Educational Galaxy

Understanding Emotions — EG's own notes, in simple words

Book: Kriti (CBSE, Class 7)  |  Chapter 1  |  Medium: English

Section: All Art Forms

Diagram (labels are printed on the image): Four faces showing different emotions. A general teaching picture; it is not a picture from the book.

A child painting joy with bright colours. A general picture about expressing feelings through art; no book picture is copied here.

What the chapter is about

Emotions are at the centre of every performance. Bharata Muni, in the Natyashastra written more than 2,500 years ago, studied how feelings work on stage: the feeling inside a person is called bhava, and the feeling that reaches and is shared by the audience is called rasa. A play succeeds only when these feelings are created well.

Bharata Muni described eight main emotional experiences, and a ninth was added later, giving the Navarasa — nine rasas. The same feeling does not always come in the same strength: anger, for example, can be mild anger, strong anger, or rage. Happiness too has levels, from a small pleasure such as eating a favourite ice cream, to the joy of winning a difficult competition, helping a friend, or doing a good deed for others.

People do not all show one feeling in the same way. Fear may make one person close their eyes tightly and another open their eyes wide. There is no single correct way to feel or to show a feeling, and noticing these differences builds empathy — understanding and accepting how others feel.

Acting itself has two broad styles given by Bharata Muni. Lokadharmi is realistic acting: actions, expressions, costume and make-up stay close to everyday life, so the scene looks naturally real. Natyadharmi is stylised acting: bigger gestures, louder voice, exaggerated expressions, bright elaborate costume and make-up, jewellery and accessories. Culture-based styles, Brecht style and method acting are other ways of performing, but Lokadharmi and Natyadharmi are the two styles this chapter teaches in detail.

Ancient Indian architecture is a timeless gallery of these emotions in stone. The boy Sala fighting a lion at the Chennakeshava Temple, Belur, Karnataka, shows Veera rasa, courage — and the Hoysala dynasty took its name from it, Hoy-Sala, meaning “kill the lion, Sala!”. A fearsome Dvarapalaka, guardian of the entrance, at the Brihadeeshwara Temple, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, built by the Chola dynasty, shows Bhayanaka rasa, meant to scare away negative forces. The three-faced Trimurti of Shiva in the Elephanta Caves, Maharashtra, built in the Rashtrakuta period, shows three emotions in one sculpture: creation, sustenance and destruction.

The artists who made these works treated their work as God’s work, with wholehearted dedication: the story of master craftsman Jakanachari of Belur, who is said to have cut off his own hands when a flaw was found in his sculpture, only to learn later that the young artist who spotted it was his own son Dankanachari, shows a level of commitment that made these works last for hundreds of years.

The lesson for life is emotional intelligence: all emotions are equal, none should be hidden away, and none should be overdone. Theatre teaches us to experience, share and express every feeling freely, and to accept that others may feel and express the same situation quite differently.

What you should learn

• Name the Navarasa and explain bhava and rasa in your own words.
• Show three or four levels of intensity for one emotion, and explain why levels differ from person to person.
• Distinguish Lokadharmi (realistic) from Natyadharmi (stylised) acting with examples.
• Identify emotions in ancient sculptures, such as the Sala-lion, the Dvarapalaka and the Trimurti, and name their temples and dynasties.
• Explain how theatre builds empathy and emotional intelligence in everyday life.

Try it: Emotional Corners (Activity 1.1)

1. Mark a corner of the room for each rasa with a placard or poster, and stand in the centre with your class.
2. Take turns: go to the emotion of your choice, say one or two lines that show the feeling, and act it out in voice, expression and action.
3. Play a trial round first so everyone understands the game, then repeat it for each emotion.
4. Try a round without voice, to focus only on expression and body language, and a round without action, to focus only on voice and expression.
5. Advanced round: make new placards showing only the LEVEL of an emotion, then take turns narrating a story — when a level is called out, everyone moves to that level and shows it.

Try it: Pick Your Style! (Activity 1.2)

1. Prepare chits with simple actions, such as walking on a road full of potholes, taking a gift out of a bag, or eating a favourite chocolate.
2. Pick a chit and act the action in a natural (Lokadharmi) style or a stylised (Natyadharmi) style — or try both and compare.
3. Advanced version: pick a second chit marked realistic, stylised or both, and follow exactly what the two chits together say.
4. Discuss afterwards: what differences did you observe between the two styles, which felt more effective and why, and where have you seen stylised acting — in films or on television?

Try it: Find a Picture! (Activity 1.3)

1. Find a picture of a temple sculpture you have seen, and paste or draw it in your notebook.
2. Write about the emotion in the sculpture and the story behind it — which rasa does it show, and how can you tell?
3. Ask yourself the chapter’s dedication question: if you were given the work of creating such a temple, how would you prepare, and how much time would you spend practising?

Chart / Table: The Navarasa — nine rasas

Rasa	Emotion it carries
Shringara	Love, beauty and joy
Hasya	Laughter and humour
Karuna	Compassion and sorrow
Raudra	Anger
Veera	Heroism and courage
Bhayanaka	Fear
Bibhatsa	Disgust
Adbhuta	Wonder and surprise
Shanta	Peace and calm — the ninth rasa, added later

Practice set — try it yourself

1. Name the nine rasas.
   Hint: Hint: Start with the eight from Bharata Muni, then add the ninth.
2. Explain bhava and rasa in one sentence each.
   Hint: Hint: One is inside the person, the other reaches the audience.
3. Show three levels of happiness, from a small pleasure to a big good deed.
   Hint: Hint: Think of ice cream, a prize, helping a friend, and donating to an orphanage.
4. Act out “walking on a potholed road” in Lokadharmi style, then in Natyadharmi style. What changed?
   Hint: Hint: Compare size of gestures, voice and expression.
5. Which rasa does the Sala-lion sculpture show, and at which temple is it found?
   Hint: Hint: Think of courage, Belur, and the Hoysala name.

Questions with Answers

1. What is the difference between bhava and rasa?
   Bhava is the feeling or state of mind within a person. Rasa is the feeling that is experienced in a situation as a result of that bhava — the emotion the performer creates and the audience shares.
2. How many rasas are there, and who described the first eight?
   There are nine rasas, the Navarasa. Bharata Muni described eight main emotional experiences in the Natyashastra, and the ninth, Shanta, was added later.
3. What does “intensity” of an emotion mean? Give an example.
   Intensity is the degree or strength of a feeling. Anger, for example, can be mild anger, strong anger, or rage — the same rasa at different strengths.
4. Distinguish Lokadharmi from Natyadharmi acting.
   Lokadharmi is realistic acting: natural actions, expressions and everyday-like costume and make-up, so the scene looks real. Natyadharmi is stylised acting: bigger gestures, louder voice, exaggerated expressions and bright, elaborate costume, make-up and jewellery.
5. Name two temple sculptures from this chapter and the emotions they show.
   The Sala-lion sculpture at the Chennakeshava Temple, Belur, shows Veera rasa, courage. The Dvarapalaka guardian at the Brihadeeshwara Temple, Thanjavur, shows Bhayanaka rasa, fear, meant to scare away negative forces. The Elephanta Trimurti shows three emotions in one: creation, sustenance and destruction.

Extension Questions — for deeper understanding

1. Why does the chapter refuse to give fixed names for the levels of each emotion?
   Because levels are personal: each child’s experience decides how they name and order the levels, and different classes may arrive at different names. There is no single correct list, and thinking it out yourself builds self-awareness.
2. How can the same emotion look different in two people? Give the chapter’s fear example.
   Because expression style is personal. In fear, one person may close the eyes tightly while another opens them wide. The situation and feeling are the same, but the style of showing it differs — and observing this closely is part of the chapter’s work.
3. Why are temple sculptures called a “timeless gallery” of emotion?
   Because sculptures hundreds of years old still show the Navarasas clearly today, in styles that also tell the history of their dynasty and region — and because the artists’ wholehearted dedication made works that have outlasted many modern buildings.
4. What is the story of Jakanachari, and what does it teach about dedication?
   Master craftsman Jakanachari, ordered by the Hoysala king to build a grand temple, worked away from home for years. When a young artist found a flaw in his sculpture — a cavity in the navel where a frog lived — Jakanachari, believing himself unfit for God’s work, cut off his hands. The young artist turned out to be his own son Dankanachari, and father and son later completed the temple together. It teaches dedication, commitment and persistence.
5. How does theatre build emotional intelligence for everyday life?
   Games like Emotional Corners and Hot Seat teach that there is no one correct way to feel or express, that all emotions are equal and should be expressed freely without overdoing any of them, and that understanding others’ different feelings makes us emotionally strong and ready to face life’s surprises.
6. In the advanced Emotional Corners story game, how does a story move the players?
   The narrator calls out a rasa and a level as the story goes on — for example Veera at level 3 for a brave queen, Adbhuta at level 2 for a surprise challenge, Hasya at level 1 for her laugh — and all players move to that level and show it, so the story itself drives the emotions.

How to use this page: Read the summary, say the Key Terms in your own words, then try the practice set without looking. Check your answers against Questions with Answers, and ask your teacher or parent to check your work.