Free your calendar for a puppetry festival that looks at the incredible diversity of the art form in India. A shadow puppetry festival is being organised in Bengaluru over the next few days where you will get to see performances and take part in workshops by traditional shadow puppeteers from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Odisha. The artists will also discuss their art forms in detail.
India is one of the 20-odd countries that have a rich legacy of shadow puppetry. There are several regional variations of the ancient art form and an equal number of names for shadow puppetry. For instance, the tholu bommalata of Andhra Pradesh, the togalu gombeyaata of Karnataka, charma bahuli natya of Maharashtra, ravanachhaya of Odisha, the tholapavakoothu of Kerala, and the thol bommalata of Tamilnadu.
Tholpavakoothu is a type of temple art that is seen in Kerala's Bhagavathy temples. The words "thol" and "pava" both imply leather and puppet, respectively. Like most puppetry forms in India. this too is rooted in the Ramayana which serves as the basis for the stories of most puppetry genres. The festival will also host Ravana-chhaya, an uncommon kind of shadow theatre from Odisha. It combines the state's traditional and classical music traditions. The Vichitra Ramayana lyrics are sung as an accompaniment.
One of the highlights will be the group from Nisarga Grama, a residential centre in Hesaraghatta, which works with children who were ragpickers or have experienced bonded labour. They will perform Karnataka&rsquos Dollu Kunitha art form.
The Information
Where Samudaya Bhavan, B Hosahalli, Sarjapura, Bengaluru
When October 26 to 28
Entry It is free for all. Talks and performances do not require registration, but the workshops have limited space. If you would like to attend a workshop, fill the form here.