Tarana is a Hindustani classical vocal form in which syllables such as “dere,” “naa,” “deem” and “tana” become musical material. Shaped through raga, rhythm and melodic phrasing, they can free a singer from the demands of ordinary lyric meaning and let the voice move toward instrumental expression. Their precise linguistic origins, however, remain disputed; the syllables do not have one settled, universal translation.
What is a tarana?
A tarana is a vocal composition in Hindustani classical music, built within a raga and a rhythmic cycle, or tala. Its defining syllables are not simply recited at speed: the singer shapes them through melody, rhythm and development. The result is a form in which voice can function almost like an instrument, while remaining rooted in vocal performance.
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Music writer Aneesh Pradhan described the syllables as “a musical language tied in with melody and rhythm,” allowing musicians to move beyond some of the restrictions literal language can impose. That is a musical possibility, not a claim that every tarana is devoid of meaning or that all its syllables are meaningless.
What do tarana syllables mean?
The short answer is that no single, universally accepted translation is established. Tarana compositions may use syllables such as “dere, naa, deem” and “tana,” as well as syllables associated with pakhawaj drumming. Persian influence is part of the tradition, and Persian verses appear in the latter part of many traditional compositions. Some musicians also believe the syllables themselves have Persian roots whose connections have since been lost.
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Accounts of the syllables’ history include Persian- and Arabic-derived explanations, but the evidence does not settle the question. It is more accurate to hear the syllables as rhythmic and melodic material whose sounds and phrasing carry musical force than to assign each one a definitive meaning.
How to listen to a tarana
Listen for how the raga, tala, tempo, syllabic phrasing and accompaniment shape a performance. Two examples discussed by Pradhan illustrate how much those choices can vary; neither arrangement is a fixed template for the form.
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Hansadhvani with teentaal
Pradhan describes Amir Khan singing a tarana in Hansadhvani set to teentaal, a 16-count rhythmic cycle. Attend to how the syllables are fitted to the raga and tala rather than treating them as a string of words.
Gaud Sarang with Ektaal
In another example, Rashid Khan performs a tarana in Gaud Sarang with Ektaal, a 12-matra cycle. It begins at a medium tempo and accelerates to a fast one, with tabla, harmonium and sarangi accompaniment. The changing pace gives the syllables a different rhythmic character from the Hansadhvani example.
Who is credited with creating tarana?
Tarana is traditionally credited to Amir Khusrau, the 13th–14th-century poet and musician. A University of Delhi history text places tarana among musical innovations associated with Khusrau and discusses these forms in the context of the later composite qawwali tradition in Shahjahanabad.
The attribution should not be mistaken for a conclusively documented invention. A 2024 article in Naad-Nartan reviews competing accounts and reports that the available references do not provide a complete picture of the genre’s development, though many sources and scholars point to Khusrau as its starting point. An IIT Bombay-hosted thesis likewise describes tarana’s past as “shrouded in mystery.” Its precise origins remain uncertain.
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How tarana relates to Carnatic tillana
Tarana belongs to Hindustani music; tillana is a related form in the South Indian Carnatic tradition. They should not be treated as interchangeable names. Pradhan notes that the tillana examples he discusses do not include Persian verses, while Culture Atlas describes tillana as a related southern form adapted primarily for dance.
Quick Recap
Sources and further reading
- Aneesh Pradhan, “Tarana: A musical language beyond words,” Scroll.in, September 6, 2014
- IIT Bombay-hosted thesis on tarana singing style in Hindustani classical music
- 2024 Naad-Nartan article on tarana’s history
- University of Delhi history text
- Culture Atlas overview of Indian music
- NaadSadhna overview of tarana in Hindustani classical music
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