In a previous post, we saw that there may be something very specific and unique about human hands, and how our hands and brains work together. We also looked at hand evolution, which evolved perhaps first for self-defense, and then for gesturing and communicating.

Our hands are incredible feats of nature - we are able to pick soft rose flower petals, play jump rope, embroider and crochet, and lift heavy weights. We can also feel with our hands - we are able to perceive the difference between hot tea and cold water, sandpaper and silk, a peach, and a nectarine. In fact, the Sanskrit word “Kar” (for hand) is also the word for “doing” or “making”. Hence, our hands are culturally and linguistically tied to creation, to the physical act of making things and making ideas through gestures.

Bharatanatyam is distinguished in the ways it precisely and systematically uses hand gestures for aesthetics and communication. The Abhinaya Darpana [1] describes and systematizes a large number of gestures (hastas) and symbols for the Devas (Gods), the planets, famous emperors, seven oceans, famous rivers, trees, animals, flying creatures, and water creatures. These hastas also give us an insight into the geography of India at the time of writing the texts, as there are references to local vegetation and animals; in this way, the study of the hastas is also an in-depth study of history and geography. Through Bharatanatyam and its use of hastas, history is being stored in our hands and dance. 

Literature cited:

1. The Abhiniya Darpana of Nandikesvara compendium, "The mirror of gestures". By Coomaraswamy. Link here. 

Left: Original Roti (OG Roti) at Animal Help Foundation. Picture credit: Eva Marie Veroeveren
Right: A hasta prescribed in the Abhinaya Darpana [1] called "Madhya-Pataka" where the little finger of the Pataka is bent. This hasta is used to symbolize a dog. 

For the Summer Skill Sessions as part of Emerging Women Leaders in Global Health Network (EDGE) in August 2023, I led a session on how the arts for conflict resolution and how these skills may be used to hone our leadership capabilities.
A link to the video is below, as are the slides:

We use our hands for everything we do but rarely think about how our hands evolved. Indeed, the evolution of human hands could be the story of human evolution!
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In the next several posts, I will explore what is so special about human hands, how scientists think our hands evolved for holding, throwing, and gesturing, and how our brains and hands work together. I will also link human hand evolution with hastas in Bharatanatyam, an art form that makes use of a large and distinct set of specific hand gestures (hastas) to communicate narrative and emotions.

Technological innovation has connected us all in ways not thought possible a few decades ago. I am able to connect via the internet with my dance gurus in India from NYC and benefit from their wisdom and pedagogy. How is it, with so many means for connection around us, that we seem more disconnected than ever before? Some of that disconnectedness exists between individuals. Among older adults, isolation and loneliness are acute. But there is also a disconnect between people and ideas. As a scientist, a disconnect relevant to me is that between science and society. There seems to be a distrust of science, as though people see science as a platform for politics and polemics, and do not see science in all its glory, inherent uncertainty, ambiguity, messiness, nuances and most of all, in the joy of discovery.

I suggest that the arts can help to address the disconnect between the sciences and society.

It is possible that familiarity with the sciences can make us better artists. There are many ways in which the arts have helped society understand and contextualize science; the dissemination of public health and science-related messages being especially important over the last few years. In a series I call “Creatures on the Move”, I explore animals in my neighborhood, their unique movements, and talk about the neural mechanism that make that movement possible. By examining the biodiversity around me in an artistic way, I am a better scientist-educator.

It is also true that pursuit of the arts can make us better scientists. The arts can help scientists communicate in a humanistic, empathetic way, and appreciate the beauty of the science we are studying. In addition, science is uniquely empowered to do something to relieve physical suffering. So why is it that our scientific training talks and teaches us so little about what suffering is, and how we can alleviate it? Could scientists appreciate suffering if in our training, we were exposed to art and literature that depicts suffering and its nuances?

In previous blog posts, I have suggested that science and art are complementary ways to understand the world. But they are not mutually exclusive. A more grounded and holistic understanding of reality through the arts can help us as scientists to consider alternate viewpoints and to direct our curiosity. The arts and sciences can help bring people together, help develop a common vocabulary and a common language by which people can understand the world around us. 

In the words of my mentor Margie (didi) Sastry (writer, editor, translator, researcher, and teacher with over 4 decades of experience in the creative landscape) "the reality is that arts and sciences are like lenses or filters to look at the same world and phenomena. The misunderstanding about science being ivory tower, lab tinkering crazy coots and arts and humanities are linked to something that are not practical and are airy fairy causes alienation. Like each eye sees differently but the brain resolves  it as a whole. Arts and science melded give us a wholesome holistic view of the world.”

[Special thanks to Margie Sastry, Lauren Harte-Hargrove, Sminu Achary, Joe Thomas, and Vibhakar Kotak for their comments on this article.]