Mirror of Gesture is an asset to Indian dance

Subashini PATHMANATHAN

The Mirror of Gesture is an English translation of Abinaya Darphana of Nandikeshwarar which was originally in the Sanskrit language. Abinaya Darphana was originally translated in to Telugu by Nidamangalam Madabhushi Tiruvenkatachari in 1874. Nandikeshwarar is believed to be the legendary figure of the art.

This great gift is an abridgment to the Indian dance world. Indian culture is totally based on the art of gesticulation. Even when Indian singers sing, they add the essence of emotional involvement with their singing and incorporate with action to bring out the full meaning in their song. Similarly Indian dances mainly based on the interpretation of the meaning of the adopted songs convey the meaning of the act through facial expression in the form of Bava, Rasa and Abinaya.

Hand gestures are important to convey the emotions of a dancer

Expressing the meaning of the song through Abinaya means directly interpreting the verses through Abinaya, Bhava and hand gestures. Hand gestures are known as Mudras in Tamil, and in Sanskrit it is explained as Hastas. Hand gestures are a very important mode of language in Indian dances, paintings, sculptures and Indian iconography.

The Indian philosophical study occupies a significant place in international spheres. To understand this great philosophy one must venture deep into the subject. This gesture language study is adopted in the Indian art field as well.

The original version of the Abinaya Darphana of Nandikeshwarar is a complete and complicated work. It is not an easy task to understand the Abinaya Darphana . Dr Ananda K Coomaraswamy introduced this concept as the form of Mirror of Gesture , which is the English translation of Abinaya Darphana of Nandikeshwarar.

Even the English title reflects and reveals the in-depth meaning of the book. The Sri Lankan born world renowned artist, philosopher, scholar, researcher and cultural ambassador made an exceptional contribution to the oriental art world by translating this great treasure into English.

It is not a mere translation. Dr Coomaraswamy studied and understood the subject matter thoroughly before translating this great treasure trove Abinaya Darphana . By translating this great thesis into English this colossus figure opened the vision of the western world to have an insight value of the Indian culture. Dr Coomaraswamy had spent most of his prime life with the western world and western circles. So he wanted to share the Indian based gesticulation language with the West.

He wanted to show the value of Asian culture and civilization to them. This hand gesticulation language influences and interprets the Indian philosophical epics, dance, drama, paintings and sculptures.

The great treasure Abinaya Darphana deals with numerous factors. The first introduction chapter deals with the invocation. It reveals the typical Indian style of methodology. The second chapter provides a special place for the dramatic dialogue between the Lord Indira and Nandikeshwarar to make the reader understand the depth of the subject. Through this dialogue the reader gets an impression about an overall outlook of the subject matter of the divine Abinaya Darphana .

Then it continues with the elaborate matters dealing with the division of dance, type of audience, nature of the danseuses, category of different head positions and movements, category of different eye glances, movements of eye brows, illustration of 28 single hand gestures and 23 double hand gestures.

It also denotes numerous hand gestures for numerous social relationships (for instance the specific hand gestures for mother, father, and uncle are elaborately explained).

Different well defined hand gestures are adopted for different Devas, different hands for the Navagrahas, and for different deities.

Mirror of Gesture even suggests different hand gestures for different emperors, trees, animals, water creatures and flying creatures. The special hand illustrations are also given to seven oceans.

Hence the aim of Mirror of Gesture is providing a wealth of information to the artistes about the meaning of the song through the use of hand gestures , body movements, head positions, eye movements and eye brow movements.