Emotions are the Vāsanā imprinted in every individual life based on the present consciousness formed through past perceptions. There are different ways of expressing these emotions. It can be either through words or expressions. During the pre-historic times the human life was inspired by nature. They imitated the nature and animals around them i.e. they swayed their body looking at the trees, they started using movements seeing the animals and eventually the voice texture began as they started imitating the bird voices. Like this the gestures were used to express the feeling until language came into existence which added another dimension of expressions.
In art, the language of expressions plays a due role to convey the theme, and this is called as Abhinaya. Technically abhinaya means “leading towards”, i.e. the emotions are led forward. The emotions which are deeply rooted inside needs to be expressed and the mode to express is through expressions. There are different ways to express in an art form and they are known as “Chaturvidya Abhinaya – four modes of expression”. Abhinaya, an art of expression is an important mode to instigate the bhava within the artist. Bharata in his Natyasastra has clearly defined the aspects of abhinaya and its importance. They are divided into four types, Āṅgika Abhinaya (the abhinaya expressed through bodily movements), Vācika Abhinaya (the abhinaya articulated through the speech or lyrics), Āhārya Abhinaya (the expressions communicated as the part of costumes, makeup, and stage décor) and Sātvika Abhinaya (the expressions conveyed through the experience of the soul). As human we always express our joy or sadness using movements.

We can observe when one is happy, they jump in joy, similarly in dance the body movements and gestures are used to portray different expressions. While this is one way of expressing the other way of expression is through words. In a human we can observe that the expressions can be seen through the tone of voice which also defines the mental state of an individual. These expressions come through words. In dance, we use lyrics to convey the feelings of the characters portrayed, to which the music complements. The next expression is through costumes and makeup.
How, wearing an outwear reflects the personality of a human similarly the right costume reflects the personality of the character in the play. Makeup is an additive feature that adds to the character define. The final resort of all the above expressions is the Sātvika abhinaya, the expressions conveyed through the experience. This is an involuntary emotion which arises due to deep sathva like shedding of tears, the colour change, trembling of voice and others which one experiences in day-to-day life.
Thus, art and life are no separate entity, but Art is the reflection of life thus being a powerful medium to express the thoughts and emotions. Abhinaya is an art of storytelling, a powerful tool to convey the emotions which leads the audience to experience this spiritual bliss. Dance is a visual poetry connecting the artist and the spectator sharing their emotional journey. -by Dr Rashmi Thaper, a Bharatnatyam artist based in Auckland.