VIJAYAWADA: In what is seen as a shot in the arm for the struggling puppeteers of Andhra Pradesh, puppeteers from Kerala have offered to impart them training in the globally popular shadow puppetry of Kerala. The offer was made when Kerala’s noted shadow puppeteers had come to Vijayawada to perform at Ghantasala Music College on Gandhi Jayanti recently.
A workshop in Kerala style shadow puppetry will begin from early November. Shadow puppetry master P Rama Chandra and his son P Shivaji will train the Andhra Pradesh artistes.It was the Language and Culture department that first invited the Kerala puppeteers stating the idea to impart training to the puppeteers of the State in shadow puppetry.
“Kerala’s shadow puppetry is internationally famous for its storytelling style. We think that a transition from the conventional form of puppetry to shadow puppetry will boost the puppetry business in the State,” B Suman, a department official, who is overseeing the workshop, said.
Andhra Pradesh Puppetry Artists’ Association president VV Kumar said, “This is the department’s positive reaction to the story, “Apathy cuts puppeteers strings of livelihood” published in TNIE on June 27. Now the department pays us for one show a month. After we do shows in our localities, we send its pictures plus invoices for expenses and permission letter from our local temple’s executive officer to the department and they foot our bills.”
He said, “We are performing Ramayana and Mahbharatha stories so far. The Kerala puppeteers said they will teach us to perform stories about freedom fighters. I hope people will like this format.”
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Officials of the Language and Culture department came to the rescue of the struggling puppetry artists in reaction to “Apathy cuts puppeteers strings of livelihood” published in the New Indian Express on June 27.