Puppetry Traditions

Key Pointers

Types of puppets in India: String, shadow, rod and glove puppets. The oldest form of puppetry (mentioned in the Silappadikaram and Natyashastra sutradhara).
String puppets (marionettes):
- Kathputli (Rajasthan): Wooden-faced puppets with long skirts; performed by the Bhat community; Amar Singh Rathore folk tale.
- Kundhei (Odisha), Gombeyatta (Karnataka; linked to Yakshagana), Bommalattam (Tamil Nadu; large puppets with both strings and rods).
Shadow puppets:
- Tholu Bommalata (Andhra Pradesh): Large, coloured, translucent leather puppets.
- Togalu Gombeyata (Karnataka), Tholpavakoothu (Kerala; performed in Bhadrakali temples; Ramayana themes), Ravanchhaya (Odisha; opaque, unpainted figures).
- Chamadyache Bahulya (Maharashtra).
Rod puppets: Putul Nach (West Bengal), Yampuri (Bihar).
Glove puppets: Pava Kathakali/Pavakoothu (Kerala), Kathi Kundhei/Sakhi Kundhei (Odisha).
Themes: Ramayana, Mahabharata, local legends.
Contemporary: Puppetry for education/health messages; Kathputli Colony (Delhi).

MCQs

Q1. Tholu Bommalata is a shadow puppet tradition of:
(a) Andhra Pradesh
(b) Rajasthan
(c) Odisha
(d) Kerala
Answer: (a).

Q2. Kathputli puppets are traditionally from:
(a) Karnataka
(b) Rajasthan
(c) West Bengal
(d) Bihar
Answer: (b).

Q3. Pavakoothu is a form of:
(a) String puppetry
(b) Glove puppetry
(c) Shadow puppetry
(d) Rod puppetry
Answer: (b). It is a glove puppet tradition of Kerala.