The Tale of Mudra

We have mingled the Indian tribal art form of Gond with a classical Indian dance form of Odissi in our Mudra motif.  Odissi originated in the Hindu temples of Odisha (Orissa) – an eastern coastal state of India. Historically, this dance was performed predominantly by women and expressed religious stories and spiritual ideas.

The dance form has been practiced since antiquity, as evidenced by dance poses in the sculptures of Hindu temples and archeological sites. Odissi is traditionally a dance-drama genre of performance art, involving body movement, abhinaya (expressions) and mudras (gestures and sign language) set out in ancient Sanskrit literature.

Our Mudra motif is based on Kataka-mukha. Translated to English, it means “link in a chain”. According to mythology, this mudra originated from Guha (the Hindu God of war) when he practiced archery in front of Shiva (Destroyer of Evil).

This mudra (gesture) is used to denote plucking flowers, wearing a necklace of pearls or flowers, drawing the arrow at the center of the bow, offering betel leaves, preparing paste for musk, to smell, to speak, glancing, holding a mirror, holding reins, breaking a twig,  cleaning the teeth, plucking flowers, embracing, holding a discuss, holding a fan.

Our Mudra motif is our interpretation of an Odissi dancer and kataka-mukha mudra in Gond.

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