It is in the composed piece of a rāga composition, which is the final movement and called the 'Gat' that the rāga and tāla meet on common ground.  The gat theme, which is a fixed composition is composed not only on the particular rāga chose, but is also composed in relation to the fixed metre of the tāla chosen. 

This means that the 'Thekā' (or rhythmic pattern) plays an important part in the construction of this melody or theme. This theme is constantly heard and it occurs between long improvisatory passages, similar in a way to the western rondo form.  It is also in the gat that the soloist and drummer display their artistry by using all the melodic and rhythmic devices that one finds in Indian music.  One very popular feature of the gat, and one which never fails to charm and captivate any audience, in the Sawāl-jawāb.  This is a type of musical dialogue between drummer and soloist; 

it is a kind of 'question and answer' interplay which always ends with a challenge as to which will give way to the virtuosity of the other. This session is also called Jugal-bandi. A rāga performance usually ends with the 'Tihāi'.  This is a rhythmic phrase played in parallel rhythm, which is repeated three times and ending on the 'Sam' or the first beat of the time cycle or Tāla.