LIFESTYLE
Puppet shows are fast gaining popularity in the city. HT Café takes a look at the resurgance of puppetry in the country
Puppetry is making a comeback in the city in a big way, owing to its broad appeal. HT Café takes a look at the resurgence of the art form.
The sight of colourful puppets coming to life is exciting for everyone. Puppetry, which was called a dying art a few years ago, has regained its popularity in Mumbai, with a lot of shows being held in several parts of the city. The increasing popularity of the art form is evident from the fact that people hosting private functions are inviting puppeteers to perform. After the art form’s several transformations over the years, puppeteers feel the ancient art is here to stay.
CENTENARY OF A PUPPET
Ardhwatrao, a popular puppet character from Doordarshan in the ’80s, turned 100 this year, and is still loved by audiences of all age groups. To celebrate its centenary, a number of shows are being held in the city. “My father, Ramdas Padhye, has been into puppetry for the past 49 years. My grandfather, Yashwant Padhye started practicing puppetry in India in 1916. My grandfather was an Indian ventriloquist and puppeteer, and he came up with the character called Ardhwatrao, who soon became very popular. My father has performed with this puppet on Doordarshan in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s in many shows. We are celebrating the puppet’s centenary by organising shows,” says puppeteer and ventriloquist, Satyajit Padhye.
TECHNOLOGY BOON
Satyajit is a prominent personality in the world of puppetry. He has witnessed the transformation the art form has undergone over the years. He says, “As a child, I would accompany my father to his shows. I believe it is now a new phase for puppetry in India. In the ’90s, demand for ventriloquism and puppetry waned, as there was no innovation. But with the advent of the Internet, Facebook, YouTube and reality shows, puppetry is reviving. Today, puppetry is taking new forms to cater to the new generation.”
NOSTALGIA
In its heyday, puppetry was popularly seen in the form of dance dramas, where one puppeteer would sing and play an instrument, while another would manipulate the puppet. Sangya Ojha, a young puppeteer, recalls, “Most of us remember watching a ‘kathputli’ show when we were young. I also remember watching a lot of television programmes that had puppets while growing up. And it would just capture my imagination. I believe puppets can be popular with young people.” Sangya and Hashim Haider have been playing puppet characters on a popular TV show called Galli Galli Sim Sim for more than 10 years. The puppeteer duo also runs their own puppetry initiative, The Puppetarians, where they create their own characters, write plays and scripts and do live shows and workshops alongside television projects.
Hashim feels that the popularity of the art form has surged with the advent of puppets in television. “With more TV shows with puppet characters, the art is reaching larger audiences. This impacts the number of artistes willing to take up puppetry, whether it is in a theatrical setting or at small functions,” says Hashim.
NEW AGE PUPPETS
Nowadays, puppets can be seen in various shapes, sizes and forms such as shadow puppets, string puppets, hand puppets, rod puppets and even digital puppets. Every puppeteer also brings their own sensibility and aesthetics to the art. “Every day, puppeteers are coming up with new and exciting things. Take for example Dadi Pudumjee’s giant puppets, or Anurupa Roy’s puppets — which are made of newspapers and masks. Puppeteers at The Handspring Puppet Company’s production, ‘War Horse’, operate the horse puppet right in front of you, but the puppet feels so alive that you believe it’s real,” shares Hashim.
PUPPETRY AS A CAREER
City puppeteers feel that puppetry is an interesting career option, but it’s not easy to master. “Puppetry is an ensemble art. You need to have basic knowledge of music, dance, scriptwriting, storytelling, puppet making, and preferably have a background in theatre. You need to have a good comic timing, too. So, it’s tough to learn puppetry,” says Satyajit.
Meena Naik, an acclaimed children’s theatre director and actor from Mumbai, says, “When I started doing puppetry decades ago, there were no proper institutes to learn the art, except Lok Kala Mandal in Udaipur, where they only taught you how to manipulate traditional string wooden puppets. There were no books on puppetry either. The only way to learn was through trial and error. I always felt there ought to be a proper course in puppetry for aspiring puppeteers.” Owing to Naik’s persistence and effort, the University of Mumbai began offering a certificate course in puppetry in 2012.
According to professionals, a new puppeteer can earn anywhere between ` 2,000 to ` 5,000 per show, if performing in small events, and once they are successful, the sky is the limit.