Kazi Anoushka Rahman

This Foundation Project, implemented by IFA under Explorations will examine the intersections of the mudras (hand gestures) in Odissi dance, and the Indian Sign Language (ISL) for the deaf, as a way of developing a deeper understanding of the relationship between classical dance, gesture, rhythm and embodied communication. Kazi Anoushka Rahman is the Coordinator for this project. 

Kazi Anoushka Rahman is an Odissi dancer and full-time member of the Nrityagram Dance Ensemble, holding an M.Sc. in Mathematics alongside advanced training in Odissi dance. Trained under Smt. Dona Ganguly, Guru Surupa Sen, and Pavithra Reddy, she made her solo debut in 2024 and performs internationally across India, Egypt, Qatar, Bangladesh and North America. A recipient of the Virendra Kumar Laroia Fellowship, Anoushka Rahman was selected in 2025 for mentorship under NCPA’s Nrityagurukul with Guru Surupa Sen. Given her experience, Kazi Anoushka Rahman is best placed to be the Project Coordinator of this Foundation Project of IFA.

The project titled Silence that Speaks: An Exploration of Odissi with Deaf Children, is an investigative artistic exploration that will examine what this classical dance form becomes when the sound, music, rhythm, and verbal chant are absent. Rather than attempting to translate Odissi into ISL, Anoushka will explore the possibility of creating a dialogue between these two distinct systems of embodied communication. Working in collaboration with a group of deaf children aged 8 to 14, their teachers, and ISL interpreters in Bangalore, Anoushka will test the core assumptions of her classical discipline. This artistic inquiry will probe how mudras (hand gestures) demonstrate meaning independently, how tala (rhythm) can be transmitted through visual cues, breath, and physical vibrations, and how abhinaya (expressive facial storytelling) is attuned to non-verbal cues. 

The artistic research process will involve comparative mudra-ISL studies, close-up visual documentation, and iterative movement trials with the children and artistic collaborators. Rather than working toward a final stage performance, the performance will gather its findings into a living movement score, a hybrid document containing choreographic fragments, annotated reflections, video archives, and unresolved questions. 

The outcome of the project will be artistic collaboration between an Odissi dancer, deaf children, and an ISL interpreter, leading to a set of choreographic scores. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be audio-visual documentation of the artistic process.   

This project suitably addresses the framework of IFA’s Arts Practice programme in the manner in which it attempts to perceive silence not as an absence of sound, but as an active space of physical presence, shared movement and creative exchange, rendering a classical dance form vulnerable to another mode of physical communication, destabilising traditional devotional boundaries, and reframing the body as the primary site of secular artistic expression, with sensitivity to disability arts. 

IFA will ensure that the implementation of this project happens in a timely manner and funds expended are accounted for. IFA will also review the progress of the project at midterm by convening an online gathering of artists coordinating Explorations projects. After the project is finished and all deliverables are submitted, IFA will put together a Final Evaluation to share with Trustees.