ABSTRACT
Yati phrases uses some form of 'geometric' shape to develop. Samayatis are usually short phrases that are always repeated with a different melody. Due to the proliferation and diversity of mukthays, samayatis are seldom used. Srotovahayati is a sequence of at least three palas in which the initial one is the shortest. Gopuchayati is the exact reverse of a srotovahayati, with the first phrase being the longest. Each successive pala is a decreased version, always omitting the same number of matras. In its simplest possible definition, a mridangamyati is a srotovahayati followed by a gopuchayati. In the case of a damaruyati the viloma option is used more often than in the mridangamyati, due to the fact that the last pala of the first fragment is the shortest pala of the whole sequence. Asking musicians what characterises a visamayati results in enormously varying explanations and turns this technique into a theoretical concept that karnatic musicians barely use.
