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The theater arts of India can be divided into Yakshagana, puppetry and dance. Yakshagana depicts a religious story with the help of dialogue delivery and music. A puppeteer used painted figures made out of deer or goatskin, usually, which are moved by the threads and string attached to them. Dances have actors expressing a situation with facial expression in sync with a singer narrating the tale along with music using instruments such as veena and tabla.  Since expressions play a vital role, eyes are being highlighted, as they are the key in this type of theater art.

“Yakshagana” is a Sanskrit word for Celebration of the celestials. This theater art includes drama, song and dance.  It basically started as a folk art. The actors usually lead a nomadic life, traveling from one village to another with their baggage. They used to halt in temples at night and setting their stage for the performance the next day. Villagers gather the next day to watch this group of 15-20 male actors performing. Epics of Hindu mythology are enacted using makeup and colorful costumes. Since no females are a part of this pack, the male attire wearing female attire, too enacts feminine roles. The performers are expected to perform throughout the day and sometimes throughout the night, for which they should require lots of stamina for the preceding of the play through the night. The mythological figures are known as “Kimpurushas”, lead actor known as “Kattu-veshas” and the so-called villains are known as “Kiratas”. The audiences aren’t expected to pay anything for this entertainment; the actors are provided money with the temple funds for a living.

The Yakshagana artists were also the ones to introduce people to puppetry. Painted figures made from leather were made to move with sticks and strings. The stage was made with a white translucent cloth on which the dancing images of the puppets were projected with the help of lighted oil lamps. Stories from the sacred Hindu scriptures, Ramayan and Mahabharata are presented to the audience. The puppeteer usually gives the voice; his wife and kids to provide voice for other characters of the puppet show also join him. Background music too is mingled with the story with the help of Indian instruments such as harmonium or a Mukha-veena.  Puppeteers also are invited to perform on special occasions like birth, marriage and death. The storyline of their play depends on the occasion, like on birthdays they enact “Krishna Leela” or the antics of Krishna, on weddings they perform “Girija Kalyana” or the wedding of Girija and on funerals they perform “Swargarohana” or ascent to heaven.

These performances not only have an entertainment value but also have ritualistic significance. Some actors take a vow of performing these plays to get a return favor from their deities like good harvest, abundant rain, or end to their miseries.     

There are varieties of dances in India alone. Every state of this country has its own unique style in expression, gestures, makeup style and attire.  In fact, they have a god named Nataraja, who is believed to be one of the forms of Lord Shiva, as the supreme creator of Indian dance.  The famous dance forms of Indian peninsula are Odissi, Bharatnatiyam, Katthakali, Kuchipudi, and Mohini Attam that are performed in different regions of the country.

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This comprises the sign language of the deaf community in Russia. This language was used for conveying meaning using hands to show shapes, orientation of the hands, communicating manually and certain patterns using the lips, orientation of arms or body and facial expression to express the thoughts fluidly.

The complex spatial grammar of Russian sign language differs from that of the spoken Russian language and it can be used to discuss any topic, ranging from the simple and concrete to the lofty as well as abstract. There are many types existing in the deaf communities across the country while some of them have no recognition status at all!

They could possibly be richer than the oral language and many linguists who have studied this have found that they are similar in structure to the oral language. The signs are mostly arbitrary and they mostly do not have any visual relationship to the word referred to.

The many unique linguistic features which emerge from the languages’ ability are to produce the meanings in different parts of the visual field simultaneously. Russian sign language does not depend on the oral Russian language nor is it the oral language expressed in action.

This language exploits the unique features of the visual medium because the oral language being linear only one sound can be made or received at a time whereas in this language a whole scene can be taken in at once as it is visual. Several channels of information can be expressed simultaneously. In an occasion where the existence of deaf people are high enough a single deaf sign language is taken up by an entire local community.

Russian sign language necessitates a very brief pause between the terms, signifying the beginning and ending of words especially when you are expressing big sentences using your finger. A sudden slow down because of difficult letter combination may have the reader thinking that you are starting a new word leading to misunderstanding.

Parents of deaf children should introduce the language to the ward as early as possible. The earlier the child is exposed to sign languages and begins to acquire language will result in better development of the ward’s communication skills.

Researchers say that the first six months are the most crucial stage to the development of a child’s language skills. Screening for deafness and partial hearing losses have to be executed on all newborns before they leave the hospital or maximum within the first month of life.
Becoming fully competent in any language a person exposure to that language must begin as early as possible and definitely before school age.

People who generally use Russian sign language avoid long nails or excessive jewellery as it distracts when watching finger spelling.