Puppet Shows
India is a land of various indigenous art forms which retain the richness of our glorious traditions and transport us to a totally different world. These art forms are truly the face of India which form the true allure to tourists and are the symbol of the uniqueness of the grand Indian culture. In the world of globalization, these art forms are losing their status and the wave of emotionless metropolitan cities is overshadowing our great historical art forms.
One such art form is the traditional Indian art form of puppet plays. Puppet plays have been a part of Indian culture with references to puppets being found even in Mahabharata. There are many different types of puppet plays in India:
The Katputli in Rajasthan
Tholpavakoothu, shadow puppetry in Kerala
TholuBommalata in Andhra Pradesh
TogaluGombeyaata in Karnataka
The latter three are shadow puppetry while Katputli uses physical dolls. Tholpavakoothu is a compound word of three Malayalam terms, thol, meaning leather, pava, meaning doll, and koothu, meaning the play. It is believed to have originated in the ninth century AD and uses Kamba Ramayana as its basic text. The performance language uses Tamil, Sanskrit and Malayalam words. Like Mudiyettu and Patayani, Tholpavakoothu is also an art form that is dedicated to Bhadrakali. According to legend, Tholpavakoothu was performed at the request of Bhadrakali who could not witness Ravana's killing as she was fighting the demon Darika. Thus when it is performed in temples, an idol of the Goddess is usually placed on a pedestal in front of the arena where it is staged.
A koothumadam is a separate 42-foot-long stage on which Tholpavakoothu is performed. The stage has a screen, a piece of white cloth, behind which the puppets are held. The lighting is provided by 21 lamps lit in coconut halves or earthen lamps placed behind the puppets, causing their shadows to fall on the screen. The lamps are a placed equidistantly on a specially constructed wooden beam called
One such art form is the traditional Indian art form of puppet plays. Puppet plays have been a part of Indian culture with references to puppets being found even in Mahabharata. There are many different types of puppet plays in India:
The Katputli in Rajasthan
Tholpavakoothu, shadow puppetry in Kerala
TholuBommalata in Andhra Pradesh
TogaluGombeyaata in Karnataka
The latter three are shadow puppetry while Katputli uses physical dolls. Tholpavakoothu is a compound word of three Malayalam terms, thol, meaning leather, pava, meaning doll, and koothu, meaning the play. It is believed to have originated in the ninth century AD and uses Kamba Ramayana as its basic text. The performance language uses Tamil, Sanskrit and Malayalam words. Like Mudiyettu and Patayani, Tholpavakoothu is also an art form that is dedicated to Bhadrakali. According to legend, Tholpavakoothu was performed at the request of Bhadrakali who could not witness Ravana's killing as she was fighting the demon Darika. Thus when it is performed in temples, an idol of the Goddess is usually placed on a pedestal in front of the arena where it is staged.
A koothumadam is a separate 42-foot-long stage on which Tholpavakoothu is performed. The stage has a screen, a piece of white cloth, behind which the puppets are held. The lighting is provided by 21 lamps lit in coconut halves or earthen lamps placed behind the puppets, causing their shadows to fall on the screen. The lamps are a placed equidistantly on a specially constructed wooden beam called