Discover the captivating world of "MUDRA – The Language of Dance and Theatre in Kerala," an indispensable anthology of hand gestures designed to meet the needs of classical dancers, contemporary actors, and theatre practitioners. Written by G.Venu, who embarked on this extraordinary project at the tender age of 19 while studying Kathakali, this book is the culmination of over 50 years of dedicated work by a bona fide maestro of the art form, now 77 years old. Unlocking the secrets of Kutiyattam, Kathakali, and Mohiniyattam, G.Venu has created a groundbreaking notation system that brings clarity to the intricate vocabulary of these ancient practices, and is curated in an easy-to-read format. Drawing on the expertise of esteemed masters such as Guru Ammannur Madhava Chakyar, Guru Gopinath, Guru Chenganoor Raman Pillai, and Nirmala Paniker, the opus compiles 1341 hand gesture notations, encompassing a variety of schools and styles. Whether you are a seasoned professional or an enthusiastic beginner, this essential guide is a treasure trove of knowledge for performing artists seeking to delve into the rich heritage of Kerala's dance and theatre traditions. Immerse yourself in the vast and transformative depth of MUDRA, and let your artistic journey take flight. about the Author: The author G. Venu, born on first July 1945, belongs to a family of artists. Living in a small thatched house on top of a hill with rolling paddy fields on all sides, he spent a charming childhood in a pristine rural locality. While in his fifth grade, a turning point in his life came when he saw the Kathakali drama Narakasuravadham. It ignited his desire to enter the world of Kathakali. He began his training under Keerikattu Sankara Pillai Asan in the Attakalari founded by his father. The study of the 24 basic mudras and their applications fascinated him, made him magically create elephants, snakes and other animals when he negotiated lonely landscapes. The second phase of embellishing his Kathakali learning started in 1963, when he entered Viswakala Kendra in Vattiyoorkavu, Thiruvananthapuram established by Guru Gopinath - one of the most famous dancers in India - more or less in the gurukulam tradition. The compelling charm of Guru Gopinath's pictures of his abhinaya of the Navarasa made him his ardent admirer. He found Guru Gopinath to be a rare personality worthy of emulation. Venuji was taught steps and kalasams in Kaplinnatan style - the style of Southern Kathakali established by the great Mathur Kunju Pillai Paniker. Seeing his interest, Guru Gopinath used to specially train him for two hours every day, explaining in detail the concepts behind every gesture, expression and movement. Every day he introduced innovations using a blend of traditional knowledge and his own imaginative improvisations. Guru Gopinath approached the concept of abhinaya with an analytical mind, said Venuji. He enabled the common man's access to the Hastalakshanadipika, the scientific text of hand gestures. Training under the great guru revealed to him the infinite possibilities of Kathakali mudras. It was in Viswakala Kendra that the first sparks of an idea to record and inscribe these mudras like a spoken language (Kathakali gestures offer a complete vocabulary of communication, capable of expressing each and every human thought and emotions more forcefully with mudras) occurred to Venuji. The realization that many rare aspects of the mudras in Kathakali would disappear over time, simply because they were not documented or recorded anywhere flashed in his mind, since they were sustained thus far only by oral tradition. Venuji was obsessed day and night with the idea. The need to develop a proper alphabet to document this sign language became his preoccupation. It was an eureka moment, when on a rainy night in 1965, recalled Venuji, he sat in his father's studio preoccupied with the idea of finding the most suitable medium that would help to record the mudras. The scenes of full night's performances of stalwarts like Chengannur Raman Pillai Asan and Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair at Padmanabhaswamy temple passed before his mind's eye, the alphabet of the first mudra – Pataka - saw the light of day. Like the torrential rain raging outside, the alphabets of all the 24 mudras flowed into his mind as he sat drawing them with black ink and gazed at them with satisfaction till four in the morning until sleep overtook him. In days to come, he formulated a system of delineation to represent variations in hasta mudras. He analysed and deconstructed the minute movements of the wrists and fingers and conceived and evolved the signs and special graphic symbols. Illustrating the mudras on paper happened naturally to him. During holidays, he burnt his midnight oil drawing symbols to represent the mudras. It was an elaborate process. He made sure that the delineation of these were perfect, repeating the mudras over and over again to grasp the subtleties of each movement. Sankara Pillai Asan helped him greatly in this. Venuji spent his prime time in researching hand gestures. He sat through Kathakali programs, noting down the mudras he did not know and made a short-hand note and sought clarification from gurus. When he had documented about 300 mudras, he showed them to Guru Gopinath, who studied them minutely, while trying to execute some of them following the pictorial instructions. He then advised his disciple Gopal to ask Guru Chengannur Raman Kutty Pillai, an authority on mudras in the Kaplinnatan style to examine the notations and authenticate them.