Sanchar Mimamsa a Book Review

Being a emerging scholar of eastern communication theory Nirmala Mani Adhikary has made a major contribution to enrich the horizon of eastern perspective of communication theory. Sanchar Mimamsa is also one of the book prepared from his research. 

Sadharanikaran model is the first ever model of communication diagrammatically proposed from East. Based on Bharata Muni's Natyashastra and Bhartrihari's Vakyapadiya, Adhikary has developed and proposed a communication model that illustrates the communication process as visualized in Vedic Hinduism.

Sanchar Mimamsa majorly gives light on Sadharanikaran Model of Communication. This book includes how communication has been being done from time immemorial in eastern society. SMC has been briefed in poetic form in the book. He scrutinizes that Sahridayata- is major for a successful communication among and between the parties, Sender and receiver both where there is commonness & oneness. First 5 chapters describe SMC in poetic form which has Poetic and Aesthetic value Sahriadayas is here sender and receiver who are not only engaged in communication but also have attained a special state: Sahridayata- attaining commonness or oneness where people communicate without having any conflict. Thus, Sahridayata is attained from Sadharanikaran and SMC resides in the core concept of attaining Sahridayata.

Fig. Sadharanikaran model of communication (SMC)

The model comprises the following elements:

1. Sahridayas  (Preshaka, i.e., sender, and

Prapaka, i.e., receiver)

2. Bhava (Moods or emotions)

3. Abhivyanjana (Expression or encoding)

4. Sandesha (Message or information)

5. Sarani (Channel)

6. Rasaswadana (Firstly receiving, decoding and

          interpreting the message and finally achieving

          the rasa)

7. Doshas (Noises)

8. Sandarbha (Context)

9. Pratikriya (Process of feedback).

Sahridayata is the core concept upon which the meaning of sadharanikaran resides. There is state of common orientation, commonality otherwise oneness. Senders and receivers become (common) sahridayas with the completion of the process of Sadharanikaran. If communication is taken as a step-by-step process, which is just for the sake of easy understanding, the sahridaya-preshaka (simply, the sender), who has bhavas (moods or emotions or thoughts or ideas) in mind, is the initiator of the process. The sahridaya, sender has to pass the process of abhivyanjana for expressing those bhavas in perceivable form. It is the (receiver) sahridaya- prapaka with whom the bhavas are to be shared. People  has to pass the process of rasaswadana. The position of the sahridaya-sender and the sahridaya-receiver is not static. Two consecutive parties engage in the processes of abhivyanjana and rasaswadana. Sadharanikaran is successful when, universalization or commonness of experience is achieved. As evident from the figure, the sender inherits bhava. It is due to the bhavas that human being aims engaging in communication or sadharanikaran process. Abhivyanjana refers to the activities that a source goes to translate bhavas into a form that may be perceived by the senses. It can be understood as expression or encoding in English. Sanketa (code) is an integral part of abhivyanjana. A kind of code is a must to let the bhavas manifested.

Codes are symbols that are organized in accordance with specific rules. For example, the language is a code. The sender encodes the bhava in a code. For communication to be successful, both the sender and receiver must understand the code being used. With the completion of the process of abhivyanjana, bhavas are manifested as sandesha. It is the information that the sender wants to pass on to the receiver. Messages may be in verbal or non-verbal depending upon the encoding done by the sender. For transmission of sandesha, there needs sarani (channel or medium), which is the means through which sandesha travels across space. The message sent by the source or sender cannot reach the receiver without the channel or medium. There is no such thing as perfect communication. There are continuous forces at work, doshas or noises, which tend to distort the message and lead to miscommunication .The effectiveness of any message depends on the communication environment, Sandarva, context. Same message may have different meanings in different contexts. Pratikriya refers to the responses of the receiver after receiving the message. It is the process of feedback, which allows the receiver to have active role in the communication process. Feedback makes the communication process ongoing & the process continues in cyclic order.

Eastern literature and culture is broadly rich and these philosophies are enough to describe science, communication, management and all other subjects of Eastern society. Sanchar Mimamsa, fully dedicated on communication theory has made us understand the value of native cultures.  The book includes not only the model of SMC but also proves that eastern society is also rich in communication theory.