Various puppetry forms from across the country were showcased in the city recently, reports Canvas
INDIA IS said to be the home of puppets, but it is yet to awaken to its unlimited possibilities. The earliest reference to the art of puppetry is found in Tamil classic ‘Silappadikaaram’ written around the 1st or 2nd century BC.
Puppetry throughout the ages has held an important place in traditional entertainment. Like traditional theatre, themes for puppet theatre are mostly based on epics and legends.
Puppets from different parts of the country have their own identity. Regional styles of painting and sculpture are reflected in them. However, modern day entertainment options like television, movies, Internet are fast displacing such traditional art forms that are dying a slow death.
With the passage of time, modern elements have also been weaved into the traditional flavour to cater to the changing tastes of today’s audience. Bollywood songs and other popular music are now used by the puppet artistes to attract the audiences’ attention. Moreover, such festivals are organised to promote the traditional art of puppetry and to revive this dying art form. The event aims at enabling people to celebrate the rich culture and heritage of the country.
Bring this tradition of puppetry to the state, Putul Parampara was organised by Sangeet Natak Academy, a national academy of music, dance and drama in Shillong in collaboration with the state Department of Art and Culture.
Altogether 20 groups of puppeteers from Delhi, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Tripura, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Kerala enthralled the audience in the five-day Puppet festival.
In the festival, multilingual performance in Hindi, Bengali, Manipuri, Rajasthani, English, Tamil, Assamese, Marathi, etc., were performed. While several performances were based on mythological themes, some also depicted the traditional Indian cultural. Ganga putra Bhishma, Kalia Daman, Sampoorna Ramayan, Harishchandra, Panchali and Bheema, Kamsa Vadha, Kapilasur and several other performances were made.
Internationally acclaimed themes like taming of the wild and flying flowers were performed. Puppeteers also performed on Swami Vivekananda – a life larger than a dream which was directed by Mansinh Zala. The festival was inaugurated by M War, Director of Art and Culture by lighting the lamp at Soso Tham Auditorium.
Contemporary puppetry like Mother and Motherland, directed by Suresh Dutta, conveys that the proper education is essential for the children to be worthy citizens and decision makers in the country. Proper education not only makes child grow intellectually but also inculcates in it a sense of responsibility.
Among the traditional glove puppetry of Uttar Pradesh, Gulabo-Sitabo is a story about two women married to a man. Although there is no tale or story line but performance comprises caustic humorous dialogues.
Danger Putal – traditional rod puppetry of West Bengal presented Ganga Putra Bhishma depicted the life of Bhishma, a true warrior, his terrible oath and ichcha mrityu.
From Manipur, traditional string puppetry was performed on Kalia Daman, Nata Sankirtana and Raas Leela. The Manipuri Nata Sankirtana begins with showing devotion to Lord Krishna in whose glory Vishnu Sahasranama was chanted.
Flying Flowers directed by Mohammad Shameem, Kutch Kutch Puppet Theatre Trust, Delhi, tells the story of a boy who wants to gift his girlfriend some flowers. This non-verbal performance with rod objective and glove puppets depicts the journey of that boy with humorous incidents and foibles.
Bisarjan, Directed by Prabhitangsu Das, from Tripura Puppet Theatre, Agartala is a play by Rabindranath Tagore that explores the meaning of true religion devotion and exposes the heinous, barbaric and brutal acts perpetrated by the fundamental religious orthodoxy on the name of religion and god.
Aranya Kanda was about the 14 years’ exile of Ram and the ultimate encounter with Ravan after unfolding various events that led to the final battle. There was another performance on the Ramayan during the festival.
The puppetry festival that began on April 27 portrayed the putul nach or the puppet dance performed by various groups from different state with its own traditional show on puppet. The final day of the festival witnessed people from all walks of life; the dramatic show was presented by artistes belonging to different states. The aim was to bring together traditional puppets from across India and also contemporary puppets under one roof for the people.
