Avartan

An avartan [pronounced ah-var-tahn] is one complete cycle in a taal. In other words, a cycle consists of everything from the first matra to the last matra. The term can apply to dance or music. For example, in teentaal, the avartan is comprised of everything from the first Ta to the last Tat.

An avartan is composed of measures, known as vibhags. Each vibhag is, in turn, composed of beats, known as matras. In contrast to Western music, where measures are composed of the same number of beats at all times, vibhags in an avartan may consist of a different number of beats. On the other hand, the number of matras, or beats, in an avartan is always the same, while in Western music, there is no matching concept of a cycle, and composers and musicians are free to create and alter their own rhythms at will.