Puppet Forms of India:

Puppet Forms of India:

Puppet Forms –
- Silappadikaaram – earliest reference to the art of puppetry is found in Tamil classic
- Puppetry throughout the ages has held an important place in traditional entertainment
- Puppetry has been successfully used to motivate emotionally and physically handicapped students to develop their mental and physical faculties

String Puppets –
- String puppets or Marionettes – jointed limbs controlled by strings allow flexibility
- Kathputli (Rajasthan) –
  - accompanied by a highly dramatised version of the regional music
  - Oval faces, large eyes, arched eyebrows and large lips are some of the distinct facial features of these string puppets
  - These puppets wear long trailing skirts and do not have legs
- Kundhei (Orissa) –
  - Orissa puppets have no legs but wear long flowing skirts
  - They have more joints – more versatile, articulate and easy to manipulate
  - puppeteers often hold a wooden prop, triangular in shape, to which strings are attached for manipulation
- Gombeyatta (Karnataka) –
  - They are styled and designed like the characters of Yakshagana
  - Gombeyatta puppet figures are highly stylized and have joints at the legs, shoulders, elbows, hips and knees
  - These puppets are manipulated by five to seven strings tied to a prop
- Bommalattam (TN) –
  - Bommalattam combine the techniques of both rod and string puppets
  - They are made of wood and the strings for manipulation are tied to an iron ring which the puppeteer wears like a crown on his head
  - Bommalattam puppets are the largest, heaviest and the most articulate of all traditional Indian marionettes
- Shadow Puppets –
  - Shadow puppets are flat figures
  - They are cut out of leather, which has been treated to make it translucent
  - They are pressed against the screen with a strong source of light behind it
  - Togalu Gombeyatta (Karnataka) –
    - These puppets are mostly small in size
    - he puppets however differ in size according to their social status, for instance, large size for kings and religious characters and smaller size for common people or servant
  - Tholu Bommalata (AP) –
    - puppets are large in size and have jointed waist, shoulders, elbows and knees
    - Colored on both sides – hence throw colored shadows on the screen
    - music is dominantly influenced by the classical music of the region
    - themes are drawn from Mahabharata and Ramayana and Puranas
  - Ravanachhaya (Orissa) –
    - puppets are in one piece and have no joints
    - They are not coloured, hence throw opaque shadows on the screen
    - manipulation requires great dexterity, since there are no joints
    - puppets are made of deer skin and are conceived in bold dramatic poses
  - Rod Puppets –
    - Putul Nautch (WB) –
      - Rod-puppets used to be of human size like the Bunraku puppets of Japan
      - These puppets have mostly three joints (Head & hands joined to rod at neck)
    - Yampuri (Bihar) –
      - These puppets are made of wood
      - these puppets are in one piece and have no joints
    - Glove Puppets –
      - head is made of either papier mache, cloth or wood, with two hands emerging from just below the neck
      - the first finger inserted in the head and the middle finger and the thumb are the two arms of the puppet
      - In Orissa, the puppeteer plays on the dholak with one hand and manipulates the puppet with the other
      - Pavakoothu (Kerala) –
        
        influence of Kathakali, the famous classical dance-drama of Kerala
        
        The manipulator puts his hand into the bag and moves the hands and head of the puppet
        
        The musical instruments used during the performance are Chenda, Chengiloa, Ilathalam and Shankha the conch