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 CHAPTER: INDIAN PUPPETRY
1.! Introduction: It is a form of theatre that involves manipulation of puppets+ The Harappa and
Mohenjodaro have yielded puppets with sockets attached+ Earliest written reference is found
in Silappadikaram written around 1st and 2nd century BC.
2.! String Puppets: These puppets have jointed limbs; movement is controlled by master with the
help of strings attached to their elbows and legs+ generally, 8-9inch miniature figure chiseled
out of wood+ Oil colour used to paint the wood with skin colour.
•! Kathputli: It is the traditional puppet art of Rajasthan+ They are carved out of single piece
of wood+ They have no religious or ritual undertones + They tell stories from the court of
King Amar Singh Rathod of Nagaur+ Their dress is colourful following medieval style of
Rajasthani dress+ Unique feature is the absence of legs-> strings attached to fingers of
puppeteer.
•! Kundhei: It is a string puppet of Odisha+ They are made out of light wood and do not have
legs+ More joints-> More flexibility to puppeteer+ Strings are attached to a triangular prop.
•! Gombeyatta: It is traditional puppet show of Karnataka+ Styled and designed on characters
of Yakshagana theatres+ Multiple puppeteers manipulates the puppets.
•! Bommalattam: It is a puppetry indigenous to Tamil Nadu+ It combines features of rod and
string puppetry+ They are largest and heaviest marionettes in India+ It has 4 stages:
Vinayaka puja, Komali, Amanattam and Pusenkanattam.
•! Gopalila Kundhei: Traditional puppet theatre from Orissa (Odisha) + These are beautiful
puppets worked by three strings attached to a bamboo triangular control + They traditionally
depict the life of Krishna (avatar of god Vishnu).
•! Putul Natch: It is string puppet from Assam which is popular in lower Assam region of
Kamrup and Mongoldoi area + In this, the body and the hands of the puppets are made of
softwood and their size range from one and a half to two and a half feet.
•! Nool Pavakoothu/ Pavakali: It is a stringed puppet play native to Kerala + Generally
performed during temple festivals. These puppets remain under the care and custody of a royal
family. The puppeteers belong to the Nair community.
•! Kalasutri Bahulya: It is the traditional string puppet theatre from Maharashtra + The
performances centre on the many episodes of the Ramayana, beginning with the accounts of
the birth of Rama and ending with the killing of Ravana.

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3.! Shadow Puppets: These are flat figures cut out of leather + Painted identically on both sides of
leather+ They are placed on white screen with light falling from behind, creating a shadow on
the screen.
•! Togalu Gombeyatta: It is shadow puppetry of Karnataka+ Characterized by variation of
puppet size based on social status of their characters+ Small sized puppets used for
characters representing common people and servants.
•! Tholu Bommalata: It is shadow theatre of Andhra Pradesh+ Themed drawn from
Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranas.
•! Ravana Chhaya: It is shadow pupperty of Odisha+ Puppets are made of deer skin+ No
joints attached to them, made of single piece+ Use of non-human puppets such as trees
and animals.
•! Tolpavakoothu: It is an ancient art form practiced in the Kali temples in north Kerala. It
orginally belonged to a world filled with rituals, beliefs and superstitions where the performer,
the Pulavar, was highly regarded by the devotees for his orginality and scholarship.
•! Chamadyache Bahulya: It is the traditional shadow theatre from Maharashtra + In each
troupe, a puppeteer-storyteller, assisted by a helper, is accompanied by two musicians, one
who plays the dholak and pakawatch (two-headed skinned drums), the other the jodiwala and
wata (wind instruments). Both musicians are also singers.
•! Thol Bommalattam: It is the shadow theatre from Tamil Nadu + It uses articulated cut-out
figures made of thol (leather) that are made to dance, act, fight, nod, laugh so on between a
source of light and a screen.

Fig: Togalu Gombeyatta Fig: Tholu Bommalata Fig: Ravana Chhaya

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4.! Glove Puppets: Also known as hand, sleeve and palm puppets+ They are made of cloth or
paper mache+ Pupeteer controls their movements with his hands and fingers through gloves+ In
Uttar Pradesh, themes revolve around social issues; In Odisha around Radha and Krishna
stories.
•! Pavakoothu: It is traditional glove puppet of Kerala+ Evidences of heavy influence of
Kathakali dance+ Themed around narrations of Ramayana and Mahabharata.
•! Sakhi Kundhei Nata: It is a string puppetry show popular in Odisha especially in the
Kendrapara district of Odisha + Puppeteers generally form groups and travel from village to
village for performing shows. Wooden dolls are tied to strings which are controlled by pulling
and releasing the strings
•! Beni Puthul: It is a glove puppetry form West Bengal + It employs just three fingers- Thumb,
forefinger and middle finger.
5.! Rod Puppets: Movement is controlled with rods attached to neck, elbows and legs of puppets+
It is popular in Eastern India.
•! Putul Nautch: Traditional rod puppet of West Bengal + They are carved out of wood+
Figures are dressed like characters of Jatra+ Presence of three joints- at the neck and at the
shoulders.
•! Yampuri: It is traditional rod puppet of Bihar+ Wood is used to make these puppets and
there are no joints.
•! Kathi Kandhe: It is the traditional rod puppet theatre from the state of Orissa + These are
manipulated by a kathi, or wooden rod. The traditional performance, an amalgam of dance,
drama and songs, begins with an invocation (stuti), followed by the sutradhara (stage
director/narrator) introducing the episode to be enacted from the epics, the Ramayana and
Mahabharata, or from the Puranas.

Fig: Putul Natch Fig: Yampuri

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