Part 2 — Advanced

Part 2 introduces the features that make longer compositions practical. Examples use Dadra, Rupak (7 beats, vibhags 3+2+2), and Teentaal (16 beats, vibhags 4+4+4+4).

9. Dot subdivision (unequal beats)

Concatenation makes all bols in a beat equal (§7). When you need unequal divisions — one bol longer than others — use dots. Dots split a beat into equal segments, and each segment's bols share that segment's time.

9.1 Equal vs unequal — the key difference (Dadra)

Input (concatenation — equal thirds):

dha dhin na dhatira kitedha -

Grid (Dadra):

1	2	3		4	5	6
dha	dhin	na		dha ti ra	ki te dha	-
धा	धिं	ना		धा ति र	कि ट धा	-

Beat 4 has 3 bols — each takes exactly 1/3 of the beat:


dha	ti	ra
धा	ति	र

Input (dots — unequal):

dha dhin na dha.tira kite.dha -

Grid (Dadra):

1	2	3		4	5	6
dha	dhin	na		dha · ti ra	ki te dha ·	·
धा	धिं	ना		धा · ति र	कि ट धा ·	·

The dot splits beat 4 into 2 equal segments. dha fills the first segment (1/2 beat), ti ra share the second segment (1/4 beat each):


dha	-	ti	ra
धा	-	ति	र

dha holds for 2 slots (1/2 beat), ti and ra take 1 slot each (1/4 beat each). The dot is what makes dha longer.

Note that another option to get similar effect is to use - to provide silence to increase the duration of a bol.

dha dhin na dha-tira kitedha- -

9.2 Two equal halves (Dadra)

Input:

dha dhin na dha.ge tin na

Grid (Dadra):

1	2	3		4	5	6
dha	dhin	na		dha · ge	tin	na
धा	धिं	ना		धा · गे	तिं	ना

Two segments, one bol each — dha 1/2, ge 1/2. Same as concatenation dhage in this case (both equal).

9.3 Triplet (Dadra)

Input:

dha dhin na t.ki.te tin na

Grid (Dadra):

1	2	3		4	5	6
dha	dhin	na		t · ki · te	tin	na
धा	धिं	ना		त · कि · ट	तिं	ना

Three dots = three equal segments — a triplet.

9.4 Rupak triplet

Rupak's 7-beat structure (3+2+2) with a triplet in beat 4:

Input:

tin tin na dha.ti.na na dhin na

Grid (Rupak):

1	2	3		4	5		6	7
tin	tin	na		dha · ti · na	na		dhin	na
तिं	तिं	ना		धा · ति · ना	ना		धिं	ना

9.5 Limitation: dots can't nest further

dha.tira splits into 2 segments, and tira is parsed as ti ra (2 bols sharing the second segment). But what if you wanted 3 segments where the middle segment itself has an internal split? Dots alone can't express that — you need parentheses (§10).

10. Parentheses (nested grouping)

Parentheses pick up where dots leave off. Each paren group gets an equal share of the beat, and bols inside a group share that group's portion. Use parens when you need nested subdivisions that dots can't express.

10.1 Paren vs concatenation (Dadra)

Input (with parens):

dha dhin na ((dha)(tira)(kite)(tka)) (tira)(kite)(tka)ta - -

Grid (Dadra):

1	2	3		4	5	6
dha	dhin	na		dha · ti ra ki te t ka	ti ra ki te t ka ta ·	·
धा	धिं	ना		धा · ति र कि ट त क	ति र कि ट त क ता ·	·

Beat 4 has 4 groups, and each is played in 1/4 beat. So, dha is played in 1/4, tira is played in 1/4 beat. Thus ti and ra is played in 1/8 beat, or 8 times faster than dha in first beat. The tira.kite.tka.ta is another way to get same effect. tirakitetkata- would also be same, but it is less readable without any grouping.

Now compare with plain concatenation — same bols, no parens:

Input (without parens):

dha dhin na dha-tirakitetka tirakitetkata- -

Grid (Dadra):

1	2	3		4	5	6
dha	dhin	na		dha · ti ra ki te t ka	ti re ki te t ka ta ·	·
धा	धिं	ना		धा · ति र कि ट त क	ति र कि ट त क ता ·	·

Without parens or - like dhatirakitetka all bols in the beat will become equal, and will get 1/7 beat.

The difference: parens let you make some bols longer than others. Without parens, everything is equal.

10.2 Nested subdivision with dots and parens (Dadra)

For the most complex case — dots for the top-level split, parens for an inner split:

Input:

dha dhin na dha.tira.kite.tka (ti.ra).kite.tka.ta - -

Grid (Dadra):

1	2	3		4	5	6
dha	dhin	na		dha · ti ra ki te t ka	ti re ki te t ka ta ·	·
धा	धिं	ना		धा · ति र कि ट त क	ति र कि ट त क ता ·	·

The dot splits beat 4 into two halves. The second half (ti.ra) is itself dot-split: ti and ra each get 1/8 of the beat. Same rhythm as §10.1, but written with dots + parens instead of stacked paren groups.

10.3 Which tool when?

You want…	Use
Equal bols in a beat	concatenation: `dhadhin`, `tirakite`
Unequal split (one bol longer)	dots: `dha.tira`
Triplet / quintuplet	dots: `dha.ti.na`
Nested unequal splits	dots + parens: `dha.(ti.ra)`
Multiple groups with different sizes	stacked parens: `(dha)(tira)`

11. Composite shortcuts

Common phrases have named shortcuts that expand to canonical bol sequences. Saves typing and ensures correct Devanagari.

11.1 Composite table

Shortcut	Expands to	Devanagari
`TiRaKiTa` / `tirakite`	Ti Ra Ki Te	ति र कि ट
`tirkit`	Ti Ra Ki Te	ति र कि ट
`tirkittk`	Ti Ra Ki Te Te Ka	ति र कि ट ट क
`KitaTaka`	Ki Ta Ta Ka	कि ता ता क
`DhiRaDhiRa`	Dhi Ra Dhi Ra	धि र धि र
`GhiDeNaGa`	Ghi De Na Ga	घि ड़ ना ग
`GaDiGeNe`	Ga Di Ge Ne	ग दि गे ने
`TakKdaan`	Ta Kda Ne	ता क्ड ने
`KdaDhaan`	Kda Dha Ne	क्ड धा ने
`TaKiTa`	Ti Ki Te	ति कि ट
`KdaDha`	Kda Dha	क्ड धा
`TraKa`	Tra Kda	त्र क्ड

Composites only match within a single beat (space-delimited token). They don't cross spaces, parens, or bracket boundaries.

11.2 Dadra example

Input:

dha dhin na tirkit tin na

Grid (Dadra):

1	2	3		4	5	6
dha	dhin	na		ti ra ki te	tin	na
धा	धिं	ना		ति र कि ट	तिं	ना

tirakite — one token, four bols in one beat.

11.3 Teentaal kaida phrase (full cycle)

Input:

dha ti dha ge na dha tira kite
dha ti dha ge tin na ke na

Grid (Teentaal, beats 1–8):

1	2	3	4		5	6	7	8
dha	ti	dha	ge		na	dha	ti ra	ki te
धा	ति	धा	गे		ना	धा	ति र	कि ट

Grid (Teentaal, beats 9–16):

9	10	11	12		13	14	15	16
dha	ti	dha	ge		tin	na	ke	na
धा	ति	धा	गे		तिं	ना	के	ना

A classic Teentaal kaida theme — tirakite in beat 7-8 packs two bols into each beat. See §17 for the full composition with paltas and tihai.

12. Repeats

[pattern] x N repeats a block N times (N = 2–9).

12.1 Simple repeat (Dadra)

Input:

[dha dhin na]x2

Expands to dha dhin na dha dhin na — one full Dadra cycle from a half-cycle phrase.

Grid (Dadra):

1	2	3		4	5	6
dha	dhin	na		dha	dhin	na
धा	धिं	ना		धा	धिं	ना

12.2 Nested repeat (Dadra, 2 cycles)

Input:

[dha dhin [na]x4]x2

Expands to 12 beats = 2 Dadra cycles.

Grid (Dadra, cycle 1):

1	2	3		4	5	6
dha	dhin	na		na	na	na
धा	धिं	ना		ना	ना	ना

Grid (Dadra, cycle 2):

1	2	3		4	5	6
dha	dhin	na		na	na	na
धा	धिं	ना		ना	ना	ना

13. Speed markers (laya)

@1x (baraabar), @2x (dugun), @3x (tigun), @4x (chaugun). Applies from the marker forward until the next marker.

Speed markers let you reuse the same bol text at different speeds — write a theka once, then copy-paste it under a @2x or @4x marker to hear it at dugun or chaugun without editing. This is how most compositions build up from slow to fast: same phrases, just a speed marker change.

13.1 Dadra theka at baraabar then dugun

Input:

## Baraabar
dha dhin na dha tin na

@2x
## Dugun
[dha dhin na dha tin na]x2

Grid — baraabar (Dadra):

1	2	3		4	5	6
dha	dhin	na		dha	tin	na
धा	धिं	ना		धा	तिं	ना

Grid — dugun (Dadra, same 6 beats):

1	2	3		4	5	6
dha dhin	na dha	tin na		dha dhin	na dha	tin na
धा धिं	ना धा	तिं ना		धा धिं	ना धा	तिं ना

At @2x, two bols share each taal beat. The 12-bol expansion ([…]x2) fills one 6-beat Dadra cycle.

13.2 Global `speed` field vs `@Nx`

The composition's global speed field multiplies on top of @Nx markers. A composition at speed: 2 with an @2x section plays that section at 4×. Prefer @Nx for in-score laya changes; reserve speed for a composition-wide override. Note that speed change may squish the composition such that it may not fit full taal cycle. For example, a 18 beat composition fits 3 cycles of dadra, but at 2x speed, it would need only 9 beats or 1.5 cycles, and leave a half cycle silence.

14. Tihai with cap `^`

A tihai is three repetitions of a phrase, typically the last bol lands on sam to continue new cycle.

Sometimes, a different bol may be needed for the new cycle. For example, in rupak, the tihai that end in dha, but playing theka may require playing tin instead, at sam for the new cycle.

It is also inconvenient if tihai is ending the composition. The last dha of the tihai will create a new taal cycle, that would be filled with silence.

So, we want to use []x3 for writing tihai, but just want to remove the last portion, typically the portion that lands on the sam, typically last dha.

The ^ caret (cap) marks that cut point: everything after the last ^ is dropped from the final repetition, thus it is used to cap a tihai.

14.1 Sam-landing tihai (Jhaptaal)

A tihai "lands on sam" when the last meaningful bol of the third repetition falls on beat 1 (sam) of the next cycle.

Input:

[dha kat dha -]x3

The phrase dha kat dha - is 4 beats. Repeated 3 times = 12 beats. Jhaptaal has 10 beats per cycle, so the tihai spans 1 cycle + 2 beats into the next.

Grid (Jhaptaal cycle 1, beats 1–10):

1	2		3	4	5		6	7		8	9	10
dha	ka t		dha	-	dha		ka t	dha		-	dha	ka t
धा	क त		धा	-	धा		क त	धा		-	धा	क त

Grid (Jhaptaal cycle 2, beats 1–2):

1 (sam)	2
dha	-
धा	-

The third dha wraps into the next cycle and lands exactly on sam (beat 1). The - after it fills beat 2. This is what makes it a tihai — three repetitions resolving to sam.

14.2 With the cap (Jhaptaal)

Now use ^ to cap the rest from the last repetition so the tihai is finished within the taal, and sam onwards is continued using next part of the composition.

Input:

## Tihai
[dha kat ^dha -]x3

## Theka
dhin na   dhin dhin na   tin na   dhin dhin na

The tihai phrase dha kat dha - is 4 beats, but ^- cuts the rest from the final rep:

Rep 1: dha kat dha - (4 beats)
Rep 2: dha kat dha - (4 beats)
Rep 3: dha kat (2 beats — the ^dha - portion is ignored)

Total tihai (not including sam) = 4 + 4 + 2 = 10 beats = one Jhaptaal cycle.

The theka fills the next Jhaptaal cycle (10 beats).

Grid — tihai (Jhaptaal cycle 1, beats 1–10):

1	2		3	4	5		6	7		8	9	10
dha	kat		dha	-	dha		kat	dha		-	dha	kat
धा	क त		धा	-	धा		क त	धा		-	धा	क त

Grid — theka (Jhaptaal) with Tihai landing on sam:

1	2		3	4	5		6	7		8	9	10
dhin	na		dhin	dhin	na		tin	na		dhin	dhin	na
धिं	ना		धिं	धिं	ना		तिं	ना		धिं	धिं	ना

The ^dha - cut removes the trailing rest from rep 3, so the final dha is not played, rather theka dhin starts at sam.

Without the cut ([dha kat dha -]x3 as in §14.1), we would have to write third cycle differently for example [dha kat dha -]x2 dha kat. The ^ cap makes the tihai resolve cleanly, with clean indication that x3 makes a tihai.

14.3 Chakradhar (tihai-within-tihai, Teentaal)

A chakradhar is a tihai of tihais — the inner phrase repeats 3 times, and that whole block repeats 3 times = 9 repetitions total. It's typically the grand finale of a kaida. Writing a chakradhar becomes much easier due to capping ^ notation.

Input:

[dhati dhage [dhinna gena ^dha]x3 ]x3

Calculating the math:

The inner phrase dhinna gena dha has 3 beats (each phrase is one beat with concatenated bols inside).

	Calculation	Beats
Prefix	`dhati dhage`	2
Inner tihai `[dhinna gena ^dha]x3`	3 beats × 3 reps	9
One full block	2 + 9	11
Chakradhar	11 × 3 outer reps	33

Teentaal has 16 beats per cycle. 33 = 2 × 16 + 1 — so the 33rd beat dha would land on beat 1 (sam) of the third cycle. The last dha lands exactly on sam.

Grid — one outer block (11 beats):

Prefix (2 beats):

1	2
dha ti	dha ge
धा ति	धा गे

Inner rep 1 (3 beats):

3	4	5
dhin na	ge na	dha
धिं ना	गे ना	धा

Inner rep 2 (3 beats):

6	7	8
dhin na	ge na	dha
धिं ना	गे ना	धा

Inner rep 3 (3 beats):

9	10	11
dhin na	ge na	dha
धिं ना	गे ना	धा

This 11-beat block repeats 3 times = 33 beats. Here's the full expansion laid out across Teentaal cycles:

Grid — full chakradhar (Teentaal cycle 1, beats 1–8):

1	2	3	4		5	6	7	8
dha ti	dha ge	dhin na	ge na		dha	dhin na	ge na	dha
धा ति	धा गे	धिं ना	गे ना		धा	धिं ना	गे ना	धा

Grid (Teentaal cycle 1, beats 9–16):

9	10	11	12		13	14	15	16
dhin na	ge na	dha	dha ti		dha ge	dhin na	ge na	dha
धिं ना	गे ना	धा	धा ति		धा गे	धिं ना	गे ना	धा

Grid (Teentaal cycle 2, beats 1–8):

1	2	3	4		5	6	7	8
dhin na	ge na	dha	dhin na		ge na	dha	dha ti	dha ge
धिं ना	गे ना	धा	धिं ना		गे ना	धा	धा ति	धा गे

Grid (Teentaal cycle 2, beats 9–16):

9	10	11	12		13	14	15	16
dhin na	ge na	dha	dhin na		ge na	dha	dhin na	ge na
धिं ना	गे ना	धा	धिं ना		गे ना	धा	धिं ना	गे ना

Grid (Teentaal cycle 3, beat 1 — sam) - would be cut out due to ^:

1 (sam)
dha
धा

The very last dha (beat 33) lands on sam of the third cycle.

Using ^ for a clean transition:

The ^ before dha cuts it from the fully expanded output, making the chakradhar 32 beats (exactly 2 Teentaal cycles). Sam of cycle 3 is left free for the next section to begin cleanly.

The ^ only cuts the last occurrence — even though there are 9 inner reps, only the 9th one loses its dha. Chakradhars are the showcase ending for long kaidas (see §17).

Imagine trying to write a chakradhar without using ^, we would need to write the last cycle differently, resulting in mistake.

[dhati dhage [dhinna gena dha]x3 ]x2 dhati dhage dhinna gena

Nauhakka tihais can similarly be written succinctly using ^.

15. Variables

$name = value defines a reusable phrase. Use for anything that's repeated often in the composition. The assignment line itself is not played — it only stores the phrase. The bols only enter the composition where you reference $name.

Variables are especially useful for kaidas, where the main theme (or its second half) is repeated in every cycle — define it once as $MT, then reference $MT at the end of each variation. Change the theme in one place and every palta updates automatically.

Rather than using copy-paste, variables make the compositions less error-prone. They also help readability of a long composition, by giving a cue about reusing the learnt phrase. But using the variables too much can also hinder understandability of a composition.

15.1 Single-line variable (Keherwa)

Input:

# Variable defined
$P1 = dha dha ti te
$P2 = dha dha tin na

# Variable used.
$P1 $P1
$P1 $P2

Grid (cycle 1):

1	2	3	4		5	6	7	8
dha	dha	ti	te		dha	dha	ti	te
धा	धा	ति	ट		धा	धा	ति	ट

Grid (cycle 2):

1	2	3	4		5	6	7	8
dha	dha	ti	te		dha	dha	tin	na
धा	धा	ति	ट		धा	धा	तिं	ना

15.2 Multi-line (braces)

Input:

$theka = {
dha dhin na
dha tin na
}
$theka
$theka

Expands to two rows.

15.3 Variables referencing variables

Input:

$a = dha dhin na
$b = $a dha tin na
$b

$b expands to dha dhin na dha tin na — one Dadra cycle.

Grid (Dadra):

1	2	3		4	5	6
dha	dhin	na		dha	tin	na
धा	धिं	ना		धा	तिं	ना

Handy for building themes from reusable halves (bhari/khali).

15.4 Naming conventions

There are some commonly used conventions to write kayda

$MT, $MT1, $MT2 — main theme and variations (bhari/khali)
$theka — the taal's basic pattern
$theme_half1, $theme_half1_khali — theme halves

16. Taal grid and vibhags

Each taal has a fixed beat count, vibhag (section) boundaries, and clap positions (sam, tali, khali). The grid uses empty columns to show vibhag boundaries.

16.1 Taal parameters

Taal	Beats	Vibhags	Claps
Dadra	6	3 + 3	sam: 1
Rupak	7	3 + 2 + 2	tali: 4, 6; sam (beat 1) is khali
Keherwa / Bhajani	8	4 + 4	sam: 1
Dhumali	8	2 + 2 + 2 + 2	sam: 1; tali: 3, 7; khali: 5
Jhaptaal	10	2 + 3 + 2 + 3	sam: 1; tali: 3, 8
Ektaal / Chautaal	12	2 × 6	sam: 1; tali: 5, 9
Deepchandi	14	3 + 4 + 3 + 4	sam: 1; tali: 4, 11; khali: 8
Dhamar	14	5 + 2 + 3 + 4	sam: 1; tali: 6, 11
Teentaal / Tilwada	16	4 × 4	sam: 1; tali: 5, 13; khali: 9

16.2 Rupak theka (7 beats)

Rupak is 3+2+2 with its sam (beat 1) as a khali — unusual.

Input:

tin tin na   dhin na   dhin na

Grid (Rupak):

1	2	3		4	5		6	7
tin	tin	na		dhin	na		dhin	na
तिं	तिं	ना		धिं	ना		धिं	ना

16.3 Teentaal theka (16 beats)

Teentaal is four vibhags of 4. Written as two rows for readability.

Input:

dha dhin dhin dha | dha dhin dhin dha
dha tin tin ta | ta dhin dhin dha

Grid (Teentaal, vibhags 1–2):

1	2	3	4		5	6	7	8
dha	dhin	dhin	dha		dha	dhin	dhin	dha
धा	धिं	धिं	धा		धा	धिं	धिं	धा

Grid (Teentaal, vibhags 3–4):

9	10	11	12		13	14	15	16
dha	tin	tin	ta		ta	dhin	dhin	dha
धा	तिं	तिं	ता		ता	धिं	धिं	धा

Your bols just need to fill whole cycles. The grid wraps automatically.

Part 2 — Advanced

9. Dot subdivision (unequal beats)

9.1 Equal vs unequal — the key difference (Dadra)

9.2 Two equal halves (Dadra)

9.3 Triplet (Dadra)

9.4 Rupak triplet

9.5 Limitation: dots can't nest further

10. Parentheses (nested grouping)

10.1 Paren vs concatenation (Dadra)

10.2 Nested subdivision with dots and parens (Dadra)

10.3 Which tool when?

11. Composite shortcuts

11.1 Composite table

11.2 Dadra example

11.3 Teentaal kaida phrase (full cycle)

12. Repeats

12.1 Simple repeat (Dadra)

12.2 Nested repeat (Dadra, 2 cycles)

13. Speed markers (laya)

13.1 Dadra theka at baraabar then dugun

13.2 Global speed field vs @Nx

14. Tihai with cap ^

14.1 Sam-landing tihai (Jhaptaal)

14.2 With the cap (Jhaptaal)

14.3 Chakradhar (tihai-within-tihai, Teentaal)

15. Variables

15.1 Single-line variable (Keherwa)

15.2 Multi-line (braces)

15.3 Variables referencing variables

15.4 Naming conventions

16. Taal grid and vibhags

16.1 Taal parameters

16.2 Rupak theka (7 beats)

16.3 Teentaal theka (16 beats)

13.2 Global `speed` field vs `@Nx`

14. Tihai with cap `^`