The tabla as a language

Talking to Guruji today I really began to get a feel of how complex the tabla is. It's an instrument, but it has a language of it's own. You play Dha Tin Na Na | Na Tin Dha Dha, just as plain beats and it sounds so monotonous that you'll probably fall asleep. But you accent the right bols and then your feet start dancing with the beat. That's what you mean by the tabla having a language of it's own. When you say a simple sentence, you can say a particular word in a light mood or an angry mood and the whole meaning of the sentence changes. It's the same here. A phrase sounds completely different when you accent it. There's a lot to learn ... but I'm sure a lot of practice will get me there.