The Dance of The Raven - Translating Edgar Allan Poes The Raven into Bharatanatyam

Book Name in English : The Dance of The Raven - Translating Edgar Allan Poes The Raven into Bharatanatyam

Inter-medial translations and adaptations of art- forms have a long history and they enrich our creativity by expanding the range of our sensibility. Indian aesthetic theories consider art not only as a medium of entertainment but also as a means to transport us to a transcendental state that borders on a mystical experience. Art has the potential to influence the self- fashioning of an individual. Dance produces a transformative effect on the spectators, even as a poem casts its magic spell upon the readers. There takes place a transformation of self and social being, a development of consciousness which ought to lay the foundation of enduring social change. This book offers a vivid account of a bold experiment in inter-medial translation: an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven” into the Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam by using the theory of rasa formulated by Bharata in Natyasastra, a seminal text of Indian aesthetics. The intention has been to explore the common ground in experience and expression between two cultures and to do so by an interchange of verbal and visual media. Author: Gouri Gayathri G. completed her M.A in English Language and Literature at St Thomas College Pala, affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam. She has been studying and practising Indian classical dance forms, particularly Bharatanatyam since the age of five.