Does the knowledge of Navras help students communicate better

“Sensory communication as an outcome of performing arts has been described in Sanskrit aesthetics as rasas” which are emotional and mental states that art can induce. 1 Rasa is considered fundamental to many forms of Indian performing arts; dance, music, theatre, cinema and literature. The rasa theory was originally developed by Bharata Muni in Natya Shastra into 9 principal Rasas: Love, Laughter, Anger, Compassion, Disgust, Fear, Brave, Wonder and Peace. This paper presents findings and soundings from a brief exploration of whether exposure to Navras can help Indian medical students empathize and communicate better with their patients than their counterparts. Methodology – A workshop was designed for 40 undergraduate medical students and interns trained in classical and modern dance, incorporating image theatre. All participants were exposed to the 9 emotions in Navras and a brief account was given on performing arts, drama and humanities. At the end, anonymous optional feedback was requested in the form of a questionnaire with 10 questions and a 5-point likert scale for each response. Results: The response rate was 100%.  55% participants from clinical phase felt that conscious awareness of Navras helped them in improving social intelligence, in enhancing observational skills and surviving burn out. 45% participants from preclinical phase felt either indifferent or that it might help them in the near future clinical postings. The workshop made 66% participants aware of how one could use performance techniques based on Navras to communicate better while 34% were clearly already practicing such techniques without conscious awareness.  73% felt that imbibing the concept of Navras builds a better rapport with the patients. Conclusion: The workshop helped in sensitizing the participants to approaching and using navras to enhance professional competency. Our study emphasize the need for such workshops to support medical students through performing arts and image theatre to inculcate a range of communication skills and to encourage team building through communication.  Keywords: Rasa; navarasa; Humanities/education; Education, medical, undergraduate; Image theatre; References: Chmiel, A. Application of Rasas in Indian Classical Dance. Faculty of Humanities Theses (Masters). 2015. Available from Utrecht University Repository at http://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/320610 Pandey, Kanti C. Comparative Aesthetics, (Indian Aesthetics ). 4th ed. Varanasi: Chowkhamba Press, 2008.