The term rasa has its roots in classical Indian aesthetic theory and designates an aesthetic mode which sets the tone or sensibility for the particular artistic form that is being presented-whether it is performance, visual art, literature, or a combination of these. The application of this aesthetics can be seen in a number of Indian classical dances and performances like Bharathanatyam, Koodiyattam etc. The mechanism of performative communication is different in the rasa aesthetics.
Seen widely in the traditional Asian forms, this mechanism thrusts not in the narration of a story over the course of the performance, but to develop an inexplicable bliss in the audience. This is achieved through the incorporation a wide range of techniques derived from Geetam(song, speech) Nrittam (Dance, movement) and vadyam (the use of musical instruments). A precise ratio of these three, which has many other sub-divisions (Nrittam, Nrithyam Natyam, The various Talas or rhythms etc) applied in detail, would lead to the blossoming of the rasa. The acting becomes different here. The thought process of an actor is entirely different from that of modern schools of acting.
This system of acting is explained with all details in the Natyasastra (A book on performance written in India some 2500 years back). Incorporating this age-old knowledge in contemporary performance is the challenge that an artist confronts today. The mission in large part involves bridging the gap between the cultural lives of the present and the cultural heritage of the past, we are committed to expressing our art through narrative. Narrative or story telling is the most immediate form of communication between people. It connects characters and circumstances that otherwise would not be related and so creates a seamless whole out of disparate parts that produces a shared experience. The narratives we choose recover stories from the past that are relevant to the lives of South Asians, at least Indians, in the new post-modern, technological and largely secularized (?) context of today.
