Key terms to understand Mardala taals:
- Chondo - This would be how the divisions of the tal are divided. eg, in Adital, the sixteen beats are divided into 4 groups of 4. So the Chondo for Adital is 4 + 4 + 4 + 4. This describes what the Bhagos are.
- Bhago - This would be the groups the taal is divided into. Also the points on which the tali or khali would be. eg, Adital is divided into 4 groups of 4 beats. It is said that Adital has 4 Bhago. These are the measures.
- Matra - Beat; the name for “beat” in a taal. Ek taal has 4 matra, ie 4 beats.
- Dharana - The 1st laya of each tal which denotes what the taal is, and is a fixed composition.
