Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam's Rāmāya Tubhyaṃ Namaḥ (Part 3)
Padma then goes on to the line tau pituḥ vācā pañcavaṭi-vane viharataḥ to continue the story and in the process, she indicates how Rāma, Sītā, and Lakṣmaṇa were ferried across the River Gaṅgā – she uses a special movement of the feet while she rows (the invisible boat) with her hands; it gives the viewer the illusion of a real boat moving across the stage. The movement is also along the diagonal of the stage, giving us the three-dimensional feel. She even depicts the boat stopping with a mild jerk at the banks of the river and each getting off with different mannerisms.
