Andhra Pradesh

In Kalamkari Country

Art historian Rajarshi Sengupta takes us on a tour of south India’s celebrated Kalamkari textile tradition

This shadow puppet of Duryodhana is a Togalu Gombeyatta puppet, a shadow puppet tradition of Karnataka, India. It translates to the dance of leather puppets, with ‘Togalu’ meaning leather, ‘Gombe’ meaning a doll or a puppet and ‘atta’ meaning dance. Duryodhana is an important personality in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He is the eldest of… Read more »

Shiva

This shadow puppet of Shiva is a Togalu Gombeyatta puppet, a shadow puppet tradition of Karnataka, India. It translates to the dance of leather puppets, with ‘Togalu’ meaning leather, ‘Gombe’ meaning a doll or a puppet and ‘atta’ meaning dance. Shiva, one of the holy trinity in the Hindu Pantheon, is portrayed sitting on Nandi… Read more »

Rama and Lakshmana going to the Jungle

This shadow puppet of Rama and his brother Lakshmana is a Togalu Gombeyatta puppet, a shadow puppet tradition of Karnataka, India. It translates to the dance of leather puppets, with ‘Togalu’ meaning leather, ‘Gombe’ meaning a doll or a puppet and ‘atta’ meaning dance. Southern Indian shadow play is known to be the oldest in the… Read more »

Bangarakka

This is a shadow puppet of Bangarakka, a comic character from Tholu Bommalaata, shadow puppet tradition of Andhra Pradesh in India. Here, tholu means leather, bommalu means puppets and aata means dance. Bangarakka, a female comic, and her husband Ketigadu are popular jesters best known for their witty and humorous dialogues during the performance of… Read more »

Tholu Bommalata: Hanuman and Lankini

Tholu Bommalata tradition of shadow puppetry dates back to 12th century Andhra Pradesh; in Telugu, tholu is hide or leather and bommalata means ‘dance of the dolls’. Gleaming through the screen in night-long performances, these puppets are used to narrate stories from epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata. Tholu Bommalata performances often weave bits of popular… Read more »