A tihai is a rhythmic resolution device — one of the most exhilarating moments in any Hindustani performance. The artist (vocal or instrumental) plays or sings a phrase, and then repeats the identical phrase two more times, the whole three-fold repetition calculated to land precisely on sam, the first beat of the next taal cycle. The tabla player resolves at the same instant.
The mathematics of tihai construction is part of its appeal. The artist must know exactly how many beats their phrase occupies, how many beats remain in the cycle, and how to time the threefold repetition so that the third "X" of the phrase lands on sam. Sometimes the phrase has slight gaps between repetitions; sometimes it is continuous. Some tihais span one cycle; others span two or three.
In live performance, the audience usually senses a tihai approaching — there is a tightening of attention, an aural pre-anticipation — and when the tihai lands on sam cleanly, with both soloist and tabla arriving together, the crowd erupts. It is one of the most reliable applause-points in a concert.
Tihais exist in vocal music too, but the device is most spectacular in instrumental music and in tabla solos, where the rhythmic patterns can be extraordinarily complex while still resolving with mathematical precision.