Carnatic concerts usually begin with a short piece called varnam , followed by elaborate compositions called krithi . A krithi consists of segments reffered to as pallavi , anupallavi and charanam . The pallavi illustrates the unique theme of the raga in its lower range , while the anupallavi sets up a constrasting theme of the raga in its upper range . The charanam are different stanzas of the compositions . The main piece of a performance is a kriti which is preceded by an elaborate alapana , in which the artist improvises on the basic structure , and displays his ingenuity in performance .
Performances end with a mangalam , an invocation for the welfare of the world.