Long before television and cinema, puppet shows were a favourite way to tell stories in India. Even today, many states have their own puppet styles. They are usually sorted into four main kinds, depending on how the puppets are moved.
1. String puppets
String puppets, also called marionettes, hang from strings that the puppeteer controls from above.
- Kathputli of Rajasthan is the best known. The puppets are carved from wood and dressed in bright clothes with sparkling sequins. Strings are tied to the head, shoulders and waist.
- Gombeyatta of Karnataka has painted wooden puppets with joints at the shoulders, elbows, hips and knees, worked by five to seven strings.
- Bommalattam of Tamil Nadu uses both rods and strings. Its puppets are among the largest and heaviest in India, weighing up to 10 kilograms!
- Kundhei of Odisha has light wooden puppets controlled from a bamboo triangle.
2. Rod puppets
Rod puppets are moved with sticks fixed to their bodies.
- Putul Nach of West Bengal means “doll dance”. Its wooden puppets can be about three feet (around 90 centimetres) tall.
- Yampuri of Bihar is carved from a single piece of wood with no joints at all, so every movement depends on the puppeteer’s skill.
3. Glove puppets
A glove puppet fits over the hand like a glove. In Kerala’s Pavakoothu, the puppeteer slips a hand inside the puppet’s hollow body to make it move. These puppets are about one and a half feet tall and are inspired by Kathakali, Kerala’s famous dance-drama. Drums called chenda and maddalam add excitement to the show.
4. Shadow puppets
Shadow puppets are flat cut-outs, usually made of leather, held between a lamp and a white screen. The audience watches their shadows.
- Tholu Bommalata of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana has large, brightly coloured puppets.
- Togalu Gombeyatta of Karnataka: “togalu” means leather.
- Ravanachhaya of Odisha uses puppets made from a single piece of deerskin, with no joints.
- Tholpavakoothu is performed in Kerala.
Try this: Make a sock puppet! Ask an adult for an old, clean sock. Draw eyes and a mouth with a marker, slip it on your hand and put on a short show for your family. Which of the four kinds of puppet have you made?