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Types of Puppets
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String Puppets
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- India has a rich and ancient tradition of string puppets or marionettes.
- Marionettes having jointed limbs controlled by strings allow far greater flexibility and are, therefore, the most articulate of the puppets.
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Puppet Form
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State
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Features
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Kathputli
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Rajasthan
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- Carved from a single piece of wood, these puppets are like large dolls that are colorfully dressed.
- Puppeteers manipulate them with two to five strings which are normally tied to their fingers and not to a prop or a support.
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Kundhei
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Odisha
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- Made of light wood, the Odisha puppets have no legs but wear long flowing skirts.
- The puppeteers often hold a wooden prop, triangular in shape, to which strings are attached for manipulation.
- The music is drawn from the popular tunes of the region and is sometimes influenced by the music of Odissi dance.
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Gombeyatta
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Karnataka
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- The Gombeyatta puppet figures are highly stylized and have joints at the legs, shoulders, elbows, hips and knees.
- These puppets are manipulated by five to seven strings tied to a prop.
- Episodes enacted in Gombeyatta are usually based on Prasangas of the Yakshagana plays.
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Bommalattam
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Tamil Nadu
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- Puppets from Tamil Nadu, known as Bommalattam combine the techniques 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.
- The Bommalattam puppets are the largest, heaviest and the most articulate of all traditional Indian marionettes.
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Shadow Puppets
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- They are cut out of leather, which has been treated to make it translucent.
- Shadow puppets are pressed against the screen with a strong source of light behind it.
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Puppet Form
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State
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Features
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Togalu Gombeyatta
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Karnataka
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- These puppets are mostly small in size.
- The puppets however differ in size according to their social status, for instance, large size for kings and religious characters and smaller size for common people or servants.
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Tholu Bommalata
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Andhra Pradesh
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- The puppets are large in size and have jointed waist, shoulders, elbows and knees.
- They are coloured on both sides.
- Theme of the puppet plays are drawn from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranas.
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Ravanachhaya
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Odisha
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- The puppets are in one piece and have no joints.
- They are not coloured, hence throw opaque shadows on the screen.
- The puppets are made of deer skin and are conceived in bold dramatic poses.
- Apart from human and animal characters, many props such as trees, mountains, chariots, etc. are also used.
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Rod Puppets
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- Rod puppets are an extension of glove-puppets, but often much larger and supported and manipulated by rods from below.
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Puppet Form
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State
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Features
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Putul Nautch
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West Bengal
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- They are carved from wood and follow the various artistic styles of a particular region.
- A bamboo-made hub is tied firmly to the waist of the puppeteer on which the rod holding the puppet is placed.
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Orissa
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- The Orissa Rod puppets are much smaller in size.
- The Orissa rod-puppeteers squat on the ground behind a screen and manipulate.
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Yampuri
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Bihar
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- Unlike the traditional Rod puppets of West Bengal and Orissa, these puppets are in one piece and have no joints.
- As these puppets have no joints, the manipulation is different from other Rod puppets.
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Glove Puppets
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- Glove puppets, are also known as sleeve, hand or palm puppets.
- The head is made of either papier mache, cloth or wood, with two hands emerging from just below the neck.
- The rest of the figure consists of a long flowing skirt.
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Puppet Form
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State
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Features
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Pavakoothu
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Kerala
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- It came into existence during the 18th century due to the influence of Kathakali, the famous classical dance-drama of Kerala, on puppet performances.
- The manipulator puts his hand into the bag and moves the hands and head of the puppet.
- The musical instruments used during the performance are Chenda, Chengiloa, Ilathalam and Shankhathe conch.
- The theme for Glove puppet plays in Kerala is based on the episodes from either the Ramayana or the Mahabharata.
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