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Trisha De Niyogi shows how to hold the 22nd double-hand gesture in Nandikeswara's list: Khatva. Hold the two hands away from you, with palms facing upwards and all fingers stretched so that there is no space between them. Turn the wrists so that the fingertips of each hand face each other. Now separate the index finger and little finger from the middle and ring finger. Stretch the index and little finger towards the floor. The ring and middle fingers remain in a horizontal position and touching each other. Now place the tip of the thumb on the first digit line of the ring finger. Lastly, bring the tips of the ring and middle finger of the right hand to touch the corresponding fingertips of the left hand. This makes a shape like a cot with four legs. Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar
Bharatanatyam dancer Trisha shows a pedestal for a deity. Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar
Trisha uses Khatva to indicate someone watching a temple procession. Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar
P.V. Meenakshi demonstrates Bherunda hasta, the 23rd double-hand gesture listed by Nandikeswara. Hold both the hands in the single-hand gesture kapittha. (Close the hand into a fist, then raise the thumb straight up in a ‘thumbs-up' sign. Take the index finger and curve it over the thumb.) Now cross the hands at the wrist. This gives the appearance of a bird with two heads facing away from each other. Sometimes the hands are held touching at the wrists instead of crossed. Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar
P.V. Meenakshi uses Bherunda hasta to show the two-headed mythological bird. Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar
P.V. Meenakshi indicates a pair of birds using Bherunda hasta. Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar
Kavya Prasad shows Avahitta hasta which though commonly used, is not listed in the Abhinayadarpanam. Hold the hands with fingers outstretched and separated, so that each hand takes the shape of a star. Now raise the little finger so that it is at right angles to the palm. As you do that, the ring finger also gets raised and rests at about a 45-degree angle to the palm. This makes the hand into a flower-like shape. With both hands held thus, cross them at the wrist. It can be defined as being made by crossing two alapadma-s (a single hand gesture) at the wrist. Photo: R.V. Moorthy
Bharatanatyam dancer Kavya Prasad uses Avahitta hasta to rock a baby. Photo: R. V. Moorthy
Kavya Prasad shows a mountain top by using Avahitta hasta. Photo: R. V. Moorthy
