In Indian classical music, a Matra^[1] is a beat, the smallest rhythmic sub-unit of a tala - the musical meter. It is one of the three levels of structure for tala^[2] along with Vibhag (measure)^[3] and Avartan (cycle).^[4] The significance of beats depends on their occurrence in a cycle. However, the value of the beats may be stretched or contracted depending on various factors.