Introduction
India is the abode of puppet theatre from the inception, especially in the 5th Century BC. Puppetry or the puppet theatre is one of the ancient forms of entertainment in India. Although primarily it is used as a form of entertainment; yet its importance in conveying significant meaning cannot be denied. For centuries, Indian puppet theatre in one form or the other flourished in India, particularly in the villages.
Since ages, it has been an important part of folk culture depicting the folk traditions of India. From the ancient days, Indian puppet theatre therefore developed not only as an art form but also as an effort of conveying a lot whilst uttering actually nothing. India, which has a rich history of her creativity, has slowly become a name in the rich timeline of Indian natya with the emergence of this Indian puppetry as a typical visual art form. In Indian puppet theatre the puppets or the dolls comes alive, simulating life and reality whilst giving meaning to the creator`s ideology.
History of Indian Puppet Theatre
History of Indian puppet theatre is long, enlaced with a rich past. The origin of puppetry somewhat dates back to the long gone era of the 5th Century BC. The chic dash was then missing; even the modish approach was not there; yet Indian puppetry as an enduring form of entertainment stood apart as an intense form of theatre since the historic days of ancient times. 
While some says Indian Puppet Theatre did originate in medieval India, other says that it was there throughout, typically as an art form even at the time of the Indus Valley civilization. Not only as an art form Indian puppet theatre at that epoch was an effort of illustrating the histories of great prince, princes, and mythological heroes and even unveiled the legendary incidents and also portrayed those eposes and stories from the epics. Puppetry was then chiefly a media for entertainment; an effort to teach the mass and guide the then society amidst its creativity and in the midst of its story telling aspects. It was during this time, in Indian puppetry two distinct forms were evolved; while one form was then chiefly evolved as the religious portrayal, the other form mainly made satire and farce as the central theme. It is with the colossal development of the religious puppetry, shadow puppetry evolved as a medium in epitomizing the stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata. It was much later; in the history of Indian puppet theatre, satire and farcical comedies became quite an important part in articulating the socio political set up of India.
Indian Puppet Theatre as an Artistic Visual Art
Indian puppet theatre as an artistic visual art is still vibrantly alive in a variety of style. The major types of puppetry that are practiced in different Indian states are: rod, string, shadow and glove puppetry. The puppetry is very popular in the states like Odisha, Rajasthan, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Sometimes the puppets are made with leather and the movements controlled by stick and often they are made with wood or cloth where the movements are duly controlled by strings. The string puppetry is prevalent in Karnataka and Rajasthan. Correct string movement is very important to make the puppetry a thriving entertainment. The string attached to the puppet`s head goes over the operator`s hands and fingers which again are linked back to the puppet. The operator controls the movement of each hand of the puppet by separate strings. In Indian puppet theatre, the puppets which are used are generally small in dimension. The large head accompanied with prominent eyes offers a magical charm to the puppets whilst sketching their personality.
Colours of Puppets in Indian Puppet Theatre
The colour of the puppets also determines the portrayal of character in Indian puppetry. To depict a royal character mainly a light coloured puppet with impressive moustaches is used whereas a gawk eyed and dark coloured puppet usually paints a negative character. The female figures hold their skirts or Sarees in their hands while dancing; thus showcase a vibrant show. The male puppets are shown as the ones who excel in fighting; they dash against each other strike, chase, wrestle and even fall dead whist offering life to the entire puppet show.
Themes in Indian Puppet Theatre
The themes in Indian puppet theatre presented in an Indian puppet theatre are usually based on the two epics Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Often sagas from the age old Indian fables and folklores and even stories from Indian historical events also contour the theme for the puppetry. In the rural areas generally a puppeteer family manages the whole show. 
The controlling of the strings are carried over by the male members of the troupe; while the music, singing, dialogue and narrations are provided by the female members of the family. Mridangam and cymbals are generally played by the youngsters. This further offers a remarkable diction to the overall presentation.
Indian Puppet Theatre and Contemporary Age
Indian puppet theatre has also progressed and the contemporary puppet theatre in India stands as a true progression from its elemental form. Contemporary puppet theatre in India does have its own idiom- "the puppeteer designs the figure and idea much in the same way like an artist or a poet". The satire, farce, fantasy, reality and dreams all support in contouring the storyline of a contemporary puppet theatre which remains as a vibrant art form echoing the rich past of Indian puppetry in an eloquent way.
Indian Puppet Theatre Artists have been desperately trying to preserve their dying art form. There is a very few traditional Indian Puppet Theatre Artists still continuing to work on Puppet Theatre. Some of the famous Indian Puppet theatre artists are as follows:
• Meher Rustom Contractor: Meher Rustom Contractor turned to puppetry in 1952, after training in art at London and specializing in portrait painting, book illustrations, and fashion design.
• Uppinakudru Kogga Devanna Kamath: Uppinakudru Kogga Devanna Kamath is a Gombeyata puppeteer from Dakshin Kannad district, Karnataka.
• Suresh Dutta: Suresh Dutta is an Indian puppet artist and the founder of Calcutta Puppet Theatre, a Kolkata-based theatre group dedicated to puppetry.
Indian Puppet Theatre in Eastern India
Indian Puppet Theatre in Eastern India is coloured by the length and breadth of the state culture and thrives to be an important occupation for many.
Puppet theatre in Orissa is quite popular. It is a folk art of the state which is found existing in four different forms. It is interesting to note here that this is a rather old art form as in India puppet theatre preceded the human theatre. The Sutradhara referred to by Bharata in his Natyashastra refers to `one who holds the string`, literally the one who introduces the play. By extending the comparison of a string holder in string puppetry to `Sutradhara` in human drama, the ancient dramaturges implied that the Sutradhara plays the same key role in a human drama as the string -holder - puppeteer plays in a puppet drama. There are four kinds of puppetry found in Orissa, namely Shadow puppet, String puppet, Glove puppet and Rod puppet. These are briefly discussed below.
String Puppet : In Orissa this type of puppetry was popular as Gopalila puppet. This is because generally the Lila of Lord Krishna was played by the string puppet troupes. The strings are manoeuvred by one or more than one puppeteer from above the stage and the puppets seem to move with various postures and gestures when the strings are pulled. The troupes playing string puppets are nowadays found in few places Ganjam district, Puri district, Balasore district and Cuttack district.
Glove Puppet : The practice of Glove puppetry is known as Sakhi Kundhei Nata in Orissa. These puppets are worn like gloves on the hands of the puppeteer and through deft movements of fingers and the wrist the puppets are played. The puppeteer sometimes takes an assistant with him who also plays one or two puppets who represent some characters. The puppeteer both dances and sings while playing them. This style is increasingly on the wane and it is limited to two places in Bhubaneshwar district and Cuttack district.
Rod Puppet : This is known locally as Danda Kandhei. In this form of puppetry, the puppets are embedded to one end of a rod. The hands and legs are flexible. They are manipulated by string. Rod puppets are found today only in one area of Kendujhar district.
While the traditional players of shadow puppet take their themes only from the Vichitra Ramayana of Vishwanath Khuntia, the other kind of puppet players use the scripts produced locally or produced by famous folk dramatists like Baisnab Pani and Balakrishna Mohanty. The songs and music they use are mostly taken from medieval Kavyas including Odissi. They generally use the medieval songs like Chautisha, Koili, Champu and Bhajan. However, they sing them incorrectly or change the style consciously to make it more popular.
Ravana Chhaya is a rare form of shadow-theatre surviving in Orissa. Shadow-play, which is also known as shadow-show or shadow-theatre, is different from all other forms of theatre, including puppet plays. On the human and puppet stages a real world of space is created in which actors or figures have direct contact with the audience. The effect of the shadow-play is always indirect although it is a form of puppetry in which flat figures, usually made of leather, are lightly pressed on a translucent screen with a strong source of light behind. The audience sits on the other side of the screen and sees the shadows moving when the figures are manipulated. Thus, spectators and actors separated by the light screen are placed as if in different rooms. The spectator is by himself and his feeling of isolation is heightened by the darkness all around. He does not directly experience the figures and the play; he only sees the image, the projection. The light screen is here most important as it filters and modifies the action. On the inner side of the screen, the actor (the one manipulating the puppets) too is isolated.
Among the four different types of shadow theatre surviving in India, Ravana Chhaya appears to be the most ancient. This is because the shadows have an unmistakable primitive quality and the performance is the least sophisticated. Besides, it is the only form of shadow-play in which the figures have no jointed limbs. This form of shadow play is mostly seen held in the rural areas. Earlier, the villagers used to believe that the performance of the Ravana Chhaya in the village could avert natural calamities like flood, drought and epidemic. Therefore, inhabitants of different villages used to contribute either in shape of their agricultural produces or money for holding a Ravana Chhaya show in the village at least once a year. Now with advancement of education villagers have started calling such belief as superstition.
Sakhi-kundhei Nata is the traditional string puppetry still extant in Orissa. So far only a few troupes of this fascinating form have been located in remote rural areas. It is not clear why the epithet sakhi is used to designate their puppets. Some surmise that the name arose because the form earlier used to present shows based exclusively on Krishna legends. This feature Radha`s sakhis or female companions as well. According to another opinion, sakhi is often used as a term of endearment. Since the puppets are cute dolls and acquire a kind of life when manipulated, they were endearingly called sakhi-kundhei.
The puppets are made of light wood and, like the Kathputli of Rajasthan, have no legs but long flowing skirts. However, they have more joints as the hands and torso are also made of wood. Figures representing major characters have joints at their neck, shoulders, and elbows as well. Five to seven strings attached to the puppet are usually tied to a triangular wooden prop. Orissa Temple Sculptures and pothi chitras that are drawings in palm-leaf manuscripts have inspired the conception of most puppets. The costumes, music, and style of presentation are somewhat similar to those of the Yatra operatic in character, where singing dominates over prose dialogue. The puppeteers` prose dialogues are often impromptu. The music admirably blends folk with sophisticated Odissi, the singing style close to that of the traditional Chhanda form.
Indian Puppet Theatre in Southern India
Indian Puppet Theatre in Southern India is the conglomeration of the puppetry that is rich with the aromas of the southern region. Uppinakudru Kogga Devanna Kamath is a Gombeyata puppeteer from Dakshina Kannada District, Karnataka. He was born in 1921. Kamath hailed from a family that traces its connection to traditional string puppetry over three centuries. Uppinakudru Kogga Devanna Kamath joined the hereditary troupe founded by his great-granduncle, Lakshman Bhagavata. He trained under his grandfather, Nagappa Bhagavata, and father, Padmanabha Kamath, before they disbanded in 1941. Although forced into urban migration, he returned in 1955, helped his father repair the 300 marionettes lying idle, and revived the group as Sri Ganesha Yakshagana Gombeyata Mandali. In 1971, he took charge after his father`s death. Since then, the troupe has even toured foreign countries to acclaim.
Togalu Bombeaata is a puppet show that reiterates the stories from Holy Scriptures such as Ramayana and Mahabharata. The shows are thereby performed pertaining to these themes. This is an ancient art form. Through the leather puppet show the main aim is to make more and more people aware of the tales from the religious texts. In Karnataka the people believed that such shows would please rain gods or keep diseases and epidemics at bay. Today Togalu Bombeaata is an interesting form of entertainment for the travellers. It needs great expertise to make lifeless dolls look alive. Togalu Bombeaata, Puppet Theatre is till date practised in the villages of Karnataka. The subjects, however, have not changed. They are still inspired from the popular stories in the mythological texts and others. This mode of entertainment is fast losing its popularity due to the tech age. In rural areas it is still an accepted way of entertainment. Once a ritual it now exists only as a source of entertainment.
Tolpavakuttu is the leather puppet play. This is an ancient form of shadow theatre that prevailed in Kerala. Only a few families of the Pulavar community of scholar-performers continue the tradition, usually staged in Kali temples during the annual festival of Bhagavati or Bhadrakali. The permanent puppet theatre attached to the shrine is called kuttumatam. The goddess is supposed to witness it, so the playhouse faces the temple. The measurements of an ideal kuttumatam, as in the Kavalapara temple, are 11 m 43 cm in length, 3 m 81 cm in depth, and 1 m 53 cm in height. A thin white cloth covers the front. Behind it is a wooden stand across the length of the stage for the backlights, usually twenty-one oil lamps. Torches also are used for special effects.
Stories from the Ramayana are presented, commencing from Rama`s birth and ending with his coronation. The text consists of twenty-one parts, so the ceremonial theatre season extends for twenty-one nights. The plays have verse and prose dialogue, in Tamil. Originally there was a script specially written for the form. Now it comes from the Kamba Ramayana, by the Tamil poet Kamban in twelfth century. The Pulavars add to it by improvising speeches and varities to emphasize certain situations. They explain the verses and dialogues in a language mixing Tamil and Malayalam.
