Part 3 — Recipes and reference

17. Recipe: full kaida (Teentaal)

A kaida: main theme (bhari) → khali → palta variations → tihai. Classic Dha Ti Dha Ge kayda:

Input:

# Reusable phrases
$MT  = dha ti dha ge   na dha tira kite   dha ti dha ge   tin na ke na
$MT1 = ta ti ta ke   na ta tira kite   dha ti dha ge   dhin na ge na
$MT2 = dha ti dha ge   na dha tira kite   dha ti dha ge   dhin na ge na

# Main Theme (bhari + khali)
$MT
$MT1

# Dohra
[dha ti dha ge   na dha tira kite]x2
$MT
[ta ti ta ke   na ta tira kite]x2
$MT2

# Bal
dha ti dha ge   na dha tira kite   dha - - -   na dha tira kite
$MT
ta ti ta ke   na ta tira kite   ta - - -   na ta tira kite 
$MT2

# Adha Dohra
dha ti dha ge   dha ti dha ge   dha ti dha ge   na dha tira kite
$MT
ta ti ta ke   ta ti ta ke   ta ti ta ke   na ta tira kite
$MT2

Grid — $MT bhari theme (Teentaal, vibhags 1–2):

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 — $MT (Teentaal, vibhags 3–4):

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

Grid — $MT1 khali theme (Teentaal, vibhags 1–2):

1	2	3	4		5	6	7	8
ta	ti	ta	ke		na	ta	ti ra	ki te
ता	ति	ता	के		ना	ता	ति र	कि ट

Grid — $MT1 (Teentaal, vibhags 3–4):

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

How it works:

$MT is the bhari theme. $MT1 is the khali — swap Dha→Ta, Ge→Ke, Dhin→Tin. $MT2 is a bhari-ending closer after khali phrases.
Dohra doubles the first half of the theme, then returns to $MT / $MT2.
Bal hollows out four beats with - - - rests, then returns to the closer.
Adha Dohra repeats the first fragment three times before the closer.
Chakradhar tihai — 9-fold ending. The inner ^ cuts the final inner rep.

18. Recipe: tukda and tihai

Tukdas are short passages ending on sam, often at dugun or chaugun. This example shows the same bols at different speeds — the @Nx marker is what changes, not the notation. A speed marker applies to everything after it until the next marker or the end of the composition.

The tukda phrase (one Rupak cycle of bols):

dhi te dhi te   dha ge ti te   kra dhe ti te   dha ge ti te
[kra dhe ti te]x3

18.1 At baraabar (@1x)

Each bol is one beat. 28 bols = 4 Rupak cycles:

Input:

## Theka
tin tin na dhin na dhin na

## Tukda
dhi te dhi te dha ge ti te kra dhe ti te dha ge ti te
[kra dhe ti te]x3

Grid — theka (Rupak):

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

Grid — tukda at @1x (Rupak cycle 1):

1	2	3		4	5		6	7
dhi	te	dhi		te	dha		ge	ti
धि	ट	धि		ट	धा		गे	ति

Grid (Rupak cycle 2):

1	2	3		4	5		6	7
te	kra	dhe		ti	te		dha	ge
ट	क्र	धे		ति	ट		धा	गे

Grid (Rupak cycle 3):

1	2	3		4	5		6	7
ti	te	kra		dhe	ti		te	kra
ति	ट	क्र		धे	ति		ट	क्र

Grid (Rupak cycle 4):

1	2	3		4	5		6	7
dhe	ti	te		kra	dhe		ti	te
धे	ति	ट		क्र	धे		ति	ट

18.2 At dugun (@2x)

Same bols, but 2 per beat. 28 bols at @2x = 14 beats = 2 Rupak cycle:

Input:

## Theka
tin tin na dhin na dhin na

@2x
## Tukda (dugun)
dhi te dhi te dha ge ti te kra dhe ti te dha ge ti te
[kra dhe ti te]x3

Grid — theka (Rupak):

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

Grid — tukda at @2x (Rupak):

1	2	3		4	5		6	7
dhi te	dhi te	dha ge		ti te	kra dhe		ti te	dha ge
धि ट	धि ट	धा गे		ति ट	क्र धे		ति ट	धा गे

Grid (Rupak cycle 2):

1	2	3		4	5		6	7
ti te	kra dhe	ti te		kra dhe	ti te		kra dhe	ti te
ति ट	क्र धे	ति ट		क्र धे	ति ट		क्र धे	ति ट

Same bols, half the cycles.

18.3 At chaugun (@4x)

Same bols, 4 per beat. 28 bols at @4x = 7 beats:

Input:

## Theka
tin tin na dhin na dhin na

@4x
## Tukda (chaugun)
dhi te dhi te dha ge ti te kra dhe ti te dha ge ti te
[kra dhe ti te]x3

Grid — theka (Rupak):

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

Grid — tukda at @4x (Rupak, partial cycle):

1	2	3		4
dhi te dhi te	dha ge ti te	kra dhe ti te		dha ge ti te
धि ट धि ट	धा गे ति ट	क्र धे ति ट		धा गे ति ट

Grid (continued):

5		6	7
kra dhe ti te		kra dhe ti te	kra dhe ti te
क्र धे ति ट		क्र धे ति ट	क्र धे ति ट

Same notation, quarter the cycles. The speed marker is all that changed — write once, play at any laya.

Actually, this is part of a tukda. A full tukda would end with a tihai landing on sam (see §14).

19. Recipe: song accompaniment (Keherwa)

For songs, the "composition" is the tabla arrangement — theka sections alternating with fills and tihais. Keherwa (8 beats, vibhags 4+4) is a common choice. Use ## subtitles so the singer and tabla player can find their spots.

Input:

## Uthan
[dhi te ti te]x2 [dha - ^-]x3

## Theka
[ghe ti na na - ti dha na]x4

## Tihai
[dhin - ta ke te]x3 dhin - -

## Theka
[ghe ti ti ta - ti ti ta   ke ti ti ta - ti dhi ta]x2

## Tihai
[dhin - ta ke te]x3 dha - -

Grid — Uthan (2 Keherwa cycles):

[dhi te ti te]x2 = 8 beats = cycle 1. [dha - ^-]x3 = 3+3+2 = 8 beats = cycle 2.

Cycle 1:

1	2	3	4		5	6	7	8
dhi	te	ti	te		dhi	te	ti	te
धि	ट	ति	ट		धि	ट	ति	ट

Cycle 2:

1	2	3	4		5	6	7	8
dha	-	-	dha		-	-	dha	-
धा	-	-	धा		-	-	धा	-

The ^- cuts the trailing rest from the third rep, giving dha - instead of dha - -.

Grid — Theka (repeats 4 times, showing one cycle):

1	2	3	4		5	6	7	8
ghe	ti	na	na		-	ti	dha	na
घे	ति	ना	ना		-	ति	धा	ना

The ]x4 holds this theka for 4 cycles while the verse plays.

Grid — first Tihai ([dhin - ta ke te]x3 dhin - -, 18 beats):

Cycle 1:

1	2	3	4		5	6	7	8
dhin	-	ta	ke		te	dhin	-	ta
धिं	-	ता	के		ट	धिं	-	ता

Cycle 2:

1	2	3	4		5	6	7	8
ke	te	dhin	-		ta	ke	te	dhin
के	ट	धिं	-		ता	के	ट	धिं

Cycle 3 (partial):

1	2
-	-
-	-

The three reps of dhin - ta ke te land each dhin with emphasis, and the closing dhin - - provides breathing space before the next theka.

Grid — second Theka (variation, repeats 2 times, showing one cycle):

1	2	3	4		5	6	7	8
ghe	ti	ti	ta		-	ti	ti	ta
घे	ति	ति	ता		-	ति	ति	ता

1	2	3	4		5	6	7	8
ke	ti	ti	ta		-	ti	dhi	ta
के	ति	ति	ता		-	ति	धि	ता

This 16-beat pattern (]x2 repeats it) is a variation theka with a different feel — ghe ti ti ta swings differently from the original ghe ti na na.

Grid — closing Tihai ([dhin - ta ke te]x3 dha - -, 18 beats):

Same structure as the first tihai, but ends on dha (धा) instead of dhin (धिं) — a bhari ending that resolves with weight on sam of the next cycle.

20. Common pitfalls

Problem	Cause	Fix
Bols don't fit the taal cycle.	Wrong beat count.	Count tokens: single bols = 1 beat, concatenated = still 1 beat.
`tirakite` didn't expand.	Followed by a lowercase letter.	Put a space: `tirakite na`.
Composite won't cross beats.	Composites match within one token.	`tirkit` not `tir kit`.
`^` didn't cut.	Only the final `^` in expanded output cuts.	Remove extra `^`s or nest brackets.
Speed marker didn't apply.	`@2x` applies forward until next marker.	Add `@1x` to return to baraabar.
Devanagari wrong: ट showed as ता.	Typed `ta` for retroflex.	ट is `te`. Similarly `ghe` for घे. See §5.2.
Two speeds in one beat.	Concatenation can't do unequal.	Use dots: `dha.(ti.ra)` = 1/2 + 1/4 + 1/4.
Grid misaligned.	Row doesn't fit whole cycles.	Count beats; use `\|` at vibhag boundaries.

21. Quick reference

Notation at a glance

Syntax	Meaning
`dha`	One bol per beat
`-` / `s`	Rest (silent beat)
`dhadhin`	Two bols in one beat (concatenation)
`(tira)`	Same — explicit grouping
`dha.ge`	Two equal halves of a beat
`dha.ti.na`	Triplet
`dha.(ti.ra)`	Nested (1/2 + 1/4 + 1/4)
`\|`	Visual separator (ignored)
`tirakite`	Composite (expands to 4 bols)
`@1x` … `@4x`	Speed marker (forward until next)
`[pattern]xN`	Repeat N times (2–9)
`[A ^B]x3`	Tihai — drop B on final rep
`$name = …`	Variable
`$name = { … }`	Multi-line variable
`# text`	Comment (hidden)
`## text`	Subtitle (shown on grid)

Case is ignored everywhere. Lowercase is recommended.

Relative duration cheatsheet (inside one beat)

Token	Bols	Each takes
`dha`	1	full beat
`dhadhin`	2	1/2
`dhagetite`	4	1/4
`dha.ge`	2 (equal)	1/2
`dha.ti.na`	3 (equal)	1/3
`dha(tira)` or `dha.(ti.ra)`	1 + 2	dha 1/2, ti 1/4, ra 1/4
`(tira)(kite)`	2 + 2	each 1/4

Browse shared compositions in the app to see real examples of every feature in this guide. Open one, copy its bols, paste into a new composition, and tweak.