumoorthy, Purandara dasa and Pydala Gurumoorthy Sastri. Purandara dasa's introductory geetam in praise of Lord Ganesha, Maheswara and Vishnu are sometimes referred to as Pillari geethams
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