First appeared in www.scroll.in on April 11, 2015. Conventionally, some taals or time cycles in Hindustani music are more appropriate for accompaniment to vocal and/or instrumental music, while others can be explored in solo recitals too. Although norms have been established regarding the appropriate speed for each taal, musicians have often been known to cross these boundaries. But the taal cycle is not a mere organisation of a fixed number of matras or time units arranged in equal or