Chairman and Managing Director of Biocon Limited Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw called upon people to celebrate the rich culture and heritage of this land, which have been neglected far too long.
She was speaking at the inauguration of ‘The Festival of Leather Puppets’ at Chitrakala Parishat on Saturday. She said, “Modern times have made us forget our history, art and culture, without which we cannot evolve in a civilized way.”
The ten-day festival will showcase traditional leather puppets collected from across the state. Puppet shows and workshops will be conducted till May 11.
“We have over 500 puppets collected from the nooks and corners of Karnataka,” said Principal of Chitrakala Parishat College of Fine Arts Dr R H Kulkarni. The puppets date back to 1960 and some are almost 350-400 years old. “Chitrakala Parishat has been collecting puppets for almost five decades,” said Chowta, General Secretary.
This is the first time the puppets are on public display. There are around 3,000 puppets in the godown of which 500-600 are being exhibited, said Chowta.