Table Of ContentKeynote Address:
The Kathputli of Rajasthan
KOMAL KOTIlARI
Convener, Mar;OMUt WorksJwp
I am notgoing to say much that peopleinvolvedinpuppetrydo not know and Ialone am
aware of.Thejourneyofpuppets in ourpart of the world has been a long one.We all
have someknowledgeofthisjourney- maybenotfrom itsbeginnings.butcertainlyfora
few hundred years.
Therearetwo aspectsinthepracticeofpuppetryinIndiawhich presentthemselves10us
very clearly in the present-day context [- rural practice and urban practice]. Our rural
puppeteersare boundalongcaste lines;they are bound by tradition, and theirart ispassed
on hereditarily from father to son.Overcenturies, these [itinerant) puppeteers have taken
theirpuppetstothepeople,puttingupshowsintheirmidstand thusearningtheirlivelihood.
Incarryingon with atraditioninthismanner,therearebothadvantagesanddisadvantages.
Thosehavetobe enquiredinto separately.Thereisalsoanothersegmentofpractitionersof
puppetry today which is n01a part ofany traditional society ofpuppeteers.This [urban]
segmentsees and treats puppets as an art which is universal. Our modem puppeteers are
coming out with newwaysofdesigning and makingpuppets,theyhave new stories totell,
new themes,andthey presentbeforeusnew waysofthinkingabout puppetry itself.
However,thesubjectthatweare nowtaking upis:whatcanbedonefortheadvancement
oftraditionalpuppetry,inwhich castepuppeteershave beenengagedforhundredsofyears?
Whatshouldbedone,howshoulditbedone?Theintentionistodiscusstheissues[involved]
with youand tofindsome possiblesolutions.Ofcourse,noart- noperformingart- has
everarrivedatany solutionat any time.But ithas becomeimperativeinthecontemporary
context to ponderover these questions. Considerthe greatreserveof strength in those
thousands ofpuppeteers who have travelled with theirpuppets and carried on with their
traditionallthese years.Ofcourse,there istheviewthat itisimpossible10doanythingnew
in any tradition, SO let us leave these puppeteers alone. Whatever happens to them will
happen anyway- thereisnoneed10botherourselveswiththeirfate.Iforoneamnotable
10 understandthis pointofview.Iwouldratherask myself,and you 100, inthisworkshop
- what are the possibilities within a tradition? Ifthere are possibilities, what kind of
possibilitiesare they?
Myknowledgeofpuppetryisrestricted10thestringpuppetsofRajasthan.Iwilltrytogo
intoeachaspectofthistraditionalartgradually.Thefirst thingIwanttounderstandis,what
isthe languageofthe puppet? How doesitexpress itself?Whatare its words- and how,
with these words, does it construct its sentences? Now, so far as the string puppet [of
Rajasthan] is concerned, I am ofthe view thatthe string, the puppet, and the fingers that
manipulate the puppet constitute its language. And ifby SOme means we can extend the
potentialities ofthe fingers, the string, and the puppet, then we will be able to expand,
increasingly andfor ever, the potentialities ofthis puppet. [So.] for the development of
xxxvm.
SangtdNatal VoL No. I,2004
8 KOMALKOTIlARI
Rajasthan's puppetry,thefirstquestion10focusonisthestring,andtheconditionsthat the
stringbringswithil-whatarethelimitations[ofthestring,)andwhatshouldbe doneto
increaseitspotentialitiesand reduceitslimitations...
Yesterday,wesawa performanceofRajasthanpuppets.Youa1llmowthesequenceof
theplay[AmarSinghRatho"j.Thereisthecourt scene.Stepbystepthecourtassembles.
and the actiondevelops.Thenawabs are coming inone afteranother. The rajas are also
comingintothedurbar,TheBadshahcomesinandtakeshisseal.Thisisaroutinesequence.
In thisroutine,thereisalsotheChowkidat- whosefunctionis thatofusher;hereceives
the nawabsandrajaswhocome intothecourt. Howdoeshereceive them? Heembraces
them;thenhetouchestheirfeel; heleadsthenawaborraja10hisassignedseal.Allthese
puppetsaremanipulatedwithonly one string;a nailisfixedon thehead of each puppet.
There aresomespecialwaysof manipulatingpuppetswithjust one string andone has 10
trainooeselftohandlethem. Onecan lifta puppelor bring itdown; or take il from one
direction10theother; orhaveoneembracetheother.Itisevenpossibleforonepuppeteer
10manipulatetwosuchpuppetswith asinglestring.
But the limitation of Rajasthan's puppetry is that no more than two puppets can be
handled byone puppeteeratthesame time[in theolder practice).And yet. if you try to
exploremoremanipulatorypossibilities.morenarrativepossibilitiesopenup.IIispossible
todoit.ifyoustudyhumananatomy,Jearnitsfunctions,andimportthemintothepuppet.
Butwhowillactualizethesepossibilities?ItalksomuchaboutRajasthan's puppets.DoI
thinkmyselfcapableofdoingit? No,Ican'tdoit.Prem[Bbat)willhavetodo it.Kherati
Ram[Bhat]willhavetodoit;Babulal[Bhat]orMalaRam[Bhat]willhavetodoit.These
puppeteerswillhavetodoit.ButIwilldefinitelycontinue10insistthatwhateverpotentialities
areinherentinthepuppet.allthosepotentialitiesshouldberealized.Forexample,ifthere
aretwostringstoapuppet-onestringtiedtoitsbeadandanotherattheback,onitsspine
- andthereisaloop,manypossibilitiesopenup.Andifyouaddonmorestrings~three,
four,five,six- the puppetbecomes moreanimated,expressive,and effective. Yet. Ido
concedethatitisonething10understandthestring,thepuppet-itslanguage- andquite
anothertoemploythatlanguage effectively.
One featurewhichIconsider to be verysignificantis theelement of timelessnessone
noticesinthepuppet[theatre)ofRajasthan.IntothesamecourtcomesAkbar.Vikramaditya
makes hisappearance, and [sodoes] Ran>Pratap withShiveji,'All ofthem come in and
occupytheirseatsinthedurbar.1heyarenotallcontemporaries.Fromthepuintofviewof
historicaltime.howcantheybebroughttogetherandseatedinarow?Becausethetradition
permitsit.Thisviewoftimegivenbythetraditioncanbeusedtogreatadvantage.Butwhat
ishappeningtodayis- itistlDtused.Traditiongivesyoutheadvantageofunlimitedtime,
oftimelessness,yetyoustartrestrictingyourselftotheconfinesofunityoftime•.•[Inthis
eontext.]Irememberthedrawingroominmyhomewherethereare picturesofmyfather
andforefathersonthewall.Thereisalsoapictureofmygrandsonthere.They arenOlall
contemporaries.Butthepicturesofallofthemcanbetheretogether.Thatishowitis with
thepuppetsofRajasthan.Inhowmanydifferentwaysyoucantakeadvantageofthiselement
presentinthetradition!Whetherweareable10putittogooduseornotisentirelyanother
question. .
,
11lEICA11lPUlUOFRAlAS11lAN
AnothersignificantfeatureofthepuppetsofRajasthanisthaItherearenohierarchical
divisionsamongthem.Therearepuppetshereofaking,asnakecharmer,ahorserider,etc.
Whatevertherespectivestatus[ofsuchcharactersmaybe)in sociallife,herethereareno
hierarchicaldifferencesinthewaythe puppetsareclothed,orintherulesgoverningtheir
manipulation. Yet today,wben I see newcharactersintroducedinmodemstories[inthe
puppettheatreof Rajasthan], Inotice thatanattemptis beingmadeto createhierarchical
distinctions- thisisabeggar,thatisapoorman,thisisadoctor.andsoon.Butintraditional
puppetry,thereisthispotentiality:yooarefreeofthestraitjacketofclass.Butdistinctions
ofkindaremade,followingacleariconography.
. .•Rajasthanipuppets areof 1W0kinds- theHindupuppeland theMuslimpuppel
[Traditionally,)theHindupuppetwearsaspreadingskirtandashortkurtawhiletheMuslim
puppet's uppergarment [kun;) isheart-shaped.Thisdistinctionisagainreinforcedby the
waythebeardisworn.ThepuppetwithapointedbeardisaMuslimpuppet,Ifthebeardis
partedinthemiddle,thenitisaHindupuppelAgain,ifthemoustacheistwirledup,itisa
Hindupuppet; ifitis bentdownward,[sometimes)mergingwiththebeard, ilisaMuslim
puppet.Traditionalpuppet-makershavemadeuseofsuchsignstodifferentiatetheirpuppets;
thesedistinguishingfeatureswerepickedupfromwhattheysawaroundthem••_Youmay
ask:can'ttherebeadoctorpuppetinRajasthantodaywithitsowndistinguishingfeatures?
Yes, but the doctor puppet in this tradition will be clad in the samejagga [garment], il
wouldhavethesamecolourandbuild- butwithsomelittledistinguishingdetailsomewhere
whichwillidentifythepuppetasadoctor.Orateacher;oraleader.Butifyoudesignthe
puppelanddress ilupmakingitarealisticrepresentationoftheleader[ofthepresentday)
- thenwhat happens?Arealistic manipulationisexpected.whichbecomesdifficult,On
theother hand, the identityofa [new)puppetcan be easily establishedby meansof the
abstractsignsapuppeteerhasinhistradition.SowhenItalkabouttraditionalpuppets,Isee
theadvantagesthattheybave.Ifeeltherearemanypossibilities10exploreapartfromthese.
And so I believe that we need 10explore suchpotentialities and possibilities; I am sure
possibilitiesexistinothertraditions100.IhavealreadyconfessedthatIhavenothingnewto
offer- otherthan whatyouyourselfknow.
Thentherearecertainmatterspertaining10the[formatof]performanceinRajasthan.In
theperformanceofAmarSingh Rathore[,thebasicrepertoireofRajasthan's puppeteers,)
wesaythat weare going10showyouthe storyofAmar SinghRathore. Butactually,we
havenevertriedtotellthestoryofAmarSinghRathoreineitherlegendorhistory;webave
only[usedthenameof]Amar SinghRathore[toprovideourselveswithastructureforthe
show].Thename isusefulwhen,inthebeginningoftheperformance,thecourtbeginsto
assemble.AndagainattheendwhenAmarSingh'snephewarrivestoavengethemurderof
hisWIele and killseverysinglemanonthe stage.Allthat isleftonthe stageisa heapof
deadpuppets.Theplaybeginsinemptyspaceand endswithjustthebackdropinview.In
between, you see all sorts of things, episodes of various kinds:.There is a sequence of
dances, thereis the borsemanepisode,the mimicryofShaukin Khan. theswordfight,the
storyofthe washerman and washerwoman,the snake-charmeract, etc.,etc, Allthese are
seenasentertainmentsproper10aprince's court;someofthemyousawyesterday.Soyou
maysayAmarSinghRathoreprovidesaframeworl<fortheshow,whichisitselfatapestry
10 KOMALKOTIlARI
ofvariousepisodes.
•
Today,inthelives ofthetraditionalperformersofRajasthan'spuppetry,intheirways or
living and pursuingtheirart,certain[new) circumstanceshave arisen. Whatthey havebeen
unable to earn by performingwith puppets, they are now able to earn by making puppets
and sellingthem for theirlivelihood.This is abig change that has come about.Ofcourse,
they are freetomakepuppetsand sellthem. Iam happythatthese performershavenot left
puppetrytodo someotherworkfor theirliving; they are tryingto earntheirlivelihoodby
pursuingan occupationthatis intimately connectedwithpuppetry. They are free to make
puppets,orcarveanimalsoutorwood:letthemmake horses,camelsorwhatever;let them
playtheDholakorsingqawwali;allthesearts areonepartoranotherofthe largerwholeof
the puppet theatre. And by pursuing them as a means of livelihood, they are only
strengtheningandsupportingtheirtradition.Ihavenoobjectiontothat, Afterall,they have
not saidgoodbyeto puppetry.Thatis the most importantthing.
Butthechangestakingplaceinthepuppetsthatweseeonthestage!Firstly,thetibarais
now gone;tibara, the arch-like thing.And the size ofthepuppets has grown; the puppets
have become bigger and taller.To make way for the taller puppets, the tibara has been
taken off. And the size ofthepuppetsis stillgrowing!As the sizekeepsendlesslygrowing,
thetraditionalconstituentsofthestage- thetibara,andtheframethatconcealsthepuppeteer
and the Dholak-player, the partthat hides the feet ofthe performers- they are all gone;
they have had to make way for the growing puppets. You can't do anything about the
humans;theirdimensionsremainthesame,butthepoppetskeepgrowingbiggerandbigger.
Andnow the stagehasbecomeas big as the proscenium ofatheatre! And the puppets are
stillgrowing non-stop.Thevery puppetsyou have seeninthecourtscene,manipolatedby
a singlestring;it is the samepoppetsthat are growing in size•. ,As the poppets become
heavier, you cannotmanipulate them.They may well.be big andcolourful,butyou can't
takeany workoutofthem. Orelse themanipulationwill be limitedonlytomakingthem sit
down,standup, and movehereand there.Thatis aboutall ,..Ihavenot talkedto Babulal,
butIsaw hisshowyesterday.Hehasincreasedthe size ofhis Bahurupiapuppet.Andwhat
is the result? He has to face difficultiesin manipulating it. When you find it difficult to
manipulatea puppet.youwill be forced tobringdown the size ofthe puppet. There is no
alternativeto it.Thereare difficultiesin manipulating heavypoppets- andthere are also
problems in manipulating puppets that are not of sufficient weight. Neither the heavy
ones nor the light ones are suitable for performance; you can only sell them . . . These
are some ofthe issues that I wanted to place before you; they are all issues relating to
Rajasthan's traditional poppetry, issues arising from present-day pressures bearing down
on the tradition••.
•
Itseemstome thatthere are certainfixed formulae in the makingoftraditionalpuppets
[in Rajasthan]. You canmake puppets ofhumans according to the tradition; you can also
ntakepuppetsofvariousanimals.But not puppetsofbirds; those are not to beseenamong
ourtraditionalpuppets•.•Howdotherules ofpoppet-makingoperate?Supposethe puppet
THEKA1lIPU1UOFRAlAS11lAN II
of a horse is made, orof any four-legged animal; then you haveto have four legs and a
body.Therewill be four little sticks for the legs,and a biggerpiece ofwoodwill form the
body. Thereis adefiniteway ofjoiningtheseall together;the figure ispaddedwith conon
andbroughtintothe shaperequired.Puppetsofallfour-leggedanimalsfollow thisprinciple:
fourlegsandabody,whatevertheanimalmaybe- horse,camel,catorlion.Anabstraction
oftheformsofallthesefour-leggedanimalsisreached inthemakingofthese puppets. The
reptile family has itsownrules:the mouth ismadeofwoodandthe rest ismade ofcolton.
We have acrocodilepuppet;we havea snakepuppet; and ifourpuppeteer> wantto make
puppets ofscorpionor lizard. they can do so.Theycan make every creatureofthe reptile
family very easilyjust byapplying the principle they use to make a snake. Yesterday,we
sawthe snakein Babulal's performance.Earlier, thepieceofwoodfonning itsmouthwas
smaller;he hasnowextendedit,and then stuffedcottoninto themouth. And the stringstoo
follow an alreadyknownprinciple.There will be three stringsto manipualte thecrocodile
- on the head,the jaw,and the tail.Ifthe puppeteer>makeanelephantor acamel,where
thestringsshouldbe isknownto them. Thenthereare otherrules governingthe sizeofthe
puppet. Followingtheseformulae, allkindsofanimalscan bemade intheformofpuppets,
Ihave afeeling that as experiment, we shouldmakeall sorts ofpuppetsevenifwe are not
goingtousetheminanyshow.
•
The next thing I want to talk about is the puppeteer>' tent-stage and personnel, One
difficulty[inthepracticeofthis traditionalarttoday] isthattoput upany show,four tofive
peopleare required.Whenagroupgetsprogrammes,peopleworktogether.Butliving[and
moving to places] togetheron a regular basis [are! a difficult proposition in the changed
circumstancesoftheday. Sowehavetoconsiderwhether- withtheinvolvementofour
puppeteer>- wecancreateaperformance and astagewhichwouldjustneedtwo tothree
performer>,andno more. Also,whetherwecanprovidethem with plays whichdon'tneed
morethanthreeperformer>.Thentheywillbeabletotaketheirshowseverywhere•..Now,
their stage has evolved on the principle ofthe tenL And as we know, tents today are of
variouskinds: wehavetentsforsports,scouts'rents,andtents formountaineers.Theseare
madeoflight material;onecancarrythemeasilyonone'sback.Ifwecandesignatentlike
these for ourpuppeteer>,it will be a majorcontribution tothe developmentofRajasthan's
puppetry tradition. And in the context of modernizing performances, lighting too has a
place - ifwe can makesmall.portabledimmer> for the use ofourpuppeteers,and other
lights ofthe samekind, it will be very useful.Thetent couldincorporatemodemfacilities
like lightingequipment.etc....
We [often] talk about the new puppet theatre and new experiments in puppetry
educationalpuppetry.puppetryforchildren,puppetryforentertainmentorforsocialcauses,
puppetry to carrymessages ofhistory. These are all very important, no donbl. But the
danger is, inengagingin workof suchnature. onecanstray toofarfrom theessential
principlesofpuppetry.Ifwecan workouta via mediawherebothmodernthemesandthe
essentialsoftraditionalpuppetrymeet,thenwewillhavediscoveredapaththatisconducive
tothe healthoftraditionalpuppetry.Thatisall Ihaveto sharewith you.Thankyou.
,
DISCUSSION:TIlEKATHPU11JOFRAIASTIiAN
DISCUSSION
BhanuBharati:Youweretalkingabout[designing)tentsforourpuppeteers.Butthespace
available in [anykindof]tentis veryrestricted.When[intheshowthe previousday1the
puppets werestandinginthedurbar,and thedancercamein,therewas nospaceatall for
manipulation.Soifwecanconstructa raisedplatformonthe[modemtheatre)stageandif
performerscanmanipulatetheirpuppetsstandingonthatplatform,therewillbemorespace
forthepuppets andformanipulation.Ihaveanideaastohowthiscanbedone.Ididitina
playIproduced.Aplatformacrossthewholelengthoftheprosceniumwasconstructedand
fromthatplatformthepuppetsweremanipulated.Thiswillanswertheproblemscreatedby
large-sized puppets,andcreatethespacerequiredformanipulatingthem.Ofcourse,ifthe
performers aretostandontheplatformandmanipulatetheirpuppets,thestringswillhave
tobelongertoo••.Thisisjust asuggestion.Wecouldaskthepuppeteersherewhattheir
reactions are to theidea.Iftheycouldbringinsomelarge-sizedpuppets and conduct an
experiment, itcouldbea usefulexercise. .
KomaJKothari:WhenIwastalkingabouttraditionalperformersandtheirage-oldpractice,
itwasin viewoftheirneedtotaketheirpuppetsandpropertiesfromone placetoanother,
puttingup shows.Ithoughtaboutwaysofhelpingtheminthatcontext.SoIsuggestedthat
theirtents shouldbesimpleinconstructionandmadeofverylightmaterial- withinafew
kilosin weight-sothattheycouldbeeasilymovedfrom placetoplace. If youtakethe
caseofEgyptianpuppeteers,thetravellingpuppeteercarriesonhisbackapackwhichishis
entirestage;hecarriesthatstagefromplacetoplaceandputsupshows•.•Butsupposewe
goonexpanding thedimensionsofthestage, astheBharatiyaLokKalaMandaihaddone
toaccommodate itsRamayana production,thenwhathappens?The stageconstructedfor
theperformanceofRamayanaissobigthatyouneedatrucktocarryitSuchthingscanbe
.doneonly'by institutionsandnotbytraditionalperformers.
BhanuBharati:The!.okKalaMandaistage isnotso veryunwieldy;itcanbedismantled.'
Eventhe platformImentionedcanbedismantledandpackedandcarriedanywhere.There
isnodiffiCUlty;itcanbeunpackedanderectedwithinfifteenminutes.Thatispossible..•
BabulaJBhar: I begpardonofallofyou.Outmaster[KomalKothari)asked me whatare
thedifficulties facedbyus.Weareinvitedby[sponsorsin)Maharashtra,Andhra,Gujarat,
etc. Why do they invite us?Theyinvite usbecauseeach regionhas a different tradition;
everything aboutthattradition- itspuppets,itsmanipulation.etc.- isdifferent Ifwe
modernizeout art,thenwewillforgetourtradition.Then whowillinvite Us10putupour
sbows?TIIentheywilltellus,'Well,thisissomethingverynew;thisisnottheold,traditional
puppetry.' Ifwechangeourtraditionalways,thenyouyourselfwillcome upandaccuseus
ofnotadheringto thetraditionandofadoptingnew-fangledways•••Wewillneverabandon
outtraditionalcraft.Wemaystarve.Butwewillnevergiveupouttradition-theRajasthani.
theIndiantradition.Wemaybeilliterate,but we wanttokeep the tradition alive.Itisin
thesestringsthatwehaveourlife.•.Wedecoratethepuppetsinoutownway.Someone
suggested, 'Youdressupthedancerlikeadiscodancer,otherwisenobodywillcometosee
theshow.' Sowe had toincludedisco also. Wherewas Anarkali inour tradition? In our
forefathers' time,therewasnoAnatkaJi.ButweaddedAnarkalitoo.Butwhatcanwedo?
DISCUSSION:mEKATHPUI11OFRAlAS1HAN 13
Wehavetofeedourselves...Butwewillneversellourpuppetstofeedourselves.Wewill
requestyou to give us some programmes. You may give us twoif we askforfour. But
pleasegiveustwoatleast•..Apuppeteerwillneversellbispuppets.Hewilleitherhaveto
beabusinessmanorapuppeteer.Hecanneverbeboth.Thankyou.
KomalKothari:Babulalhasgiven usanemotional speech.I willposeaquestiontohim.
[TurningtoBabulalBhat; showingapuppet)Youhavestringshereandthere[pointingto
differentplaceson1Mpuppet)accordingtotraditionandyouknowwhattheirfunctionsare
- whatmovementsyoucanshowusingthem.Butifyoualsohaveastringontheshoulder
and ifyouareaskedtolearnbowtouseit,willyougiveitatry?
BabulaJBhat; Ifwegetguidancefromlearnedpeoplelikeyou.wewill.Butthen,thereare
stringsandstrings.Themostimportantthing[,however,)isthenail.Unlessitisa1theright
place,balancingthepuppet,thepuppetwillnotwork.Ifthenailisinthewrongplace,il
willtiltthebalanceofthepuppet.Thefirstthingthaiwesee,holdingthestring,iswhether
thebalanceisright,Ifthebalanceisright,thenthepuppetisallrightforus.Yes,wewill
manipulatewithmorestringsifyouwish,butweneedyourguidanceandhelpforthat.We
don't havemoneytodoallthat.Ifwecouldgetsomehelpfromyou.thenwewillcertainly
do asyouwish. [DemoflStrates withapuppet)Wecanonlydothismuch.Ifwetrytodo
more,thenthepuppetlosesitsbalanceand thaIcreatesproblems.
KomalKothari: Babulal,canyoushowus,withapuppetofjustonestring- whaJarethe
manipulationspossible? [BabulalBhatdemoflStrates) Nowdoilwithbothhands[Babulal
Bhatdemonstratesagain)...This puppetisofveryold make.Nowtheymakenewkinds
ofpuppets.Ihavebeentellingallthesepeoplewhentheymakenewpuppets-lookatthe
waythispuppet is made; theheadgear,particularly.The workmanshipthathasgone into
.thispuppet,as wellas its manipulatorypossibilities,are notto be found in newpuppets
whoseheadsaremadeofwood.Thecarethaihasgoneintothemakingofthisoldpuppetis
simplynotgiveninthemakingofnewones.Ihaveonlyafewpuppetsofthisvintagewith
me.Ihavestoredthem asmodels andsbowthemtopuppeteersand askthemtotakethe
samecareintheircraft. Youhavetobecarefulaboutyourworkandyouhavetotakecare
of all the details of puppet-making, Now take this puppet [shaws). KhadbadKhan.One
threadisfixedbere;andanolberthreadisfixedonthedanda.[BabulalBhatdemonstrates
withKhadbadKhan.)
G.Venu: Komalda,whataboutthelegs?
KomalKothari:Traditionally,ourpuppets[ofhumans)don'thavelegs.Butthenewpuppets
thaipuppeteersaremaJdngtoday[sometimes)dohavelegs.andthesepuppeteersarefmding .
itdifficulttomanipulatethem.Theyhavetousebamboo-stripcontrolswithseveralstrings
anacbedtomanipulatethesenewpuppets;theyarenot abletomanipulatethemwithease.
Ofcoursetheyaremanaging[somehow)now.butthelegmovementsarenotconvincing.If
theyhaveto make the leg movementsconvincing,theyhavetotakerecoursetobamboo
strips;inthatcase.theirmanipulativetechniquechangesenlirely.Thereforethequestionis
wbelherweshouldaskthemto work withthebamboo-stripcontrollingdevice ornot.To
ourpuppeteers,.itisagreatadvantagetobeabletocontinueworkingwiththeirftngers••.
Take this puppet, horse and rider [shaws). There are three strings here; two strings are
ras
14 DISCUSSION: KATHPU1UOFRAJAS11IAN
attached10the horse, like this. One string is fixed on the rider.So virtually you havetwo
puppetsbeing manipulatedwith threestrings.Anypuppetwith threestrings,ourpuppeteers
canmanipulatewithconfidence.withalotofanimation.Now,take thisdancing-girlpuppet
[shows].Twostringsare placedhere,two there, and two are on the spine, like a loop.So
there are six string in all. The puppeteers know from their traditional learning how each
string is to be controlled [demonstration/allows]. I am now asking Babulal to follow the
rhythms of the Dholak; there won't be any song accompaniment. [BabulaI Bhat
demonstrates].Babulal,nowyoufollowthesong,nottheDholak;ignorethe Dholak[Babulal
Bhatdemonstratesagain] •..Now youcan tiethestring here,here,here orhere [shawsthe
placesonthepuppettotheaudience].Butyouhaveto choose one place,therightplace. to
tiethestring- whereyoucangetthemostdiversemovements.Ifyoustudythetraditionally
chosen places where strings are lied on our puppets, you will know that very minute
observation and study have gone into choosing them - [these are places] where all the
animationofthe puppetis centred. .
G. Venu:Komalji, wben the puppet is manipulated, the puppeteer acompanies the action
with high-pitchedwhistle-likesounds[pointing tothevoicemodulator-boli- whichthe
puppeteerholdsbetween hislips]- what is the significance?
KamalKothari:Puppeteersthe world overusea[device]calledvoicemodulator. InPunch
andJudyshows,for instance,there isaroundsortofthing whichyou put inyourmouth; it
changesyourvoice. You have to train yourselfto use it.Thepointis that the puppetisnot
real.Itisnotaman, norawoman.noradog.Whenitisnotanyofthese.thenitsvoicetoo
willbedifferent.Thevoicemodulatorestablishestheunreality ofthe puppet.Whereverthe
voicemodulatorisused,itusuallygoes insideone'smouth,and throughit.one can deliver
allthedialogue [indifferentvoices].Thevoicemodulatorourpuppeteersuse isnotplaced
inside the mouthbut held betweenthelips, likeawhistle.Becauseofthis [difference],they
cannotdeliverdialogue as in Punchand Judy shows. The dialoguehas to bere-delivered,
and that isdone by the man sittingthere, who is calledjawab-denewala.It is this jawab
denewalawho interprets[for theaudience] moreclearlyther1ialoguedeliveredthroughthe
voice modulator. Ifthe poppeteerhas practised well, there can also be lots ofexchanges
between these two during the show. But principally, the voice modulator is used for the
purposeofcreatinga voiee whichisnot the normalhumanvoice, asthe puppetisnotareal
humanbeing ..•
Nowhere is theGendwali-putli [puppetwithaball].Theseare genericterms. Thereare
stringstied 10both the hands.And thisball is connectedtoboththe strings.[Babulal Bhat
demonstrateswiththepuppet.]Theteehttiqueofmanipulatingthispuppetfollows acertain
principle. Yesterday you saw the magician puppet. All these puppets follow the same
principle. Evenifyou stagea modem play [in Rajasthan], with a modem theme, you will
have to understand this principle. We may expand thematically, but the language ofthe
puppethas first tobe grasped.
B.R.Bhargava:Komalda,youjustsaid that thepuppet'svoice isdifferentfrom the human
voice. Thejawab-denewalainterpretsit [for the audience.] tellingthem- this is what the
puppet said. But at times, the poppet is not saying anything; it is only producing high-
DISCUSSION:THEKATIlPUTIJOFRAJAS1l!AN is
pitched sounds.Can yousay somethingaboutthat?
KamalKothari:TIlepurposeofthis sound[ofthe boli]istospell oultherhythm-andthe
movement-s-tothe puppeteer.WhenthemanipulationisnotaccompaniedbyDbolak, then
this sound gives the puppeteer rhythm for the puppet's movement When the puppet is
deliveringdialogue. the Dholakisnot played. ThehoIithen takes over the function ofthe
Dholak. Traditional performerscan't work without rhythmicacrompaniment Others may
work differently.This high-pitched sound provides them rhythm,
P.L Pawar:Komalji,justone question: does the puppetfollow the lyric or the rhythmof
thepercussion instrument?
KamalKothari:Both.Ifyousing agoodThumriandaskBabulaltoperform withthe song,
hewillexpressthroughthemovementsofhispuppetallthebhavasoftheThumri.Youwill
know then wherethe rhythm is being followed and where the lyricisbeing followed. and
where both are beingfollowedin unison ._.Babulalsays this puppet [shaws] isnotmade
byhim,sohecan'tdemonstratebhavausing itIfhehad madethepuppethimself, itwould
have been fashioned taking into account his own manipulatory requirements in terms of
string length, size, etc. IfI give you someone else's violinand ask you to play it. what
would youdo?That ishis situation.
G.Venu:Komalji, whenhe manipulatesthe dancingpuppet.does he also dance?
KamalKothari: A good puppeteercan make his puppetdance well only when he dances
withit.Thatdoesnotmeanheperformsthewholedance- Imean,onlywhenthepuppeteer's
body, hiswhole body,movesalongwith the puppetdoes the puppetdance well.This man
[Babulal Bhat] hasbecomeabig artist.sohefeels shyofdancingbeforeyou.But wben he
isbehindthecurtain,he willdancealongwiththepuppetIcantellfromthewaythepuppet
ismanipulatedwhen Babulalisdancingand when heis not-even when heis behind the
curtain.
BabulaJBhat:That is right Unless the puppeteer also dances, the puppet will nol dance
well.
AR. Dartatreya:What is the influenceofthe Ramayanaand Mababharalaon Rajasthan's
puppetry?
KamalKothari:Rama'sstory,ortheMababharata,arenotthecontentoftraditionalpuppetry
inRajasthan.. ..Sometime ago, I sent anote to Ushaji[UsbaMalik) in which Iused the
sentence: 'TheRajasthanipuppettraditionissecular.'Shesaidthismightcreateproblems,
even iffactually correct. Well, for some timenow, the expression 'secular' has run into
trouble". Butthepuppetswe have are ofthat kind. .
BhanuBharaJi:Ithinkthere isanotherpointtobemadehere.Asyouwere sayingearlier,in
the Rajasthan tradition it was nevernecessary to tell a story. Even though [some of) our
puppets are ofhistorical personages, we don't go into history. We pick up a particular
.climacticsituationandadaptit;wedon'tgointo the whole story. Ourpuppeteersdealwith
*This waswhenthecampaignforaRamtempleonthesiteofthe BabriMasjid inAyodhyabadpeaked.
andwhenthe idea ofa secular Indiabadreceived its first serious challenge in publicdiscourse since:
intkpendence.- Ed.
16 DISCUSSION:THEKATHPUI'LIOFRAJASTHAN
certainsituational elements.Butifwewereto takeuptheepics, thepuppeteerswouldhave
to deal with whole complexstories. I don't thinkthe traditional puppetry ofRajasthan is
narrativeinnature.
KomalKothari: Yes,itisnotnarrativeinnalure.It[genetally)does nottrytotell acomplex
story. Itonlyshowsanecdotes. Buttheseanecdotes toocontain anarrative element. Take
forinstance whatBabulalshowedyesterday- abad version ofthe originalshow,whichI
have seen earlier: The Badshah'had given ten kilos ofcolton to Dulari to spin thread for
himself[,theBadshah).WhenDularifinally deliversthethread, there areonly sevenkilos.
When the durbarofficial asks her why the thread is threekilos short, Dularisays, 'Look,
thatofficerofyours came tome andhetook away somuch, and only so muchremained;I
have only taken halfa kilo.' 'OK', the Badshahsays, 'forgetaboutthe rest, bring me the
half kilo you have taken yourself.' Well, this story is a biting commentary on the
contemporarysituation. Youcouldevenextendthestory.PerhapsDularicouldretort: 'Why
doyouaskme?The fellows wholayroads- how muchmoney they swindle! Thefellows
whodig canals, how much money they siphonoff!! Afterall,Ihave takenonly alittle.'
Soyoucanmake alotofsocialcommentusing such situations.Evenifyoudon'tmake
adeliberatecomment,thesituationsthemselvesgeneratecomment,But[toexploitasituation
inthis manner) you needtohave acertain social awareness. Wehave lots ofmaterial.You
only need to exploitthat material indifferentways ...Thereare so manythings that are
available in the tradition. For example, the episode about the woman who is always
quarrellingwithherhusband.Shewails, 'Ifonlyhewaseatenupbyacrocodile,itwouldbe
such agoodriddance.' In the story, acrocodiledoes indeedeat up the husband. Thenshe
raisesahueandcry;shewails.ThentheChowkidarshowsupandexpressessympathywith
herplight. He tries toconsoleherwith lovingwords. She is pacifiedand becomesfriendly
with him. Ultimately, when they make theirexitfrom the stage, she is seen ridingon the
Chowkidar's back! There is an abundance ofsuch material in the tradition and one can
develop [performances based) on it.
Avoice:Is thereanymoral theme behindthese episodes?Orare they onlyentertainment?
KomalKothari: The entertainmentcomes with a message. But it is up to us to take the
messageor to take only the entertainment. Yesterday Babulalshowedus the episode of.a
snake biting a man: the man was playing with the snake whenthe snakebit him, andthe
poisonspreadinhisbody.Thenthesnakecomesbacktotake outthepoisonfrom theman's
body. When the man revives, he beats the snake to death. Then he plays his instrument
[Been),andthesnaketoocomesbacktolife.Thenbothexit,thesnakecurleduparoundthe
man'sneck.Ifyou takethis asentertainment,well,itisentertainment.Doyou feel thereis
amessagebehindthisstory- 'I shouldnotkill'?Or, 'IfIkillsomeone,canIgivebackhis
life?' What do you want tomakeofthe story?
Ortake the elephantepisode, in whichtwo elephants are broughtinto the durbar. One
elephant runs amok; the elephants start fighting; they go completely out ofcontrol. The
Chowkidarcomesintoshowthemout,buttheelephantsscarehimaway;thentheChowkidar
appears again and [using every human wile) starts coaxing the elephants until they
aresubdued.Intheend,weseetheChowkidarmakinghisexitriding ononeoftheelephants
