In this day and age where the traditional *Margam has taken a back seat to the more glamorous 'Thematic Presentations', A'KHANDA' Margam is a venture, which dwells more into the beauty and scope offered by the traditional margam. A margam typically consists of an Alarippu/Pushpanjali/Mallari, followed by Jathiswaram, Varnam, Padam and Thillana. A'khanda Margam' journeys through this, however with a different flavor. Any dance or music number is set to a rhythmic pattern called a Tala. Talas are 7 in nature - Dhruva, Matya, Roopaka, Triputa, Jhampa, Ata and Eka. Each of these Talas can be further rendered in five different meters namely - Chathusra, Thisra, Misra, Khanda and Sankeerna. Thus the total combination of Talas and the Metres in which they can be performed gives us 35 different Talas. Adi Talam, in other words Chathusra Jathi Tirupata Thalam is the most popular thala while performing a Margam. This is set to a cycle of 16 beats. A'KHANDA' Margam is an unique venture which explores the scope of the traditional Margam through Khanda Jathi Ata Thalam, set to a cycle of 28 beats. Thus the whole retinue of items starting from the Alarippu to the Thillana would be in the cycle of Khanda Jathi Ata Thalam. Madurai R Muralidharan, is an acclaimed artist living amongst us. He is a dancer, composer, choreographer of a very high calibre, all rolled in one. Shri Muralidharan has already composed the entire Margam in all of the 35 talas mentioned above!. A'KHANDA' Margam would be showcasing one of his many gems. Working on A’KHANDA’ Margam was a challenging one. It was an unprecedented effort in the dance world. We decided to come together to make this mammoth production a reality. A’KHANDA’ Margam was premiered in Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chennai on the 16th of Jan 2006 * Margam - A standard sequence of items performed in a dance program. Literally meaning ‘The Path' - 'Program on Jan 16th'