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Folk artistes from Rajasthan are mesmerising Italian audience

JAIPUR: A group of folk artistes from Rajasthan are enthralling audiences at an international festival of Asian theatrical masterpieces in Italy with live puppet shows, bringing alive the medieval history of erstwhile Rajputana. The month-long festival started in the Italian town of Palermo on November 19. The group, sent by Rupayan Sansthan – a Jodhpur-based folklore research institute – has taken with it 52 marionettes in various hues and shapes from its prized possession collected by its founder, noted ethnomusicologist Komal Kothari. The live shows, accompanied by rendition of folk songs and story-telling, have presented a new facet of Rajasthani culture to the Italian audiences.

Sansthan secretary Kuldeep Kothari said in an e-mail to The Hindu from Palermo that the six-member group was also organising puppet shows for school children and has participated in a seminar on puppet traditions, where the artistes of the original “Kathputli” tradition explained the nuances of acrobatic performance of marionettes. The 32nd Festival of Morgana is being organised in Palermo from November 17 to December 23 by the Antonio Pasqualino Museo Internazionale delle Marionette (International Museum of Marionettes) – the world’s largest and oldest museum working on puppet traditions. The festival’s theme this year showcases the oral and intangible heritage and theatrical culture of Asian countries.

Mr. Kothari said the “Kathputli” tradition of Rajasthan and “Kutiyattam” (Sanskrit theatre) of Kerala were the special features representing India in the festival. A historical play, “Amar Singh Ki Kahani: Raj Rang”, presented through puppets by the Rajasthani troupe, has mesmerised the visitors flocking to the festival.

“We had an impressive classroom presentation in the University of Palermo on Saturday, where noted Italian folklore scholar Giuseppina Colicci joined us. We explained how puppeteers work with different strings behind the scene to match with musical notes and how they recite stories to captivate the audience,” said Mr. Kothari.

The group’s rendition in the festival revolves round the chivalry of erstwhile Rajput rulers and the tales of their love and intrigue. The members of the troupe are Bhaat nomads of the Marwar region, who are commonly known as Kathputli-wallahs.

Mr. Kothari said the museum, which Komal Da – as he was popularly known – had visited 25 years ago, accommodates a collection of 3,500 puppets from all over the world, while an annexed library, Giuseppe Leggio, possesses nearly 3,000 volumes on theatrical and popular traditions.

The museum, established in 1975 by the Association for Conservation of Popular Traditions, conducts world-class research on marionettes and their theatrical use. It is presently headed by noted anthropologist Marianne Vibaek Pasqualino.

Mr. Kothari said Rupayan Sansthan would look into the possibility of partnership with the museum for setting up a puppet gallery in Jodhpur. The Sansthan has established a unique ethnographic museum at Moklawas village near Jodhpur depicting a treasure trove of contemporary ethnographic objects such as musical instruments, pottery, illustrated manuscripts, utensils and marionettes. It has been designed as a rural stone hutment. Mr. Kothari said the artistes’ group from Kerala would present the “Shakuntala: Natana Kairali” show, directed by Venu Gopalan Nair, this week. Other countries represented at the festival include Turkey, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, Cambodia and Japan.

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