King Size

In her studio in Sriniwaspuri,hours before her team is scheduled to travel to IIC to erect the sets,she has a lot of stories to tell. “There is so much not known or heard about the Mughal kings. People know Shah Jahan because of Taj Mahal,Jehangir is associated with Nur Jahan and Aurangzeb is known as a conservative king,but we do not have an insight into the lives they led in their palaces. Through this act we hope to fulfill that purpose,” says Roy ,pointing out that her source of reference is Rumar Goden’s Gulbadan,based on Humayun Nama,written by Gulbadan Begum on the request of her nephew Akbar. “She knew the inside stories,” smiles Roy. In the production too,it is Gulbadan,who narrates the stories. The puppet,dressed in white,will lead the audience into the women’s harem,a miniature set created inside a box. The other puppet protagonists,not more than three inch tall,made in papier-mâché and dressed in toilet paper,and occasionally aluminum foil,will then emerge in the foreground.

Several of these puppets have been modelled on figures that appear in miniature Mughal paintings as reproduced in books. Akbar will fight Adil Shah Suri in the Second Battle of Panipat on a sandpit,and Hindukush will be depicted though make-believe snow mountains where Babar spent several years during his attempt to conquer Samarkand .

When Roy and other puppeteers manoeuvre the miniature puppets,spy cameras will also capture the proceedings and project them live on a wall. “Since the puppets are small,the audience will have the option of seeing things directly on stage or the projections on the screen,” says Roy . She adds,“The miniature format seemed apt since we often associate it with Mughals.” The exception is the segment depicting Humayun,which has shadow puppetry. “This suits his doped image,” says Roy. Helix bowls and metal rods will be used to give metallic overtones to the music,composed by Suchet Malhotra. For a closer look at the miniature puppets,stay till the end of production,that will be followed by an exhibition.

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