Write a note on cultural significance of puppet forms and throw light on some forms of Southern India. (200 Words)
Puppet derived from word pupa means ‘doll‘ but puppet is nowhere treated like a puppet but like a god and stage of puppetry like a universe and its origin has been found in form of literature ” Silappadikaaram ” puppetry is not only part of entertainment but also used to motivate emotionally and physically handicapped students , brought many awareness programmes about natural and cultural environment, communication through them help in development of personality of child , spread of Ramayana, Mahabharata and some puranic literatures with help of puppetry which marked its significance in wide range .
Presentation of puppetry on basis of its usage divided it into four forms namely string, shadow, rod and glove puppets.
Some forms of south india :
Gombeyatta : A string puppet form of karnataka , designed like characters in yakshagana and puppets are highly stylized and have joints at the legs, shoulders, elbows, hips and knees which makes them to use in complicated movements.
Bommalattam : Popular in Tamil nadu and it is combination of both rod and string puppets. They are made of wood and the strings for manipulation are tied to an iron ring which the puppeteer wears like a crown on his head. Puppet may be as big as 4.5 feet in height weighing about ten kilograms which makes heaviest of all puppetry forms.
Tholu Bommalata : Shadow puppetry from Andhra Pradesh, unique feature of this form is they are coloured on both sides and it makes puppets throw coloured shadows on the screen.
Pavakoothu: A glove puppetry of kerala, came into existence due to influence of Kathakali and the face of the puppets are decorated with paints, small and thin pieces of gilded tin, the feathers of the peacock makes unique to this form, themes are mostly based on Ramayana or Mahabharata.
Puppetry not only spotted in southern states but as connected to whole country which makes our culture more colourful in different forms with its unique blends