On a shoestring

NO CHILD'S PLAY THIS: Behind the smiles and the stage, it's a struggle for puppeteers like Meena Naik. The stage is generally small, colo...

NO CHILD8217;S PLAY THIS: Behind the smiles and the stage, it8217;s a struggle for puppeteers like Meena Naik.

The stage is generally small, colourful and complete with frills. A Rajasthani with his equally colourful pagdi in place squats on the ground and blows a bamboo whistle. The mood is set for puppets in dhoti, ghagra and choli to come to life and start hopping to the directions of the string master behind the stage. But the jovial performance of this typical Rajasthani puppet show veils the sadness shared by puppeteers off-stage. Slotted as entertainment for kids8217;, puppetry is fast losing its patrons and audience. For the conservation of this traditional folk art form, the government has allotted a paltry Rs 3000 per year. While the officer in charge of cultural affairs thinks the amount is fair, the practitioners of this dying art form which perhaps predates the Mahabharata beg to differ.

quot;There8217;s no support at all from the government. All puppetry is recognised for is the antique8217; value,quot; complains Ramdas Padhye, an internationally acclaimed ventriloquist. He claims that the only place where puppetry is likely to be found today is in some corner of an international festival, where the age old Rajasthani string puppetry is usually the only form exhibited. quot;The aakashvanis we read about in the olden days must have been a type of ventriloquy,quot; suggests Padhye as he narrates the history of puppetry in India.

Padhye learned the art from his father, while noted Marathi theatre personality and puppeteer Meena Naik schooled for it at the Ahmedabad-based Darpan Academy. quot;Not that the course at Ahmedabad was a formal one, but it gave me some grounding in the art,quot; says Naik. With a lack of interest in the art, there isn8217;t a formal course even today. Kamini Kaushal, the actress of yesteryears who practices puppetry, points out the same. Adds Naik, quot;The bottom line is a decent livelihood after all. And given the present circumstances, there8217;s no money in the art but I have other sources of income to depend on.quot; She however maintains her enthusiasm, and has been awarded the Japan Foundation Fellowship and has presented a paper at the International Conference on Puppetry.

The situation in India is in contrast to the interest in traditional puppetry in Japan, where one can take a three-year course and avail of jobs for professional puppeteers. While Padhye and his wife Aparna, also a puppeteer, have designed a syllabus for a course in puppetry, their request to the government for land on which to establish an academy is still pending.

The art of puppetry is hardly the child8217;s play that its audiences might suggest. quot;People don8217;t realise the amount of work that goes into making puppets because there aren8217;t puppet makers from whom one could order them,quot; says Aparna. The stage decor has to be in proportion to the puppets, and therefore separate stages must be constructed for each show. This rather tedious job of making puppets tests the artists8217; commitment to his craft. The making of the puppets is a tedious and intricate affair, as types, sizes and other details depend on the type of puppetry being staged 8212; string puppetry, rod puppetry, glove puppetry, bunraku, black puppetry, shadow puppetry. quot;All this takes patience, time and moneyquot; reminds Padhye.

That theatres in India are ill-equipped for puppet shows is another hassle. quot;To enjoy and appreciate a puppet show, the theatre has to be small. We don8217;t have those and bigger ones besides being too expensive, are simply too big.,quot; explains Padhye.

But both Padhye and Naik managed to survive in their craft primarily because of their shows on Doordarshan, broadcast in the late 70s. One of Padhye8217;s shows, Jhute Sacche Gudde Bacche, was scripted by the renowned Marathi literateur, Vijay Tendulkar. His puppets Ardhvatrao and Avdabai, and Naik8217;s shows in the children8217;s programme Kilbil, were popular with younger audiences normally interested only in cartoons.

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However Naik and Padhye are opposed to the notion that puppetry is strictly for children. Naik has worked with puppets in health education and therapy, on BNHS projects on the environment, and on those promoting adoption and AIDS awareness. Padhye claims that quot;People have not realised the potential of puppetry shows. I have asked for a slot of five minutes between any two programmes everyday, on the lines of the Jaspal Bhatti clips, but I have not been encouraged.quot;