Stepping into shringaara varitions on love in modern bharata natyam 1

STEPPING INTO SHRINGAARA:
VARIATIONS ON LOVE IN MODERN
BHARATA NATYAM


NIDYA SHANTHINI MANOKARA
BA (HONS), THEATRE STUDIES, NUS


A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

THEATRE STUDIES PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND
LITERATURE
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE
2014

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DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this thesis is my original work and it has been written by me
in its entirety. I have duly acknowledged all the sources of information which have
been used in the thesis.

This thesis has also not been submitted for any degree in any university
previously.

_____________________________
Nidya Shanthini Manokara
17 January 2014





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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Writing on the topic of love has been a heart wrenching experience. A
topic so rich, I feel I have just begun touching the tip of the iceberg. The bouts of
euphoria when I realized I was officially ‘mapped up’ onto the PhD track from the
MA (by Research), self-doubts, frustrations about being at NUS for almost ten
years, the anxiety of being jobless amongst my peers and my wedding in the midst
of all that … I am glad that my experiences have influenced my understanding of
love, academia and life. I am extremely fortunate to have wonderful people
supporting me in every step of the way and I would like to thank them all (I will be
knocking on your office/home doors soon).
I thank my thesis supervisor, Dr Paul Rae, for believing in this topic (and
in me) even when I had doubts. My thesis has evolved drastically and I owe much
of my academic development to his guidance. His constant questions, constructive
criticism and his meticulous attention to my drafts have played a huge role in
shaping the way I craft my writings. ‘Encouraging’ my peers and I to formally
write out sections of our chapters and present to each other as we approached our

submission deadlines, was highly beneficial as a self-check and a source of quality
feedback.
Taking TS 1101E practical classes as a freshman under Dr Robin Loon
has been very instrumental for my self-development. As my honours level
supervisor, Dr Loon helped me lay the foundation for my area of interest in
Bharata Natyam, and strongly encouraged me to continue my practice in the art.
In many instances of emotional breakdowns, Dr Loon’s hug always reminds me of
how far I have come—and how far more I need to go.
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Writing on a form that is so close to my heart, required critical periods
away from Bharata Natyam. I am especially grateful for the love, care and
support that I have received from my guru Maalika Panicker during my m.i.a
periods from dance. She has been very supportive of my academic endeavor and
her phone calls always put a smile on my face (although I dread the opening
question of “When are you coming back to dance?”). Discussing aspects of
Bharata Natyam confidently stems from her tutelage and I owe much of my
embodied knowledge to her.
I also thank A/P Yong Li Lan for the times when she talked me through
chapters that I found to be especially difficult to write about, precisely because it
was too close to my heart. I also thank Dr Edna Lim for being the inspiration for
my secondary area of research in film (and local Tamil performance practice). A
new vibrant area, some aspects of film and dance do feature in this thesis.
This lonely experience of writing a PhD has been made so much more
bearable because of the supportive, fun, a little crazy and extremely beautiful
people from Theater Studies. I thank Lim How Ngean for being a morale booster,
allowing me to freak out at times, encouraging me to complete on time and
reminding me that I had a life outside of thesis with my wonderful husband
Praveen. I also thank Anril Tiatco for always providing me with the constant
encouragement that helped me through this trying period. Big hugs to Shreyosi

Mukherjee for the countless moments of insanity—our first international
conference at Seattle, our cocktail session at Penang and the craziness of
organizing a department level conference. Nora Samosir, thank you for feeding
me! I would also like to thank my fellow course mates and friends Matt Yoxall,
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Miguel Escobar, Alvin Lim (thanks for the Barcelona talk!), Felipe Cervera and
Edson Ng for listening to and commenting on the earlier drafts of my chapters.
I am truly blessed for my parents: Pa and Ma, thank you both for being
there to always catch my fall. I could not have done without the food, shelter,
words of comfort, and emotional support that you extended to both Praveen and
myself during the trying writing period. I also thank my brother Kunalan for
telling his friends that I am repeating my undergraduate modules at NUS, my
sister Vaany for always reminding me to eat on time and my canine-brother
Santosh for kissing my worries away. My grandmothers, aunts, uncles and cousins
whom I know are proud of the young woman I have become; thank you for
excusing me from family gatherings. I thank Perima and my mother-in-law for
ensuring that I had yummy home-cooked meals (Yes, I love food). To Kavitha,
Sentill, Vithya, Lina and Liza who have seen me through thick and thin: Thanks
for calling, visiting and checking in on my psychological well being almost every
other day! And thanks for working around my schedule when we meet up!
The best chance encounter that I have had thus far, is meeting Praveen
about ten years ago as a NUS undergraduate. Nothing about juggling a
relationship and writing a PhD has been easy. My punching bag, source of
comfort and the person I often feel like killing is Praveen. Thank you for putting
up with me during the nomadic lifestyle that we had during the writing phases
and bribing me with holidays ever so often. Loving word of caution: Do not stop
the pampering. I have grown too used to it. !
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Special thanks to my six-year-old cousin Thanushri for repeatedly asking
me when I will finish my ‘PSLE’ and telling me to think of what I will do when I
grow up. That time is finally here.





















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CONTENTS

Title Page
Declaration ii

Acknowledgements iii
Contents vii
Summary x
List of Figures xiii

Introduction 1
Hello, how are you? 1
Journeying through Feelings in Bharata Natyam 11
Shringaara: Modes of Love in Bharata Natyam 26
Bharata Natyam in Scholarship: An absence of Shringaara 33
Stepping into Shringaara 48
Variations on Love in modern Bharata Natyam 52

1 Manifesting Krishna: Variations on Love 56
Interpreting Shringaara in Bharata Natyam 56
Krishna as Exemplar of Shringaara 62
Learning to Love Krishna: Varieties of Shringaara in Bharata Natyam 68
Dancing across the Sacred and Secular 77
Rati as bhakti Shringaara: Priyadarshini Govind’s Rusli Radha 78
Vatsalyam: Balasaraswati’s Krishna Ni 84
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Tactility of Romance: Umesh Shetty’s Madhura Manohara 92
Embodying Lover Krishna: A Personal Conversation 98
More Krishnas 103

2 Cultivating Love in Bharata Natyam Pedagogy 107
Deciphering the guru-sishya relationship 107
Surveying the Guru in Hindu Tradition 110
Associating Guru-sishya and Love in Scholarship 115

‘Becoming’ a sishya: Learning Love through Affective Pedagogy 125
Becoming guru-sishya: An Enduring Encounter 137
An Abrupt End to Learning? 149

3 Embracing Vatsalyam: Variations on Maternal Love 153
When One becomes Two 154
Developing Shringaara through Vatsalyam 160
Between Reception and Production: A Loving Body for Vatysalyam 168
When Two become One 173
Mothering Loss: Priyadarshini Govind’s Performances 177
Mother-in-Law as Continuity of Lineage 187

4 Remediating Shringaara in Film Dance 192
Bharata Natyam and Tamil Film Dance 195
Variations on Love in Post-Independence Tamil Cinema 203
Intermedial Shringaara: Intimacy in Tamil Cinema (1970s-1990s) 214
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Shobana’s Maya Ravan (2009) and Intertextual Competency 224
Remediating Shringaara: Ravana’s Love(s) in Maya Ravan (2009) 235
Responding to Shringaara? 246

5 Reconfiguring Shringaara in Contemporary Dance 249
Shobana Jeyasingh and contemporary Indian dance 253
Developing Shringaara in Faultline (2008) 260
Transforming Shringaara 265
Reflections on Transformed Shringaara 271
An Intimate Encounter of Dance-Making 273
Reflections on the Singapore context 287

Conclusion 291
Hello again! How are you? 291
Journeying through Shringaara 295
An Arrival as a Departure 301

Glossary 304
Bibliography 308
Appendix A. Asamyutha Hasta or Single hand gestures 317
Appendix B. Samyutha Hastas or double hand gestures 318



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SUMMARY
In this thesis, I investigate the varieties of love that are expressed in and
through the modern South Indian solo dance practice of Bharata Natyam. Within
classical Indian performance aesthetics, the rasa that is most commonly translated
as ‘love’ is Shringaara. Stylized and codified expressions exist in this artform to
create Shringaara and renditions of devotion are widely accepted by practitioners
and scholars as its primary manifestation.

However, given its centrality within Bharata Natyam, there is relatively
little discussion of Shringaara in current dance scholarship. Instead much critical
literature on Bharata Natyam explores the socio-historical formation of the dance,
the identity politics of the dancer and contemporary interpretations of the art.
Drawing on my experience as a practitioner, I argue that there is more to
Shringaara. It offers a means for understanding the contemporary significance of
this ‘classical’ form. Everyday expressions of love, its representations in popular
culture and the highly codified manifestations of Shringaara in Bharata Natyam

collide in personal and social experiences of love, loving and being loved. It is this
intersection that sharpens my understanding of love as an evolving entity, as it
does for others.

Over five chapters, I highlight five variations on love found within modern
Bharata Natyam repertoire and practice. I explore how the concept of Shringaara
constantly evolves in relation to the chosen variation. Collectively, these varieties
of Shringaara alter the spectator’s perceptions on love. The resulting analysis is
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guided by my practice, and informed by scholarship on contemporary dance,
feeling and affect.

In Chapter 1, I identify the figure of Krishna as love-exemplar in Bharata
Natyam and argue that the character allows the practitioner to contest notions of
sacred and secular Shringaara. In Chapter 2, I propose that the guru-sishya (master-
disciple) bond is based on a tacitly understood, delicate love-based relationship.
Drawing on my personal experience, I analyze how the pedagogy cultivates
performances of love. In Chapter 3, I highlight vatsalyam (maternal affection) as
another manifestation Shringaara found in Bharata Natyam. Focusing on maternal
grief, I foreground ruptures in love relations that are not commonplace in dance
repertoire.

The final two chapters focus on examples that extend beyond established
Bharata Natyam conventions to argue for the evolving nature of Shringaara beyond
the live, solo dancer’s body. In Chapter 4, I treat the stage-spectacular Maya Ravan
(2008) as an intermedial production, which drew on distinct film and Bharata
Natyam conventions for conjuring love. I propose that such an appropriation
refashions an informed audience’s perceptions of Shringaara. In Chapter 5, I
investigate the contemporary piece Faultline (2007) and suggest that Shringaara

becomes indicative of modern living and an expression of urban love.

Through the thesis, I underscore that the stylized depictions found in
Bharata Natyam repertoire, perceptions on and social experiences of love interact
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to create a complex nexus to understand Shringaara—as it operates in urban
contexts of Bharata Natyam practice. I conclude by reflecting on the evolving
nature of Shringaara and how it informs the modern Bharata Natyam dancer’s
practice.

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LIST OF FIGURES
1.
Singapore Festival of Dance ’83 brochure front cover depicting the
image of my aunt and mother in Bharata Natyam costume.

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2.
Caricature of a Bharata Natyam dancer that illustrates the demands
on the body to achieve aesthetic beauty. Source: Uttara
Coorlawala’s article “The Sanskritized Body” (2004).

39
3.
The front cover of Butting Out (2004) by Ananya Chatterjea
highlighting the way the dancer’s body is ordained in
Chandralekha’s works.

45
4.
Screen Capture. Priyadarshini Govind in Rusli Radha. As Radha,
Govind moves the creepers.

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5.
Screen Capture. Priyadarshini Govind in Rusli Radha. This frame
captures Govind’s reaction as Radha when she sees Krishna in the
company of other women.

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6.
Screen capture. Priyadarshini Govind in Rusli Radha. Govind
narrating the anger felt by Radha and later Krishna.

80
7.
Screen capture. Priyadarshini Govind in Rusli Radha. Govind
depicting the latika creeper using mudras and appropriate body
movements.

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8.
Screen capture. Priyadarshini Govind in Rusli Radha. Govind
depicting the sturdy tree using mudras and appropriate body
movements.

82
9.
Screen capture. Priyadarshini Govind in Rusli Radha. Radha glares
at Krishna as she takes her ankle bells from him.

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10.
Screen Capture. T Balasaraswati in Krishna Ni (2006). This image
illustrates the simplicity of costume when she performs her famous
piece Krishna Ni Begane Baro at the age of forty-four.

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11.

Screen Capture. T Balasaraswati in Krishna Ni (2006). Balasaraswati
bends her upper torso to meet the eye level of the child.

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12.
Screen Capture. T Balasaraswati in Krishna Ni (2006). Balasaraswati
depicts Krishna opening his mouth to reveal the universe to his
mother Yeshoda.

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13.
Screen Capture. Temple of Fine Arts (Kuala Lumpur)’s Madhura
Manohara. An instance in Madhura Manohara highlighting the
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performance aesthetics of the piece.

14.
Screen Capture. Temple of Fine Arts (Kuala Lumpur)’s Madhura
Manohara. The dancer embracing Krishna.

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15.
Screen Capture. Temple of Fine Arts (Kuala Lumpur)’s Madhura
Manohara. The dancer depicting being held by Krishna.

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16.
Screen Capture. Kaana kan kodi veendum from Konjum Salangai (1962).

Kamala Lakshman in her first dance costume.

206
17.
Screen Capture. Kaana kan kodi veendum from Konjum Salangai (1962).
Kamala Lakshman dressed as Meenakshi after a costume change.

206
18.
Screen Capture. Kaana kan kodi veendum from Konjum Salangai (1962).
Medium shot of Kamala Lakshman as Valli after a costume change.

207
19.
Screen Capture. Kaana kan kodi veendum from Konjum Salangai (1962).
Medium shot of Kamala Lakshman as Andal after a costume
change.

207
20.
Screen Capture. Manam Padaithen from Kandan Karunai (1967). Close-
up of the suggested union between Murugan and Deivanai that also
complicates rati and bakthi.

210
21.
Screen Capture. Manam Padaithen from Kandan Karunai (1967). Actors
Sivakumar and KR Vijaya as Murugan and Deivanai.

210

22.
Screen Capture. Kalaiyum Neeyeh from Then Nilavu (1961). Framing
both Gemini Ganesaan and Vyjayanthimala as a single unit.

211
23.
Screen Capture. Kalaiyum Neeyeh from Then Nilavu (1961). Gemini
Ganesan lip-synching to Vyjayanthimala amidst the backdrop of a
river in an outdoor filming.

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24.
Screen Capture. Silk Smitha (who popularized vamp-like dancing)
and Kamal Haasan in Nethu Rathiri from Sakalakala Vallavan (1982).

220
25.
Publication material of Maya Ravan when it toured Singapore in
2011. Source: sooryafest.org.

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26.
Screen Capture. Drum Sequence 1 in Chandralekha(1948).

231
27.
Screen Capture. Drum Sequence 2 in Chandralekha(1948).

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28.

Screen capture. Maya Ravan. Celebrations in Ayodhya following
Rama-Sita’s marriage to Chandralekha drums instrumental piece.
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29.
Screen capture. Maya Ravan. Shobana (in pink) as Kaikeyi.

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30.
Screen Capture. Kalvareh from Raavanan (2010). Aishwarya Rai
Bachchan conjuring Manmadan, the God of Love in the mushily
loving film song.

235
31.
Screen capture. Maya Ravan. The introductory scene of Sita and
Ravana.

237
32.
Screen capture. Maya Ravan. Ravana addressing Sita in Shringaara
padam.

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33.
Screen Capture. Narumugaiyeh from Iruvar (1997). Mohan Lal and

Madhubala’s performance paying homage to post-Independence
songs like Kalaiyum neeye.

239
34.
Screen capture. Maya Ravan. Mandothri embracing Ravana.

243
35.
Screen capture. Maya Ravan. Mandothri using stylized mudras to
denote her love for Ravana.

243
36.
Screen capture. Maya Ravan. Ravana playing the veena.

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37.
Screen capture. Maya Ravan. The peacocks and deer denoting a
garden.

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38.
Screen Capture. Faultline. The first instance where audience
members see live bodies. The square spotlight frames the three
dancers.

262
39.
Screen Capture. Faultline. Instance of “looking” at the females.

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40.
Screen Capture. Faultline. An instance of how gender and ethnic
dynamics are at play.

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41.
Screen Capture. Faultline. Present and past heritage. Dwarfed image
of dancer Devam with the projected image of Rozari

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42.
My failure to conform in Bakht’s class (pink Punjabi suit in mirror
reflection). Source: DanceIntense Website.

276
43.
Trying to understand how to use my face in the showcase of Bakt’s
class (green Punjabi suit). Source: DanceIntense Website.
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INTRODUCTION

Hello, how are you?
“How are you?” Perhaps a gentle nod; maybe a smile to acknowledge the
question. Some laughter? There could be silence. Is it too early in the morning to
reply or too sudden a question that it is difficult to respond? Some may want to

assert their wellbeing with a thumbs-up gesture; others could signal with their
palm or shrug the shoulders suggesting, “yeah, okay ” At times bodily
dispositions might suffice. Some may consider this question as a means of
establishing interaction, where the reply per se does not matter. Still when asked,
“How are you” most often like the characters in Rahul Bose’s film title, Everybody
Says I'm Fine!

How am I? Can I share the instances that give me stress in my life? Or my
annoyance with the leaking water feature at the side of the wall? That sudden
craving for sweet durians. How am I? I am feeling something, or rather many
‘things’ but I cannot find the right words to succinctly describe how I am: now, at
this point in time. Perhaps the use of words themselves could be limiting in
expressing myself.
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It is difficult to be definite when discussing ‘things’ that are
transient, ephemeral; that overlap and intersect. Stressed out, jittery, hungry.
Stressed out. Jittery. Hungry. And cold. Should I hierarchize my ‘feelings’ or state
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How words are uttered and written can be indicative of one’s mood actually. The scribbled
words that defy the line margin could signal that one is uninterested/bored/sleepy beyond being
just bad handwriting. A slurred utterance of ‘I’m fine’ could point towards one’s disinterest as well.
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the most immediate and visceral one? Can I even rank ‘feelings’ according to
importance? I wrap my shawl tightly.

One can acknowledge that “How are you?” is hardly an innocent
question. There are myriad possible answers. Yet one is expected to reply almost
immediately with a verbal utterance, a gesture or a combination of both. The

socially ordained response “I am fine, and you?” is by far the most common. This
reply often involves self-conscious censorship and may not be a reflection of one’s
state of being, at that particular moment. Having said that, it is also difficult to
accurately utter how one is because moment by moment one’s state of being is
morphing. Yet, rarely does one discuss these nuances in part because it is not
socially polite to do so.

Understanding how one feels is one possible way of deciphering how one is
in the moment. In the most generic sense of the word “feel”, one becomes aware
of someone or something in the environment through touching and being
touched. The warmth of the sunlight after a downpour, the reassuring firm
handshake for a new venture and the gentle breath at the back of one’s neck that
may precipitate desire work differently but all heighten one’s arousal. These tactile
feelings are experienced relative to the environment.

To a significant degree, it is in responding to stimulus from our
surroundings that we can begin to understand how we are feeling. Take for
instance commuting in a crowded train at the end of a working day. The smell of
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various perfumes fused with perspiration, the ringtones of hand phones and
chatter that drown announcements like “Doors are closing” Beep, the sight of
fudged eyeliners and hair that defies the styling gel by the end of the day and
especially the brushing of skin against skin when one tries to get into the middle of
the cabin; there are multiple sensations—tactile, auditory, olfactory and visual.
Miffed at being unable to get a seat would further influence how one feels. While
each specific ‘feel’ has its own set of associations, collectively they work as stimuli
that influence how we take to and value them—feel.

Bodily sensations, the cognitive act of anticipation and the immediate or

visceral ‘feels’ that momentarily suspend or change other affective registers like the
jerks that one feels when the train changes from one railway track to another are
possible ways to answer the question “how are you?” At every moment, we react
to the environment—carefully weighing the most immediate affects, and process
the stimuli before responding with a socially recognizable expression of emotion.
Due to such relational and hence inherently non-static nature, it is challenging to
discuss any single feeling independently. It is for this reason that it is difficult to
answer, “How are you?” Yet, through utterances, words, gestures and facial
expressions, we still try to objectify our highly individualized experience of being.
We attempt to name what we feel by shaping it as an easily recognizable concept
and its associated ideas. Even when we understand that there are myriad
possibilities that influence how we feel, we nonetheless triflingly attempt to frame
it within emotions.

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As a category, emotion is of special interest to many disciplines such as
neuroscience, linguistics, psychology and anthropology. Links between mirror
neurons,
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expressions of emotional indicators and empathy are continually being
researched by neuroscientists like Christian Keysers. He writes: “the emotions of
other individuals are processed using shared circuits and stimulated by activating
similar facial motor programs and visceral emotions. Second, even the tactile
sensations of other individuals appear to be processed using shared circuits, both
when people are simply touched and when we see them move their bodies” (2011:
135). He refers to the firing of similar neurons when performing and witnessing
facial expressions as the “shared circuits” in the brain. This self-identification of
emotional triggers and identifying with those displayed by the other person,
Keysers argues, stimulates empathy.

While neurologists attempt to understand the workings of the brain as
biological underpinnings wired in humans, their recognition of emotions and its
potential for generating empathy, linguists like Anna Wierzbicka argue that the
concept of “emotions” is semantically complex. It is a complexity I have
attempted to flag in the earlier pages. In her book Emotions across Languages and
Cultures Wierzbicka writes: “The very meaning of the English word emotion includes
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Donald Hebb, in 1949, paved way for understanding how neurons worked during learning
processes. In his famous writing “Neurons that fire together, wire together” Hebb argues that the
causal firing of cells through repetition allows for learning process. In the 1980s and 1990s,
Giacomo Rizzolatti’s research with the macaque monkeys revealed that certain neurons, now
called mirror neurons, fired in the similar way when watching and performing motor activities like
holding an object. He further suggested that in the imitation, there was the capacity to replicate
and acquire a behavior through observation; thus adding to Hebb’s theorization. While some
neuroscientists were skeptical of the similarities between monkeys’ brains and that of human
counterparts, others furthered the research to understand how mirror neurons related to emotions
(Keysers) and autism (Churchland).
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both a reference to feelings and a reference to thoughts (as well as a reference to
the body), and culture often shapes both ways of thinking and ways of feeling”
(1999: 5). She then goes on to explain that the term “emotion” often relies on
descriptive language that is socio-culturally specific and language bound. In her
book, Wierzbicka recognizes and highlights that words such as Russian toska or
German angst are culturally bound cannot be succinctly translated into nor fully
understood in English-speaking contexts.
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Working with actors and mindful that theatre performances in particular
require easily identifiable signifiers for emotional states, psychologist Paul Ekman
photographed facial expressions of basic emotions—anger, happiness, surprise,
sadness, disgust and fear. A single expression of emotion was recorded as being
representative of the basic emotion. He then showed these images to members
from different cultures. Although some minor differences are visible especially
regarding how anger is portrayed in different cultures, across cultures, people tend
to ascribe particular emotions to specific facial expressions (1992). He further
suggests that there is immediate recognition that that facial expression denotes a
certain state of being. Ekman’s main argument was that facial expressions of
primary emotions are universally recognizable.

Being mindful of how the researcher’s linguistic competence shape and
account for semantic differences cultural psychologist Richard Shweder contested
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Cliff Goddard also explores such limit to translation and the cultural-specificity of terms in his
research on East Asian and Southeast Asian languages.
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against Ekman’s findings on the universality of facial expressions of emotions. He
criticized that it was an over-simplification of the full range of human emotions
and did not demonstrate sensitivity towards subtle variations in responses that are
culturally ordained. Moving away from Ekman’s highly categorized definitions for
facial expressions of emotions and the cultural vacuum it presupposes, in their
edited book Language and the Politics of Emotions (1990) anthropologists Catherine
Lutz and Lila Abu-Lughod highlight a cross-cultural dimension for understanding
multiple types of social relations that are created, broken and re-created through
the discourse of emotions. In doing so, they problematize Ekman’s proposition

that emotions are indeed universal.

Emotion is a complex term that relies on well-circulated and easily
relatable words like love, sadness, fear and happiness. Each of these words, such as
love for example, has many associated thoughts, values and systems of beliefs.
Nevertheless, they remain the subjective and conscious indicator of a person’s
emotional state of being. Emotions may then be described as a cognitive, socially
ordained and consciously practiced mode of expressing oneself. It is a display,
broadcast or projection of a feeling. While one may be well aware of experiencing
emotions, through the self-conscious usage of socially understood indicators of
emotion that one expresses one’s feelings to oneself. Experiences are named,
legitimized and made recognizable to other members in the same community
through the expressions of emotions.

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Within each socio-cultural context there are ways to address “how are
you” without being confined to facial expressions alone. Although the face is often
the first thing we look at to initiate communication, there are other non-verbal
ways to comprehend how one is ‘feeling’. Bearing this in mind, emotions as a
category may not be nuanced enough to respond to the question I opened with.
As I had briefly explored, socio-culturally framed thoughts, immediate sensations
in the body upon contact with a stimulus, and tactile reactions coalesce to
generate a response that tends towards the emotions. Moreover the categories like
that of Ekman provide limited ways for expressing oneself. Understanding the
closely related, split-second-precursor to that somewhat nameable emotion, affect,
may offer an easily identifiable response to “How are you?”

The translation works and writings of Brian Massumi largely propel the
interest in affect in Anglophone scholarship. The most influential of his

translations, is that of Deleuze and Guattari’s A Thousand Plateaus (reprint 2004). In
his notes on the translation, Massumi highlights the issue of translation when
dealing with philosopher Spinoza’s idea of “affect” that Deleuze and Guattari
draw on. He writes:

AFFECT/AFFECTION. Neither word denotes a personal feeling
(sentiment in Deleuze and Guattari). L 'affect (Spinoza's affectus) is an ability
to affect and be affected. It is a prepersonal intensity corresponding to the
passage from one experiential state of the body to another and implying an
augmentation or diminution in that body's capacity to act. L'affection
(Spinoza's affectio) is each such state considered as an encounter between
the affected body and a second, affecting, body (with body taken in its
broadest possible sense to include "mental" or ideal bodies) (1987: xvi)

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Here, Massumi distinguishes that their sentiment (what I have also fleshed
out as feeling in the earlier pages), is an individualized experience while emotion is
the socially accepted display of that personalized experience. Affect, on the other
hand, occurs at the non-conscious level over which we have no control and is only
made conscious to us through bodily sensations of varying intensities. This may
include the likes of palpitations or the dilation of the pupil, and such automatic
reactions become ways for us to understand the relationship between the
environment and ourselves. As Massumi stresses, it is through those bodily
sensations that we experience a stimulus. It is this unique encounter that is framed
as “affect”. There is spontaneity and biological underpinnings that calibrates how
we understand affect.

Parables for the Virtual (2002) has become an important critical source for
studies on affect. Acknowledging that affect is of interest to media, art and literary

works for reception and production especially in the capitalist culture, Massumi
draws on various contexts to argue that cultural changes on the body result in a
cumulative transformative affect on that body. He writes: “Affect, like thought or
reflection, could be extended to any or every level, providing that the uniqueness
of its functioning on that level is taken into account” (37).

Massumi’s influential article “The Autonomy of Affect” first published in
1995 and a chapter in his 2002 book, explores affect as an intensity that evokes an
uncontrollable reaction that is pre-social and beyond the systems of emotional
display (27). Massumi stresses that affects are constantly in movement through the
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bodies and provide for a dynamic and transformative experience that cannot be
explained through cultural qualifiers alone. His paper beings with Hertha Sturm’s
research where children watch video recordings of a man building and watching a
snowman melt away. Their breathing and heartbeat rates are measured. The first
film was an original wordless version, the second “factual” a one where narration
is provided and a third “emotional” version where “words expressing the
emotional tenor of the scene under way” (23). As the children rated the scenes,
according to the most pleasant, the sadder versions provided the pleasure.
Massumi highlights that affect is an intensity where there is “a suspension of
action-reaction circuits and linear temporality” (28).
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Thus, the psychological
arousal allows for the seemingly dichotomous image and response to collide into a
positive and pleasurable viewing experience. He elaborates that this pre-personal
intensity is the autonomy of affect.

Although most scholars register their consensus of Massumi’s proposition
that affect is an autonomous, bio-automatic, pre-social intensity is widely

accepted, scholars like Melissa Gregg and Gregory J. Seigworth remind us that
“There is no single, generalizable theory of affect: not yet, and (thankfully) theer
never will be” (2010: 3). Discussing the multi-faceted ways in which affect can be
appropriated in various cultural contexts and situations in The Affect Theory Reader
Gregg and Seigworth highlight the “relationality” of affect. In the thin but
valuable volume Theatre & Feeling Erin Hurley also echoes such relationality when
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Massumi also explores the use of language in categorizing and cuing the types of emotional
responses.
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she writes on affect “Affect happens to us (remember, it is out of our conscious
control) and yet happens through us (it is the body regulating itself via the activation
of certain organs, processes, or responses, as when we shiver in the cold)” (2010:
22). Gregg and Seigworth begin the introductory chapter with “Affect arises in the
midst of in-between-ness:in the capacities to act and be acted upon” (1).

In “Happy Objects” found in the edited volume Sara Ahmed picks up on
this in-between-ness as a “sticky” thus proposing affect to be “what sticks, or what
sustains or preserves the connection between ideas, values and objects” (29).
Other scholars explore the affective cultural politics such as Ben Highmore in
“Bitter After Taste” through everyday experiences including class-distinctions and
taste of food. In his book Feeling Theatre (2012) Martin Welton explores the
intertwined nature between states of being and theatre experiences. He states that
the term “feel” best “migrates between emotion, cognition and touch” (5). There
is a certain ambiguity attached to this term. It foregrounds the complex ways in
which rational thought, ephemeral affect and tactile sensations are bound
together.

Affect, then provides us with a working framework to understand the
everyday happenings. Terms like ‘affect’ and ‘emotion’ are gaining increased
currency within academic writing. These different registers of dealing with normal
everyday occurrences enable one to exercise greater sensitivity when discussing
how we feel. In this equation, moods or the current state of mind are also an
important affective register that cues one into ‘feeling’ and expressing that feel.