Methil Devika’s ‘Crossover’, amalgamates Indian Sign Language with hastha mudras of Indian classical dance

Methil Devika’s new choreography, ‘Crossover’, merges Indian Sign Language with the hastha mudras of Indian classical dance to reach out to the hearing-impaired

Methil Devika’s new choreography, Crossover, amalgamates Indian Sign Language with hastha mudras of Indian classical dance.    | Photo Credit: JIBU K RAJAN

There may be no conversation, but their expressions say it all as the audience reacts to danseuse Methil Devika’s new choreography. With fingers that move at lighting speed, the audiences speak to her about their thoughts on ‘Crossover’, her new production that was premiered at the Tanjavur Amma Veedu in Thiruvananthapuram.

An amalgamation of Indian Sign Language and conventional hastha mudras (hand gestures) from scriptures on aesthetics and traditional practices, Crossover, choreographed by Devika, narrates the advent of Lord Krishna. The 20-minute film includes a dance that integrates Indian Sign Language in one of the choreographies from her large repertoire of original works.

Devika explains, “It’s a simple story that is familiar to most Indians. Focussing on the moments before and after he is born, I depict changes in Nature and in the minds of his parents. The recital is danced to a Bhramaniamma paatu sung by women of a particular community in Kerala.”

Members of Kozhikode-based Dream of Us with Methil Devika after the premiere of Crossover. | Photo Credit: JIBU K RAJAN

Devika says she was motivated to take this step during one of her lecture-demonstrations in Gujarat when she had a group of hearing-impaired in the audience. “I felt challenged when I could not communicate the story to them. “ Dismayed that most of them were unable to connect with the performance, she put on her thinking cap to design a programme that is inclusive and can resonate with the hearing-impaired as well. Not one to rest on her laurels, Devika has been constantly been pushing the boundaries of traditional Mohiniyattam with her innovative productions.

To begin with, she started familiarising herself with Indian Sign Language, used by the hearing-impaired in India to communicate.

Reaching out

Devika says, “Every time I perform, it is important my recital strikes a chord with the audience. So, then and there, I decided that when the time is right, I would do something to address this.”

Although she reached out to the authorities to find out if they would be interested in a project that developed a dance vocabulary that appealed to the differently-abled as well, there was hardly any response from them.

“Recently, I have been working on several projects that included working with space. It is about how we are taking performing art from the typical structure of a stage and audience and placing it in different spaces.” That thought led her to work on choreographies that reach out to the differently-abled as well.

“I wanted to work in an academic space, it was studied and not just something random. It was about democratising art.”

Danseuse, academic and choreographer Methil Devika | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Her interest in sign language takes forward her project with hastha mudras. In Devika’s dance idiom, HASTHAS is the acronym for hand articulation for spaces and technologies from heritage and aesthetic sciences. “My doctoral thesis in 2014 was on the semiotics of the aesthetical hastas, its synthesis with other traditional practices, and on what principles one can easily disseminate them in pedagogy.”

“How does one recalibrate the gestures to include the scope of works I plan to do, whether it be about outer space, maritime stories or about defence. In the past, we have had theories and practices about how they could be used in different fields.. that is how I came to this.”

Devika realised that the hearing-impaired communicate largely through gestures. That is also the case with many classical dances in India. “For a performer, it is just a matter of stepping out of one’s comfort zone and integrating gestures from the Indian Sign Language, which could be an interlinking tool that connects the traditional gestural language of form with the audience.”

Methil Devika’s Crossover, which amalgamates Indian Sign Language with hastha mudras of Indian traditional practices, is an attempt to create an inclusive experience.     | Photo Credit: JIBU K RAJAN

That is how ‘Crossover’ was created. Beginning with sign language, the piece has her adding the aesthetic gestural language before moving to manodharma and sancharis. And then she blends the two. “After a point, all these merge and everybody starts relating to the performer.”

The first performance was for a group of hearing-impaired youngsters from Kozhikode, members of an organisation, Dream Of Us. Devika recalls the recital as an elevating experience. “I came out of my comfort zone of artistry to speak their language. After a point, it became a communication of hearts.”

She asserts that Crossover is a philanthropic project that she wants to take to artistes and audiences. “First and foremost, it is about telling artists that there is a section of the audience we need to address. If we are talking about inclusion, we don’t usually take into account differently-abled people although we now talk about gender, caste, race and so on.”

The performer hopes that when “you initiate an audience, there might be people who are interested in learning dance. They just need to work on their sign language and create a work of art. Gradually, there will be an organic evolution of ideas and creations.”