Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture, is organising Putul Utsav, a puppet festival to mark World Puppetry Day in Hyderabad. The theme of the three-day festival (March 21-23) is Azadi Ke Rang, Putul Ke Sang, in keeping with the spirit of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. Tales of India’s struggle for freedom are being retold through puppets at the utsav that has an interesting line-up of acts.
Pawan Jha, consultant (documentation) at SNA, says, “The art of puppetry has been an intercultural theatre tradition since time immemorial, popular as a tool for communication, education and recreation. Puppetry tradition in India as well, goes back a long way and the art has been written about in historical Indian literature. Puppet theatre still enjoys popularity and Putul Utsav will give it a renewed vigour as a new generation of audiences is introduced to traditional puppetry, an intangible cultural heritage of India.”
Shadow, string, glove and rod puppetry are some of the various kinds keeping audiences entertained at the fest. Asked if YouTube and cartoons are trumping puppetry, he says, “Puppets are authentic, which bolster creative and curious attitudes in children.”
Popular city-based puppeteer Ratnamala Nori, who specialises in contemporary puppetry, says, “My style involves the use of hand and mouth puppets. I tell stories using entertainment to education children and adults about various issues plaguing society.” The founder of Nori Art and Puppetry Centre also has a YouTube channel where she makes her own puppets to talk about human values and moral science. Her latest work is centred around saving the environment.