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Theatre of dreams

Puppetry is a centuries-old tradition that has been evolving continuously.

Puppetry as a visual performance art is gaining popularity in India, not just the traditional form but contemporary puppetry as well. Combined with other mainstream arts like acting, dance and theatre, this ancient art form is attracting both the young and old alike

Puppetry is a centuries-old tradition that has been evolving continuously. With each new talent, comes an exciting innovation, so much so that modern puppetry is not bound by any staid rule or style. Puppetry has become a full-fledged art form that holds sway over a lot of puppet afficionados across the globe. The impact of this visual performance art cannot be ignored. India?s very own master puppeteer Dadi Pudumjee has strove to keep this performance tradition alive for the past decade or so. Back with the 11th edition of the Ishara International Puppet Festival 2013 (IIPF), Pudumjee, these days, can be seen pacing around the primary performance venue?the India Habitat Centre in the capital?conversing with puppeteers and various troupes, ensuring that the miracle Obraztsov talked about is delivered to the audience. The quest is to promote puppetry through varied presentations with each successive year of the festival.

?Each year, the group of performers are different. Most of the foreign groups that are participating in the festival are contemporary. Their styles are different,their props and puppets are different. So every successive festival and every performance has a different feel to it. While the likes of Iran, Spain and Italy have usually been there, others?like Portugal?are first-time entrants this year. Some themes are based on folklore, some are contemporary, some are historic themes,? he tells us. This year, the festival features performances by puppet theatre troupes from eight countries ?Bulgaria, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Russia and Spain.

The mix this year is heady as usual with a dose of contemporary, modern as well as traditional puppetry. As we arrive to chat with Pudumjee, we negotiate through a patient queue of audience waiting to enter the venue, an audience of all age groups, from toddlers to senior citizens. And these are viewers who have paid to watch the shows. ?I have seen that you need a platform to nurture the audience for any art form. All art has its niche audience. Even we have built up our audience over the years. We started with the festival in 2001 with R50 per ticket, and today the price is R350. I have realised that now there are enough people interested in puppetry, and with regard to the festival I have noticed that the audience is never an issue, and this is all paid audience. The whole idea of buying a ticket for a puppetry performance is one that has taken time, but it is surely working now in major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata,? opines Pudumjee. While the trend is encouraging, it?s always a tough task to put a theatre festival of this scale together. Financial viability is always a glaring problem. ?About a quarter of our expenses are taken care of by the support from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). Finding sponsors is extremely tough, although we were able to manage a sponsor this year. There is always a gap and we use the funds we collect through our other performances and work throughout the year to fill that gap. It?s not been easy. And that is also a reason why ticket prices are going up. We also need corporates to back puppeteers,? he says.

Pudumjee was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1992 and since then, he says, puppetry has evolved to a certain extent in the country, particularly with regard to the awareness around it. However, there is still cause of concern, like for many other art forms in India. ?Even in terms of classification of art forms, puppetry is there right among the bottom few. So the attitude has to change. It is unfortunate because that leads to perceptions that undermine the skill of the artistes of this art form. While a modern and contemporary artiste still might scrape through, it is the traditional artistes who actually suffer,? he says.

Art, society and the relationship between the two are always works in progress, and Pudumjee agrees that certain perceptions around puppetry need to change when we bring up the question of puppetry not being considered a serious art form by the common man on the street. ?There is this perception that puppetry is only for children. But if you look at traditional forms of puppetry, it has never been for children only. However, through the 1930s and ?40s, in areas like Eastern Europe, there were some brilliant puppetry performances, which were children oriented. Then later, through learning shows on TV like Sesame Street, this notion that puppetry is only for children got popular. This psyche needs to change,? he says. In fact, Pudumjee is quick to point to the fact that this year?s IIPF, too, has presentations which deal with more serious issues and are better suited for young adult and adult audiences, rather than children. The Spanish troupe that is participating this year is presenting a story for teenagers and adults, and deals with themes of passion, sexuality, human nature, repression and freedom. The Ishara troupe is doing a show called Heer Ke Waris, which is based on the Heer-Ranjha story. ?We have interpreted it in a contemporary way. We have taken present-day lovers and there are problems like female infanticide and khap panchayats?problems which existed in the 18th century when the story was scripted by the Sufi poet Waris Shah. This story is not for children and the presentation involves interweaving puppets, actors, dance, visual images and music,? explains Pudumjee.

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First published on: 14-04-2013 at 20:14 IST
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