Dancing bodies of devotion: fluid gestures in Bharata natyam

Part I Religious Bodies 33

1 Rasa: A Taste of the Divine 37

2 Balasaraswati and Krishna Ni Begane Baro 47

3 Francis Barboza and Christian Themes 59

Conclusion: Bhakti Rasa: A Re-Personalized Aesthetic of Devotion 73

Part II Cultural Bodies 75

4 Rasa and Bhakti as Indian Categories 81

5 Dhanajayanas' Sanghanitra 93

6 Kalai Kaviri's Gayatri Mantra 105

Conclusion: Is There an Indian Way to Dance Devotion? 115

Part III Ethical Bodies 119

7 Natya as Visual Education and the Ethics of Rasa 123

8 Dhananjayans' Stree (Woman) 137

9 Monica Colley's Morality Tales and Bhagavad Gita Sabdam 147

Conclusion: An Ethics of Bhakti Rasa: Performance of a Moral Mood 167

Part IV Pluralisitic Bodies 171

10 Unity and Multiplicity of Rasa 175

11 Malini Srinivasan and Sufi Qawwali 181

12 Tehreema Mitha and Ratt Jaga (The Vigil) 199

Conclusion: Revisiting "Unity in Diversity" 215.