Tholu Bommalaata puppets at Good Earth, Mumbai

Tholu Bommalaata puppets at Good Earth, Mumbai -

Photo courtesy Mrudul Pathak Kundu

Dates: 21st September, 2017 to 18th February,2018

Venue: The Tasting Room, Good Earth, Raghuvanshi Mills, Mumbai

One of the earliest known ways of storytelling on the subcontinent, Tholu Bommalata or shadow puppet theatre is a traditional craft, passed down from father to son in the Rayalseema region of current-day Andhra Pradesh. Players manipulate the puppets to recreate epic sagas and folk tales, along with spoken dialogue and music.

These immensely detailed leather puppets have been created by master craftsman Chidambara Rao, who also sings and performs the accompanying ballads from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. It was a wonderful opportunity to see these beautiful pieces of art up close in Mumbai.