Here is the background to my dilemma:
Recently, I introduced a non-indian with minimal exposure to Carnatic music to a few live kutcheris.
After listening to them, he told me that while he could not wrap his head around the violin and vocals, he enjoyed the percussion.
He has had enough percussion training to grasp rhythm and the basics of talam and I had previously bored him with explanations of tisra/catusra/khanda/misra/sankeerna jati/gati/nadai.
To be honest, my own knowlege of talam is limited to what I learned when I learned bharathanatyam. Oddly, while I may have learned more when I learned vocal, it was never in a tangible way that I could use to explain anything.
Anyway, at this point, my father entered the conversation and asked me the difference between layam and talam. I blinked... and ad-libbed. Layam is the overarching set of rhythm while talam is more akin to 'beat.'
My question now is... was I wrong in my answer and how can I better explain how to appreciate a thani avarthanam for casual listeners? Is there a guide with characteristic phrases to watch for or an audio primer that can be listened to to learn what defines a really good thani versus a passable one?
And a plea... isn't there anyone else out there that thinks if there were more exposure to talam at the elementary education level people would be less likely to get up and walk out at concerts during the thani avarthanam?