3M With Shantha : Mobile App Series 20 (Hastas)

In this engaging episode of the Shall We Dance! podcast, Shantha and Ram turned their attention to the fascinating world of Hasta Mudras—the symbolic hand gestures that give Bharatanatyam its expressive depth.

The conversation unfolded gracefully, with Shantha setting the stage by describing how every mudra carries layers of meaning, from storytelling in epics to evoking emotions in a performance. Ram added historical and cultural context, explaining that these gestures are not mere movements of the fingers but a codified language passed down for centuries.

Together, they explored the single-hand gestures (Asamyukta Hastas) and the double-hand gestures (Samyukta Hastas), highlighting how dancers use them to portray gods, animals, nature, and human emotions. Shantha emphasized their role in bridging the abstract with the tangible, allowing an audience to see devotion, valor, compassion, or love through the subtlest movement of hands.

Ram reflected on the universality of this visual vocabulary, noting how a dancer in India and an audience across the world can connect through these timeless signs. The exchange between them was natural, warm, and insightful—Shantha with her lyrical explanations and Ram with his analytical perspective.

Their interplay revealed both the artistic delicacy and the structural rigor behind mudras, making it accessible to listeners at all levels.

As the discussion drew to a close, Shantha invited the audience to experience these gestures firsthand, presenting a curated set of demo videos from the Shall We Dance app.