Navarasa - a single word that holds within it the entire palette of human feeling. Born from Bharata’s Natya Shastra, the ancient heartbeat of India’s performing arts, nava means nine, and rasa speaks of the essence that flavors emotion itself. Together, they become Navarasa: the nine threads from which every story of the heart is woven.

 

Life offers us an endless tide of emotions—soft, fierce, fleeting, or profound. Some express these inner waves through voice, verse, movement, or silence. Some wish to speak, and some prefer to simply feel. I discovered my expression in the timeless language of India’s classical dance forms.

 

To me, Indian classical dance is expression in its purest, most radiant form. A lifted eyebrow can carry a universe. A hand gesture can speak more clearly than words. The tilt of the body, the rhythm of the feet, the colors of the costume—all become messengers of emotion.

 

From what I’ve learned, each rasa blooms through bhava (the emotion on the face), mudra (the eloquence of the hands), and rang (the symbolic hues that dance with the story). The nine rasas are:

1. Karuna – the quiet ache of compassion and sorrow

2. Veera – the steady flame of courage and valor

3. Raudra – the roaring heat of anger

4. Shringaar – the tender glow of love and beauty

5. Bhayānaka – the trembling shadow of fear

6. Bibhatsa – the recoil of disgust

7. Adbhuta – the widening eyes of wonder

8. Shanta – the serene hush of peace

9. Haasya – the bright spark of laughter and joy