Dadra tal is six or three beat tal which is extremely common in the the lighter forms of music. It is is commonly found in qawwalis, film songs, bhajans, gazals, and folk music throughout India.

The name is derived from its association with the dadra style of singing. This is a semiclassical form that is somewhat similar to thumri. The dadra style of singing in turn, derives its name from the place where it began.

There are a number of reasons for Dadra's extreme popularity. One reason is the ease in performing in three and six beats; it is very symmetrical and posses no great challenge. Another reason for it being so common lies in the Indian taxonomy of tals. Virtually any tal of three, six, and 12-matras of folk origins, is routinely lumped under the title of Dadra. Even though they may have no cultural connections, traditional Indian musicology considers them to be the same tal. Therefore, the large number of musical tributaries contributes greatly to the variety of prakars, its popularity, and the geographical distribution of Dadra.

The "textbook case" is simple. It is a six-beat tal that is divided into two vibhags of three matras each. The first vibhag is clapped and the second vibhag iswaved.

Dadra may be played in a variety of tempos. It may be heard anywhere from moderately slow to extremely fast speeds. Only the extremely slow (vilambit) performances are conspicuously absent.

CLAPPING/ WAVING ARRANGEMENT: clap, 2, 3, wave, 2, 3
NUMBER OF BEATS : 6
THEKA : Dhaa Dhin Naa Dhaa Tin Naa

Dadra (6/2). It contains six matras, split into two parts, each of three matras. In this first part, there is one tali (hand clap), and in second part, there is one khali (empty). The first matrahas sam, while the fourth matra is khali (empty) as under:

Matras 1 2 3 4 5 6
Words DHA DHI NA TI TI NA
Theka + 0

by David Courtney, Ph.D