The Language of Mudras

Rooted in the culture of India, Tilfi approaches the performing arts through the knowledge of the performer rather than the eyes of their audience, exploring the mastery of movement and expression in Indian Classical dances.The Indian Classical dances, in their recitals, evoke a sense of devotion and reverence towards a deity and the performer through Abhinaya, or expression. The countenance of the dancer and her hand gestures play countless roles of the characters and their emotions in their narration. In tune with the music, a non-verbal dialogue forms between the dancer and her audience as she narrates through her performance.

Mudras in IndianClassical Dance

The Natyashastra, or the Sanskrit treatise of the performing arts, consecrates the use of mudras in Classical dance to denote a superior deity and invoke a sense of devotion in the artist. The practice and mastery of dance requires a deep understanding of these gestures, their usage and the seamless movement from one form to another. The hands of dance not only transform into objects and beings, but also guide the movement and flow of each step establishing a consonance between the dancer and the musician. Mirroring the tempo of the tune and the mood it inspires, a dancer carefully chooses between the mudras, their softness and rigidity and reflects the emotion that the music evokes.

Mudras in Kathak

The world around a dancer during her performance is created by the artist herself, as her hands morph into the creatures that surround her. The classical dance of Kathak, prides itself in its fluidity, gliding through the progression of the recital with subtlety and grace. A Kathak dancer’s narration uses 64 mudras that illustrate beings, deities and the actions of the dancer herself. The root of the names lent to these mudras also borrow from their denotions and the creatures they resemble and are most commonly used to portray, Bhramara (Sanskrit for bee), Mayur (Sanskrit for peacock) and Sarpsheersh (to denote the head of a snake).

Featured in Katha

Tilfi’s exuberant collection ‘Katha’ follows Kathak through the eyes of a guru and his shishyas in the process of mastery in a classical dance. The deliberation and dedicated practice of the dance leads the artist to revere her artform and possess the same emotion she attempts to convey.

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EXPLORE KATHA

Mudras in Bharatnatyam

A renowned dancer of Bharatanatyam, Vidushi Rama Vaidyanathan illustrates the use of Mudras in her artform, that ‘Katha’ explores in Kathak, drawing a parallel between the two classical dances and the dialect of gestures they share with numerous such forms of dance linking them to another.