'Puppetry is dying, time we breathe life into it

Sometime in 1999, after the super cyclone ripped through coastal Odisha, villagers crowded a small theatre in the Erasama block of Jagatsinghpur district. Just a few days ago, nearly every villager had lost someone to the cyclone. In that dimly lit hall that day, puppeteers conjured up a performance to alleviate the pain that was still raw; essentially, they were providing trauma counseling. For ages, puppets have been intertwined with everyday life in Odisha. There is no cultural region where all styles of puppetry have been practiced for more than 300 years.

The state has the oldest style of glove puppetry — Sakhi Kandhei — performed in Cuttack and Puri districts. Years ago, artists used to move from place to place, making small audiences happy by portraying stories on Krishna. String puppetry — Suta Kandhei — performed by artists in Ganjam and Nayagarh districts depicted mythological episodes with puppets imitating actions of human beings.

Shadow puppetry has been in vogue for more than 500 years as Ravana Chhaya in Angul district. Ravana’s 10-headed silhouette still enthralls the audience today. This form of puppetry traveled to Java and Sumatra when mariners established trade links with the islands in the 12th century. Kathi Kandhei (rod puppet style) began when gifted carpenters crafted puppets for their performances. The story goes that the king of Keonjhar gave land to a family of carpenters who made dolls and then used wooden rods to make them mimic human movement.

Life-size puppets can still be seen at rural events in coastal Odisha. Artists paint their bodies and wear masks. This can be seen in the animal dance performed by multiple artists.

Originally, puppetry in Odisha was performed by the poor who depended on patronage to survive. A more organized approach was seen between 1987 and 1989 when Natya Chetana, a leading modern theatre group in the state, developed a puppetry wing and began learning new styles — including glove, string, and rod puppetry — from local masters of different villages in Odisha, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan. They used traditional techniques to portray modern themes. Various NGOs came forward and supported the effort.

From 1987 to 2007, Natya Chetana did 12 plays. One of the most memorable presentations was after the 1999 super cyclone when puppets were used for trauma counseling and the restoration of lives.

Today, the educated class has moved away from puppet shows. A once-thriving art form is now on the brink of oblivion. When Odisha should have become the leader of puppet theatre in the world, its role has become almost negligible on the national scene. While the Padma Shri for Maguni Kuanr, the pioneer of rod puppetry, in 2022 put the spotlight on the art briefly, many artists are living in penury, unrecognized. It’s time that this dying art form got its due, time we breathed life into it.