Kakinada: Puppet show, a dying entertainment art

Kakinada: Puppet show, an ancient entertainment art, is on the brink of extinction with no efforts by the governments to keep it alive. The puppeteers, the artistes involved with the art, have been starving for want of employment and opportunities. Their skills of spreading social messages in the strongest possible way by way of entertainment remain untapped by authorities. The governments can do a lot by involving them in the campaign for government welfare schemes and programmes, feel the artistes.

The puppet shows, in existence for some centuries, were primarily to entertain people with stories of yore depicting the heroic lives and their adventures. They were followed by sustaining narrative with melodies and vibrant voice in the background. People used to throng in thousands to witness the show and enjoy it with full zeal and happiness. Even in the old movies, there were occasions to show the puppet show scene for entertaining the people. As years have rolled by, the puppet shows have become a powerful medium for propagating and castigating social evils in society. For example, Puttadi Bomma, Poornamya by Gurajada also displayed through puppet shows. Each puppet is controlled by one person with the help of a bamboo stick attached to the back, while the singing goes on. Apparently, movements of the puppets were intricate with the larger puppets having up to 13 different movable body joints. Fight scenes bring tempo into the performance, giving the crowd the kick, they want.

The tribe of women leather puppeteers is fast vanishing in East Godavari district. About 400 families settled in Madhavapatnam panchayat of Samalkot mandal in East Godavari district in 1980. In view of the grisly Covid-19, their lives are shattered, and they are on the brink of starvation. There is no security to the tools and equipment of the puppet show. In fact, their equipment dates to 18th century. If no protection is provided, their precious old tools of entertainment will be lost forever. As many as 14 women puppeteers passed away since 1980.

A few female singers remained need to train more to pass on the skill to future generations. In order to perpetuate this mode of entertainment, they want a separate school to be established with the help of government funds. Thus, the ancient art would survive and continue forever.

Puppeteer Rajaeswari told 'The Hans India' that they perform Ramayana (Sundarakanda, Lankadahanam, Myravana Charitra, Lakshmana Murcha, Sati Sulochana and Ravana Vadha) and Mahabharata (Virata Parvam, Padmavyuham, Kuruksetra Sangramam, Drowpadi Patra, Bheemarjuna Samvadam, Geethopakhyanam, Dasavatara Ghattas and probably many others.

Rajeswari said that sometime ago there was a training centre with 30 students with government funds. But unfortunately, they abandoned the proposal and discontinued the training centre.

'The Hans India' spoke to organisers of the Puppet show at Madhavapatnam of Samalkot mandal in East Godavari district. Thota Balakrishna woefully narrated their pathetic blighted lives in view of lack of encouragement for the puppet shows. He wanted the workers associated with the puppet show may be given lucrative honorarium to ameliorate the pathetic conditions of the artisans connected with the puppet show.

T Annavaram, old puppetry organiser appealed to the both Central and State governments to use puppet shows to make the governmental schemes more effective. The Endowments department may earmark a certain fund by propagating the sacred scriptures like the Ramayana and Mahabharat through the puppet shows.

In view of lack of support from Hindu organisations, they have diverted themselves for Christian songs and stories through puppet shows. An example was that of one T Bala Krishna who conducted a puppet show in IPC church in the heart of Hindus pilgrim centre Annavaram. He said that at a time when they were hungry, they conducted the show in the church to escape from the pangs of hunger.

Smart City CEO and MD and Kakinada Municipal Commissioner Swapnil Dinakar Pundkar stuck a novel idea of utilising puppet shows for propagating about cleanliness and hygienic surroundings.

Bala Krishna said that for one programme, they get a meagre amount of Rs 11,200 from the Central government which is not sufficient to maintain families. He appealed to the government to arrange their puppet shows through Doordarshan and other visual media.

In the wake of newly proposed Godavari Kala Kshetram (GKK) in Kakinada with Smart City funds, they urged the officials to allot one permanent room in order to make their programmes a continuous form of entertainment and thereby averting the danger of extinct of the ancient art.