From movement to meaning...

From movement to meaning...

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.