Glossary

Alasa-Kanya: A female sculptural figure who, according to myth, is the progenitor of the temple-dancer

Anga-Shuddhi: Purity in lines and shapes in body movement

Gotipua: Young boy dressed as a girl dancing outside the temple since the sixteenth century onwards

Mahari: Temple-dancer performing in Hindu temples for over a millennium

Mudra: Hand gesture as delineated in Bharata’s Natyasastra

Natyasastra: The ancient Indian treatise of performing arts

Odissi: An eastern Indian classical dance form from the state of Odisha

Rasa: Flavor; emotional fervor; aesthetic expression

Sari: A long piece of fabric worn as a traditional costume by South Asian women