Seven matras in 3+2+2 with the tradition's most famous quirk: sam itself is khali — the cycle opens with a wave, claps falling on 4 and 6. The theka opens on bass-free treble strokes ("Tin Tin Na | Dhi Na | Dhi Na") — the resonant Dhi arrives only on the clapped beats, so the fullest sound deliberately avoids sam.
That inversion gives the tala its floating, unresolved character, beloved for madhya-laya khayal and instrumental compositions. For players it rewires cadence instinct: tihais still land on sam, but sam whispers. Pashto and Tivra share the seven count with conventional emphatic sams — the contrast teaches the point.