India

In these two sessions, Drs. Ramkumar & Welch are joined by Kapila Venu ji, a practitioner of Kutiyattam (“Koodiyattam”), – one of the oldest living theatre traditions in the world. She has studied multiple Indian art and dance and theater forms, including Mohiniyattam dance. Kapila ji joins us to talk about the role and connection of vāyu, bhāva (emotion) and rasa (flavor). In these art forms, vāyu represents the movement of the life force through the body and mind, and is a medium through which to explore emotion and demonstrate the scope of human experience. We plan to discuss the differences between and nuances of prāṇa and vāyu; bhāva and rasa; how traditional performance practices weave these threads together, and the role they play in mental health.