KEHERWA TAL
Lesson 3
Teaching Artist: Mir Naqibul Islam
SUMMARY
This is the third lesson of the South Asian Rhythm & Grooves unit. Students will be introduced to the eight-beat groove, keherwa tal. They will learn how to recite the groove and clap along with the rhythm. Students will then perform together as a group.
OBJECTIVE
Summarize important information about the culture and traditional foods of South Asia.
Describe the rhythmic structure and characteristics of keherwa tal by listening to examples in this groove.
Demonstrate and apply hand gestures for keeping time.
Recite bols in a steady rhythm: “Dha – Ge – Na – Ti – Na – Ke – Dhi – Na”
Perform the keherwa tal groove using counting patterns and tabla bols (tabla words).
MATERIALS
Body percussion
Adaptive instrument options: feet, tongue clicking, harmonica, gripping aids for holding mallets or sticks
EXPLORE
Display the Google Slides: Keherwa Tal. Display the “gallery” of South Asian foods: dosa, momo, biryani, roti, ilish fish, lassi, and gulab jamun.
Ask the students: If you could try one of these foods for lunch today, which would you pick and why? Do any of these foods remind you of something you’ve eaten before? Which foods do you think might taste sweet or savory?
Introduce students to these songs that are based on keherwa tal. Allow students to react to the music. Ask: How is this 8-beat rhythm the same as or different from the 6- and 7-beat rhythms (dadra tal and rupak tal)? How did the music make you feel?
LEARN
Play Keherwa Tal Watch & Learn. After watching the instructional video with Mir, begin by leading the class in counting the eight-beat keherwa rhythm aloud together:
“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight,” keeping a steady medium tempo (around 120 bpm) with a light, even groove that reflects the 8-beat keherwa cycle.
Repeat the count in groups of four or eight cycles, emphasizing the accents on beats 1 and 5 to highlight the keherwa tal structure.
Introduce the hand gestures for keeping time. Practice these gestures together while continuing to count aloud:
Beat 1: Clap your right hand onto your left palm.Beat 2: Touch right pinky to left palm.
Beat 3: Touch right ring finger to left palm.
Beat 4: Touch right middle finger to left palm.
Beat 5: Wave your right hand in the air.
Beat 6: Touch right pinky to left palm.
Beat 7: Touch right ring finger to left palm.
Beat 8: Touch right middle finger to left palm
Divide the class into two groups. Have one group keep time using numbers (1–8) and the other group mirror the pattern using hand gestures. Then switch roles so everyone practices both counting and physical timing.
Once students are confident, replace the numbers with *bols — reciting:
“Dha – Ge – Na – Ti – Na – Ke – Dhi – Na”
*Bols are special sounds or syllables used in South Asian music to help remember and say rhythms out loud. Musicians use them like a musical language to practice and understand patterns of beats.
Repeat the cycle several times as a group, then play a short children’s song in keherwa tal and encourage students to clap or gesture along with the rhythm.
Have students practice independently or as a group using the Keherwa Tal Practice and maintain a steady eight-beat cycle. Clap or use hand gestures in time saying the bols, “Dha – Ge – Na – Ti – Na – Ke – Dhi – Na.
PERFORM+SHARE
Invite a few individual students to demonstrate the full keherwa cycle—first counting “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8” twice; then repeating it with hand gestures; and finally reciting the bols “Dha – Ge – Na – Ti – Na – Ke – Dhi – Na.”
After the individual demonstrations, invite the whole class to join in. Everyone performs together using claps, hand gestures, and bols of keherwa tal. Share a video, picture, or artifact of the performance on the S’Cool Sounds Padlet.
Tell students in the next lesson they will introduced to the eight-beat groove, jhap tal.