Say puppetry and the first thing that flashes in our mind is that it’s a dying art form. However, city-based award-winning puppeteer Ratnamala Nori’s puppets speak a contemporary story — they might mimic old or fabled characters like Kalidasa, Akbar-Birbal or Buddha but they spotlight contemporary themes like the environment, sanitation, and health awareness. The 72-year-old master puppeteer and winner of the Ugadi Puraskar and NCERT State Award will come with a three-day workshop to be held at the Crafts Council of Telangana. “I will introduce them to drawing, painting and making puppets. In a short time, they will learn to give life to puppets with voice, modulation and creative imagination,” she begins on an elated note.
Ratnamala will be focusing on four major styles of puppetry — Shadow, String, Rod and Glove puppetry. Elaborating on each, the artiste says, “The Shadow Puppetry used to be popular when we did not have electricity and would play with shadows for entertainment. They were leather puppets and we would use white cloth as background to understand silhouettes and shapes. Coming to String Puppetry, I’m looking at Karnataka’s string puppetry traditions of Gomba Atta and even the international puppetry styles. Attendees can learn about Glove Puppetry inspired by Kerala’s Pavakoothu puppetry tradition where hand movements run the puppets. Rod Puppetry is famous in states like Bengal and Orissa where puppets are manipulated by rods instead of hands.”
May 17-19. 10 am-12.30 pm. At Crafts Council of Telangana, Banjara Hills.
Mail: priyamvada@newindianexpress.com
Twitter: @RanaPriyamvada