String Theory

Puppetry is no longer a fringe art form, says Nitya Rao

THEY8217;RE the latest tools in cutting-edge child psychology. And these keys to intricate mental maps come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes they are brilliantly variegated pouches with buttons for eyes. Sometimes you8217;ll find them on your street corner or in an engrossing shadow play, as traditional filigree leather cut-outs, crafted in tiny hamlets across south India. Sometimes they8217;re even oven-baked dolls that bob across the stage, bringing to life the stories that are spun by their manipulative minders.

Whatever the form or shape, puppetry, it seems, has finally breached its banks, ending its dry spell in India as a barren art form, and looking to join the more mainstream flood of storytelling.

Delhi, for instance, has seen a spree of puppet-centric shows like Dadi Padamjee8217;s Ishara Puppet Festival, now an annual feature on Delhi8217;s cultural calendar. Or even one-off shows, like the excellent adaptation of the Mahabharata at the National School of Drama by Massimo Schuster, president, UNIMA, an international body of puppeteers. Whether they8217;re mixing with humans to tell well-known Shakespearean stories, or starring in people-free shows, puppets are now drawing in both audiences and acclaim.

8216;8216;Puppets are a great way to unlock the doors of the mind,8217;8217; feels educationist Asha Singh who is one of the key architects of the form and content of Galli Galli Sim Sim, the localised version of the internationally acclaimed cult series Sesame Street, which will be aired on POGO and Cartoon Network towards the latter half of the year.

Singh feels that puppets help equip children, toddlers in particular, with an emotional literacy that is beyond their years. 8216;8216;Children, especially those in the two to eight age bracket, see puppets as non-judgemental, multicultural beings,8217;8217; says Singh. 8216;8216;You can use them to teach lessons on anything from non-violence and gender equality to anger management and even sexuality,8217;8217; she says.

8216;8216;The hallmark of the Sesame Street experiment since it began in 1969 is in how it has managed to create this winning blend of creativity, research and learning, hung on a framework of wit and humour,8217;8217; says Niret Alva, president of Miditech, the Delhi-based production company that is producing the show along with Turner. 8216;8216;And that8217;s where the puppets come in. There8217;s no better way to teach children from diverse backgrounds lessons on communal harmony and still make it fun,8217;8217; Alva reasons.

Varun Narain, a Delhi-based professional puppeteer for the last 15 years has used puppets as a therapeutic tool to draw out sexually abused children and drug peddlers from their dark, isolated worlds. 8216;8216;I think the key factor while working with puppets is that there is no ego clash. When two humans relate, their egos are always sparring. A puppet is non-threatening. The ego vanishes,8221; he says. So if the puppet was telling you about hygiene and you don8217;t want to listen, you can tell it to shut up, or hit it or just ignore it and walk away, and you know there will be no consequences for having done that.

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Narain believes that puppetry helps break down communication to its most basic building blocks. 8216;8216;It8217;s funny how street children have been receptive to this form of therapy, because it is minus all the clutter and big talk. In fact, you needn8217;t restrict it to children alone, even grown men start to talk about gender issues with puppet therapy,8217;8217; he reasons.

It might just be a matter of time before psychiatrists start to pull all the right strings.