BENGALURU: In an age where Netflix aims to replace television, how does one strive to keep traditional forms of puppet plays relevant?
“We may soon lose our significance if we don’t strive harder,” says Ajit Rao, an architect and a designer from Delhi at the Dhaatu International Puppet Festival 2017.
Make Puppet Play Accessible
Back in 1996, Ajit did a project to revitalise leather puppets of Karnataka and says, finding data on puppeteering itself was a task. “I didn’t have anything to refer to during the project. It was only when Chitrakala Parishad came out with a book, did I have something to work with,” he says
Ajit believes there is a need to estalish the link of the artform with the past and to “stop worrying over modern outlets” like Netflix.
“Puppet plays should be made available on modern mediums to stay relevant to millennials,” says Ajit.
Another Delhiite at the festival says multimedia is the key to make puppetry relevant. “I started researching on shadow puppetry, which is two dimensional and similar to animation, which is 3D. I then used my animation skills to make puppet plays interactive. The result is an interaction between imagery and puppets on the stage,” explains Atul Sinha.
Catch Them Young
Atul is an assistant professor at AJK Mass Communication Research Centre at Jamia Millia Islamia University.
The insitute recently held a workshop on puppeteering for the students, he informs. “You need to start creating an awareness about such art forms among children when they are in schools and colleges,” says the professor.
Atul had collaborated with Anupama Roy, a Delhi-based puppeteer to present Mahabharata via puppet and imagery interaction at Ranga Shankara. “I remember in Rangashankara, during a performance the animation started and stopped immediately. There was a technical glitch. It is important to get the flow right,” he adds.
International Glory
Atul will be presenting a performance with Anupama, backed by Katkatha Puppet Arts Trust at Charleville-Mézières, which is the biggest international puppet theatre festival.
In the last 30 years, puppet plays have evolved quite a lot, he says.
“Many new joints have been introduced in the puppets in the last three decades. The audience needs more of movement on the stage, which is why more joints were introduced to let the puppet sway flexibly. Another change is that we no more use natural dyes, but have instead opted for colours that pop and create a better visual,” Atul adds.
Not Just a Sock in Hand
Karnataka has a rich culture of story telling via puppet theatre,informs Anupama Hoskere, director of Dhaatu Puppet Theatre, Bengaluru.
“Today a sock in hand is also considered puppetry, but for an audience of refined taste we need to return to our origins and stick to traditional form and content. If we lose that, we are reduced to just a sock,” says Anupama.
So, how well is the State responding to initiatives that aim to keep traditional art and cultural forms relevant?
“It is a bit disappointing,” says Kuchipudi exponent Dr Veena Murthy Vijay.
An understanding of which festival or exhibition deserves funding is what lacks with the govenrment today, she says.
“They don’t care if it is a roadside festival or Dhaatu. They only care about paperwork and not the deliverables,” she adds.