In this article, hand
gestures have been discussed in details, which comprise sketches also. In classical dance, hand gestures
serve dual purposes. They transmit the meaning of the word and act as a unit in the whole body to explain emotion. When it is talked about Indian dance, we must not forget that gestures play a critical role.
We all know how the hand gestures play an important role in our daily life. They serve different purposes in different areas. Some time ago, they played an important role in the stock exchange. Even a traffic police officer controlling the traffic or referees in professional athletics use gestures for transmitting a meaning, a course of action, or a purpose.
The ancient dance treatises have recorded lots of work in this area. In the 13th century, the theorist Sarngadeva, authored the large work Sangitaratnakara in which he explained their importance. Based on this treatise we observe a three-fold division of what constitutes a hand
gesture - fingers, wrists, and arms. All three tools make a hand gesture possible. The Author feels that the fingers are like the eyes, the palm is the face, the wrist acts as the neck and the whole arm as the body.
Starting with the fingers, this treatise classifies the
movements into seven types - enjoined, separated, crooked, curved, fallen, bent at the roots, or spread out.
After analyzing the movements of the fingers, the Author concludes that the movement of a finger can take place from two parts - either the root of the finger or the middle of the finger. If we combine these root and middle positions in distinct ways, we can actually create variety of gestures. One can see two common gestures used in Bharat Natyam, the classical dance from the South of India. The first one is termed as bhramara (bee). This gesture is mostly used to symbolize the bee. This gesture makes use of movements from both the root and the middle of the finger. The second gesture is mayura (peacock).
But just finger movements do not establish a hand gesture. Two other parts play an essential role in transforming the finger positions into a hand gesture. The next is the wrist. The treatise divides the wrist movements into 5 types. Lastly we must consider the movements of the arm. The author gives the 15 positions of the arm. The author of Sangitaratnakara has also given places for resting the hands. The author defines the meaning of the hand when placed on some part of the body or near some part of the body. He names fourteen places for the hands. The two sides, in front, above, below, head, forehead, ear, shoulders, chest, navel, above the hips, and the two thighs.
The Author mentions such mundane things for eating, drinking, receiving a gift, and holding a book while specifying the usage of each movement. In fact he wanted us to realize that all such movements are performed during the daily course of activities. To conclude, the dancer has to make himself aware regarding these movements , create his own vocabulary of actions and movements and assimilate them in his or her own choreography.