At the origin of Hindu civilization, dance, music and theater constituted the three aspects of a unitary and total art, that of theatrical representation ( Nâtya ), created by the gods and essentially sacred, constituting a “fifth Veda”. This is why a dance recital in India, alternating between pure dance and expressive dance, contains mimodramas, where the dancing actors express themselves through attitudes, body movements, gestures and facial expressions, without words, on the musical support of singing and rhythms.This book illustrates with more than 700 black-and-white photographs the classification and numerous uses of hand gestures. Self-publishing, Paris 1985, 327 p., out of print, reprint Indian Sources publication, 2020.