I spotted this framed picture showing the ‘Navarasangal’ or ‘nine emotions’ adorning the wall at the Kerala Fine Arts Hall in Cochin today, where I had gone to see a puppet show. A student of dance has to master this essential set of facial expressions to convey emotions effectively. But I wondered how effective it would be if I were to go by the expressions demonstrated by this man in the picture. In ‘Romance’ (first picture, top left) he looks like he is leering, in ‘Wonder’ (below Romance) he looks unpleasantly stunned, and in ‘Peace’ (last picture, last row) he practically looks possessed. I had a good laugh even as I was clicking this, and thoroughly enjoyed this 10 second performance on the wall before I walked in to see the performance of the puppeteers from Rajasthan.

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