An all-woman puppetry team gives the ancient art form a contemporary flavour

The signifier dims into a constellation of lipid lamps — the flickering glow that has illuminated Tholpavakoothu, Kerala’s past shadow-puppetry contented for centuries. But this time, alternatively of the acquainted verses of the Kamba Ramayana echoing done the courtyards of Bhadrakali temples successful Palakkad, Thrissur and Malappuram, a unrecorded sonic improvisation begins to unfold. Bengaluru-based vocalist, instrumentalist and dependable artiste Amata Bob, summons not the gods, but the ‘inner shadow’.

’Shadow Play’ premiered astatine BLR Hubba 2026 connected January 22 astatine Panchavati, Amphitheatre. This improbable brushwood betwixt experimental dependable and ritualistic puppetry was created successful collaboration with Penntholpaavakoothu, an all-women shadiness puppetry ensemble from the Tholpavakoothu Puppet Center successful Shoranur. The radical is led by Rajitha Ramachandra Pulavar, seasoned shadiness puppeteer and girl of K. K. Ramachandra Pulavar, the 11th procreation maestro shadiness puppeteer.

It is believed that Tholpavakoothu originated successful the 9th oregon 10th century. Rajitha’s grandfather, Krishnan Kutty Pulavar is credited with democratising this creation form. Traditionally, Tholpavakoothu was strictly a antheral domain — performed implicit respective nights successful Bhadrakali temples, but Penntholpaavakoothu marks a extremist turn, erstwhile women from the Pulavar family, encouraged by their elders, re-interpreted the creation signifier with a modern feminist grammar, making it spell beyond being conscionable artistic.

Rajitha admits entering a male-dominated abstraction was not easy. “Earlier, women were lone backstage, but initiatives by the Kerala authorities and enactment helped us. The Padma Shri fixed to my begetter gave america designation and motivated america to motorboat Penntholpaavakoothu,” she says.

For Amata, the collaboration is personal. “As women and artistes, we person encountered absorption from nine and our ain families. The shadiness becomes a mode of acknowledging that portion of ourselves which isn’t fixed space,” says Amata, who discovered Tholpavakoothu done an online documentary and reached retired to the artistes.

Invited to Shoranur, she witnessed an overnight temple performance, implicit with the ritual lamps, odor of oil, and dynamic question of puppets down the screen. “Even the dependable of the occurrence became portion of the soundscape,” she recalls.

‘Shadow Play’ features 15 puppets — a premix of recently created pieces and repurposed ones, handled by an ensemble of 5 to 8 women puppeteers. “We created 4 caller puppets exclusively for this story, but we are besides repurposing the older ones to marque it much environment-friendly,” explains Aswathy Rajeev, Penntholpaavakoothu’s squad co-ordinator.

The narrative, driven by experimental music, follows a pistillate grappling with conflicts earlier reaching the zenith of self-discovery. Historically, Tholpavakoothu was staged arsenic a literate and ritual show of the Kamba Ramayana, often moving for 7, 21 oregon adjacent 72 nights successful temple courtyards called Koothumadam.

“There were nary televisions oregon societal media. People came to ticker each nighttime but not truthful now, yet it is staged with the aforesaid reverence and sincerity,” says Rajitha Ramachandara Pulavar, laminitis of Penntholpaavakoothu. The Pulavar household began introducing caller subjects — women’s empowerment, Jesus Christ, Panchatantra, AIDS consciousness alongside experimenting with 3-D animation and modern staging. The instauration of Penntholpaavakoothu successful 2022 was a measurement successful the aforesaid absorption of making it resonate with today’s assemblage and times.

If Tholpavakoothu provides the silhouettes, Amata brings successful the voice, literally. She and her collaborator Sekhar Sudhir usage folk-inspired instruments, experimental violins, and earthy percussive sounds. ‘Shadow Play’ unfolds with Amata’s six archetypal compositions, mapping a young woman’s travel from location to self-realisation. “It is astir integrating the shadows within, a conception I resonate with from Jungian psychology. From household tensions to societal evils, and yet to extremist acceptance, the communicative mirrors the lived experiences of some collaborators. I judge the creation we signifier is simply a steadfast look of the shadow, the oppressed and repressed aspects of ourselves,” she adds.

The puppets themselves are artworks crafted from goat and buffalo skin, hand-punched with motifs inspired by quality and society. Rice-grain punches honour farmers; drum-shaped ones salute musicians; lunar crescents and leafage patterns evoke forests. “Everything is handmade and each plan and signifier has a significance. The puppets of Rama volition ever person Veeralipattu (geometric signifier that symbolises royalty) punches,” shares Rajitha

At its core, ‘Shadow Play’ is simply a speech betwixt ritual and experiment, dependable and silhouette, contented and autonomy. It shows what happens erstwhile an creation signifier rooted successful temples and epics is inhabited by women telling modern stories.