Photo credits: Michael Tanksley, Melanie Futorian, Libby Lussenhop

On June 2, 2025, I look forward to speaking with volunteers of the American Museum of Natural History on the convergence of the arts and the sciences. More specifically, I will be sharing how a study of Bharatanatyam can give us clues as to how the brain functions. A few themes I will discuss are the study of symbols and semiology through hand gestures (hastas), the study of narration, movement, patterns, and rhythm (tala). 

Post-event reflections:
About 25 people joined, and there was rich discussion on a variety of topics.
A few things that stood out to me, including testimonials:

• "Indian dance needs to be seen up close to appreciate it. American dance is more appreciated at a distance"
• "(In Indian dance), it seems that the hands are as important as feet and integral to movement , I think."
• "Yes, I've seen Indian dance. I see that every move is part of telling a story and the face is very expressive, especially the eyes."
• A physician participant recounted her experiences of a class called "Compassionate Medicine" where they looked at art. The struggle of the fisherman in this Homer's painting was something she still remembers. 
• Another participant talked about viewing art intensely as a way to learn how to pay attention. She mentioned losing the art of looking at others in the eye while treating them due to computerized systems, but that art can be a way to bring that back. 
• Participants wondered the neuroscience of bird song and dance.
  
• They also discussed the impacts of viewing works of art on enhancing attention and focus. 

I am excited to announce that as part of the LMCC Manhattan Arts Grant mechanism, I am one of the awardees of its Creative Engagement Award! "Creative Engagement is an arts funding program that provides seed grants to individual artists and nonprofit organizations for projects and activities that offer Manhattan communities diverse artistic experiences" (see here for more details).
I thank LMCC for its continued support of my work, and look forward to presenting Bharatanatyam at several locations in uptown Manhattan, such as Buunni Coffee, the YM & YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood, and Aaron Davis Hall at City College.  I am also excited to work with friends on this project - Kylie Madhav, Zara Lawler, and Libby Lussenhop! 

In past posts, we looked at the vocabulary of gestures in Bharatanatyam, called hastas. While numerous hastas have been defined and systematized in texts such as the Natya Shastra, there is immense scope for the creation of new gestures as well [1]. However, for the most part, the gestures aren't static; movement and gestures are combined to give meaning. Indeed, a recent study suggests the involvement of sensory and motor areas in language perception [2], leading others to theorize that language acquisition may be multi-sensorial and embodied [3]. 
​Speaking, listening, writing, and reading all help us learn a language. I wonder if a study of Bharatanatyam can help understand how the brain ascribes meaning to movement. 

This piece was written by the Tamil poet Suddhanatha Bharathiyar, where the poet is requesting a bee to take his message to Lord Shiva, who resides in Thillai. 

Composer: Suddhanatha Bharathiyar
Ragam (melody): Sindhubhairavi 
Talam (rhythm): Aadi
Music: Sri. Jayan Nair (voice); Krishna Nair (nattuvavgam); Manav Nair (mridangam); Sri. Rajendran Nair (flute)
Gurus: Smt Maheshwari Nagarajan and Smt Vanitha Jayan; Nritya Kala Kendra, Ahmedabad 
Video credit: Warut Snidvongs
Venue: The "Artful Mind" at Manhattanville Community Day Summer 2024 at the Zuckerman Institute 

Literature cited:

1. Iyengar S. (2024). The Use of Hand Gestures (Hastas) in Bharatanatyam for Creative Aging. The Journal of medical humanities, 10.1007/s10912-024-09861-1. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10912-024-09861-1. 
2. Zheng, Y., Zhang, J., Yang, Y. et al. Neural representation of sensorimotor features in language-motor areas during auditory and visual perception. Commun Biol 8, 41 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07466-5. 
3. How the Brain Links Gestures, Perception and Meaning. Quanta Magazine 2019. Link here.