Whats cooking in the MBC Lab?

 A major research area of the lab is the neuroscientific interpretation of musical knowledge documented in ancient musicological texts such as Natyashastra, Sangeetha Ratnakara - for contemporary scientific discourse.   Our Ph.D student, Divya Anupama Hoskere studies the neuroaesthetics of Nrtta and Abhinaya in re-imagining choreographic practice in Bharatanatyam. Another project examines the musicology of the Natyashastra, the Theory of Samvada propounded by Bharata in the Grama-Moorchana system described in the Natyashastra.

Unlocking the ‘Sanskrit Effect’; Applying Music and Mantra cognition for Dyslexia:

Funded by the Indian Knowledge Systems Initiative, Ministry of Education, this project examines the impact of a Carnatic rhythm & mantra- based cognitive training paradigm on the working memory, phonological awareness and focused attention of children with and without dyslexia aged 5-8 years.     

Your brain on Yoga: What is the Patanjalian take on somatic psychology? An exciting area of research at the lab is mining the Yogasutras for interdisciplinary understanding on how Yoga transforms the brain through the body. 

  India’s soft power strategy, for a long time, has been restricted to cultivating international relations through the dissemination of Indian Arts and Culture abroad. With changing geopolitical scenarios, India’s soft power strategy could now be understood as a growing campaign to draw attention to its spectacular cultural legacy as capital and employ it to shape foreign policy. At the Lab, we explore new frontiers of  Cultural Diplomacy, Soft Power and Public Diplomacy by conducting research, curate academic and public discourse on India’s cultural diplomacy policies.