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Within the Indian classical dance style of bharatanāṭyam, performers traditionally embody the stories of Hindu gods and goddesses. This paper discusses selected examples of how Christian themes have been incorporated into the art form by both Hindu and non-Hindu participants, including the adaptation of the aesthetics of the nāyikā, a female heroine yearning for her absent beloved. In an extended case study, I examine the presentation of one such unique nāyikā, a Christian Indian woman who contracts HIV from her husband, in particular demonstrating how various gesture sequences draw upon the recognizable, empathetic foundation of the suffering heroine to depict the realities of the illness of HIV. The despair and pain of the nāyikā, and the role of a sakhī as sympathetic doctor, invite audiences into a familiar aesthetic framework that also creates receptivity towards a significant social critique. Within the Indian classical dance style of bharatanāṭyam, performers traditionally embody the stories of Hindu gods and goddesses. This paper discusses selected examples of how Christian themes have been incorporated into the art form by both Hindu and non-Hindu participants, including the adaptation of the aesthetics of the nāyikā, a female heroine yearning for her absent beloved. In an extended case study, I examine the presentation of one such unique nāyikā, a Christian Indian woman who contracts HIV from her husband, in particular demonstrating how various gesture sequences draw upon the recognizable, empathetic foundation of the suffering heroine to depict the realities of the illness of HIV. The despair and pain of the nāyikā, and the role of a sakhī as sympathetic doctor, invite audiences into a familiar aesthetic framework that also creates receptivity towards a significant social critique.
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