Teen Taal - by Seema Lisa Pandya  is inspired by the pattern of the fundamental tabla 16 beat rhythm cycle called 'teen taal'. The visual composition, similar to the tabla beat composition, is composed of an overall of 16 beats per cycle contained in sections that can be divided by 2, 4, and 16.  It is hand crafted by Seema Lisa Pandya and made from used tabla pudis (the skins of the Indian classical tabla drum) donated by tabla schools and professional tabla percussionists. Each round 'pudi' has had hundreds of hours of concentrated energetic rhythmic practice by musicians until the skin is no longer usable. "I was once a former student learning to play the tablas. When I hear the sound of the tabla (especially the deeper bhya drum) and was taught different rhythmic patterns indicative to classical Indian music, I experience these sounds visually as a rhythmical "push-pull" "inhale-exhale" balance that is a fundamental building block of natural forms. I have woven these rhythmical instrument parts together to represent these forms." The piece was originally commissioned as a gift from the South Asian Bar Association to a prominent political democratic figure, Khizr Khan. India ink on used tabla leather 12"x12"x1"