Express news service

BENGALURU: Playing with dolls is not child’s play. Just ask the puppeteers in town, who are busy planning initiatives to celebrate World Puppetry Day (March 21). For example, Anupama Hoskere, director of Dhaatu Puppets – a nonprofit that promotes puppetry – says she can’t do anything on occasion. This time, however, his students are doing the shows. “We wanted to do things differently. So we’re going to take the audience behind the scenes to show them how the magic works, ”explains Hoskere. Given the growing number of cases, Hoskere assures: “We will have a few selected members of the public by invitation only while televising the event live on our Facebook page.”

Although dance and music events will once again have a live audience, the puppets are still going to take some time as the audience for these shows is usually made up of children and families, Hoskere believes. “It will take almost three years for things to get back to normal for us. All of our online initiatives aim to remind the public of this art form, ”she said, adding that Dhaatu plans to return to live performances after Ugadi.

According to her, the art form could benefit more people who are interested in it. “The number of young people who are interested in it is less because there is so much to do, from making your own dolls to creating characters,” says Hoskere, who has a master’s degree in engineering. To bridge this gap, Dhaatu Puppets incorporates modern storytelling techniques with puppets. The upcoming event will also see its students doing shows with hand puppets, where they will talk about saving the environment through a story of the Mahabharata.

Theater personality S Surendranath says the art form also faces a lack of financial support. “The modern puppet is about 10 years old and has received decent exposure. But the traditional puppet needs more of a boost. There is hardly any financial support from the government, ”he says, suggesting a platform to support the art form and its many artists. Surendranath’s puppet shows – Circle of Life and Old Man and the Sea – are scheduled at Ranga Shankara on March 16 and 17 and March 21, respectively. According to him, “The best part about puppetry, especially children’s shows, is that audiences can
relate to the character through their actions.

Shinde Hanumantha Rao echoes a similar thought. Three generations of Rao’s family have made leather puppets and he says that although people are interested in art, it doesn’t translate financially. “We don’t get much support from the government, there are non-profit organizations that help us with exhibitions and shows,” says the 36-year-old, whose family has received three national awards for his contribution. to this art form.

Originally from Dharmavaram, Andhra Pradesh, Rao often travels to Bengaluru for exhibitions and performances. But due to the pandemic, Rao says he didn’t do a lot of shows last year. “Things could slowly return to normal, but there aren’t many shows,” says Rao, who is now pinning his hopes on the exhibits. “In addition to leather puppets, we also make leather lamps and handicrafts to meet financial needs,” he adds.