Just to inform all those who are looking for some different fun, the Ishara International Puppet Festival is back in Mumbai for the second time. And this time there are five international puppet groups coming down from countries including Israel, Iran, Italy, Brazil and Switzerland to entertain the crowd in the city.
Dadi Pudumjee, leading puppeteer of Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust who is organising the festival, believes that the festival has become a strong platform to promote the art of puppeteering. “You can say a lot through puppets which you cannot do with any
other medium. Puppets are universal and transcend borders which actors cannot. It will be quite interesting to see the puppet art of some other countries along with rich cultural influences,” says Pudumjee.
A very appealing puppet show titled A Touch of Light is based on the life of Louis Braille who lost his eyes in an accident at the age of three and invented the Braille script at the age of 15 for the blind. Patricia O’Donovan, biologist and puppeteer from Israel, has come to India for the first time to present this show. Interestingly, some of Patricia’s very initial puppet plays in Israel in the year 1989-90 were based on the stories of Mahabharata and Ramayana.
Particia believes that puppet theatre and religion have a very deep connection somewhere. “Puppetry as a tradition finds its origins in India and Indonesia. I feel that religion in India has played a very crucial role in giving rise to the rich puppet theatre culture here. In religions like Judaism, people are not allowed to create an image of God. But In India, Shiva can be presented with all his might with a perfect human image. I believe this freedom in presentation of images later led to the rise of the whole puppet culture,” she says.
According to Patricia, puppetry is also a very powerful medium of entertainment because it connects with people by using metaphors which are easily combined with the spoken language to create an impact. Catch the Ishara International Puppet Festival from February 10-15, 2010 at NCPA.
Comments
