ABSTRACT
A simple definition of poruttam would be a sequence of at least 3 cycles of a tala in which fragments of the theme are interwoven with different rhythmical techniques. Perhaps because the basic concept remains the same, karnatic music does not seem to have two different names for the different ways of constructing and developing the concept of poruttam. In poruttam A, every cell, while always staying in its original position within the tala according to the original theme, is performed in different cycles of the tala sam. Unnamed mukthay combining the concept of a yati mukthay type B with a compound-related mukthay, together with the notion of sub-mukthay. The seed phrase in the 1st pala of 5 matras is divided in two parts: the first part is increased by a in the first part of the 6-matra pala, whereas added in the 7-matra pala. Each rhythmical technique resolves on a tala or anga sam.
