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Varnam is a form of song in the Carnatic music repertoire. A varnam is a relatively short piece. It is usually set to Aadi or Ata tala. It is usually performed at the start of a recital as a warm up piece. The lyrics are simple and consist mostly of long syllables and swara phrases of various lengths which bring out the essential features of the raga. It has two types: Taana varnam and Pada varnam.

Varnams are considered vocal exercises in a particular raga. The patterns in a varnam are considered to be characteristic patterns of a particular raga or scale. Varnams are considered the most complex of the vocal exercises in Carnatic Music. They are designed to help develop voice culture and proper control of rhythm. Indeed, varnams are often practiced in double and triple speeds and proper rhythmic control (tala) must be kept.

Tana varnams are considered pure vocal exercises, and pada varnams are generally sung to accompany South Indian classical dance (bharatanatyam). Pada varnams generally contain much more text and lyric content than the tana varnam. The tana varnam is composed of just a few lines, and words may be extended through many notes. For example, many varnams contain the lyric "Sāmi", meaning God, may be extended to "sa a a a a a a m i i i i i i i"... and so on.

The varnam is subdivided into several sections:

• Pallavi: the first line, sung with lyric
• Anupallavi: a sort of recapitulation, sung with lyric
• Mukthaayiswaram: sung completely with syllables -- or swaras -- (like sa ri ga ma pa da ni sa)
• Charanam: sung with lyric
• Charanam Swaras: sung completely with syllables. In a Pada varnam, there are lyrics which correspond to the Charanam swaras. The swaras occur in several groups or stanzas.

Generally, a varnam is sung as follows: Pallavi

• Anupallavi
• Muktayi Swaram
• Pallavi (in double speed)

Repeat, then Pallavi sung in triple speed, or in original speed.

• Charanam
• Charanam Swara Group 1
• Charanam
• Charanam Swara Group 2
• Charanam
• Charanam Swara Group 3
• Charanam
• Charanam Swara Group 4
• Charanam

There are generally 3-5 swara groups in every varnam. In a concert, the entire charanam section is sung at approximately 1.5 speed.

Varnams are generally sung in 2 varieties of talas, or metric systems, Adi Tala (8 beat cycle) and Ata Tala (14 beat cycle), where Ata Tala varnams are generally more complicated and advanced.

Famous adi tala tana varnams include "Sāmi Ninne" in raga Sree, "Evvari Bodhana" in "raga Abhogi" and "Valachi Vacchi" in a navarāgamālika, or 9 ragas. The Arabhi Varnam is supposed to be the only longest piece with janttai and tattu prayogas Famous ata tala varnams are "Viriboni" in raga Bhairavi, and "Nera Nammi" in raga Kānada. A famous adi tala pada varnam is "Chalamela" in raga Nāttakurinji.