Indian Puppetry, Types & Putul Nautch for NET, IAS, State-SET (KSET, WBSET, MPSET, etc.), GATE, CUET, Olympiads etc.
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Indian Puppetry
- A form of theatre or performance involving manipulation of puppets.
- The process of animating inanimate performing objects.
- Used both as entertainment in performance and ceremonially in rituals and celebrations such as carnivals.
- Originating in India years ago, where the main character in Sanskrit plays was known as Sutradhara β, andβ the holder of strings .
Types of Puppetry
String Puppetry
- Jointed body and limbs that allow movement.
- Made of wood, or wire, or cloth stuffed with cotton, rags, or saw dust and are usually small.
- Manipulated by operating the control as well as by loosening or pulling the relevant string
- Regional variations:
- Andhra Pradesh (Koyya Bommalata) , Assam (Putala Nach) ,
- Karnataka (Sutrada Gombeyata) , Maharashtra (Kalasutri Bahulya) ,
- Rajasthan (Kathputli) ,
- Orissa (Gopalila) ,
- Tamil Nadu (Bommalatam) and West Bengal (Tarer or Sutor Putul)
Shadow Puppetry
- Flat figures cut out of leather, treated to make it translucent.
- Pressed against the screen with a strong source of light behind it.
- The manipulation between the light and the screen make silhouettes or colourful shadows, as the case may be, for the viewers who sit in front of the screen.
- Prevalent in Orissa. Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu.
- Tholu Bommalata, Andhra Pradesh
- Large in size and have jointed waist, shoulders, elbows, and knees.
- The classical music of the region Coloured on both sides. Hence, throw coloured shadows on the screen.
Ravana Chhaya, Orissa
- Small and are in one piece with no joints.
- Made of deerskin and are conceived in bold dramatic poses.
- Not coloured, hence throw opaque shadows on the screen
- Apart from human and animal characters, many props such as trees, mountains, chariots, etc also used.
Glove Puppetry
- The head is made of papier mache, cloth, or wood, with two hands emerging from just below the neck.
- The rest of the figure consists of a long flowing skirt.
- The movements are controlled by the human hand the first finger inserted in the head and the middle finger and the thumb are the two arms of the puppet.
- Popular in Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal and Kerala.
- Dilogues play an important role
Rod Puppetry
- Extension of glove puppets, but often much larger, supported, and manipulated by rods from below.
- Found mostly in West Bengal and Orissa
Putul Nautch, West Bengal
- costumed like the actors of Jatra, a traditional theatre
- Carved from wood and follow the various artistic styles of a particular region.
- Used to be of human size, but existing puppets vary from 3 to 4 feet in height
- Music of Jatra theatre (drum, harmonium and cymbals)
- Puppeteers themselves sing and deliver the stylized prose dialogues along with a group of musicians
- Manipulated by a bamboo made hub tied firmly to the waist of the puppeteer on which the rod holding the puppet is placed.
- Puppeteers move and dance imparting movements to puppets.