Traditional and Contemporary Facets of String Puppets of Rajasthan

Abstract Puppetry is a performance where it involves manipulation of puppets and has been a part of our Indian culture since ages. There are different types of puppets prevalent in India. Kathputli is one the most famous type of string puppet of Rajasthan, where kath means wood and pulti means doll. Bhat community is the originator of this craft and they claim that their ancestors had performed for royal families and received great honor from the rulers of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab. Today, puppetry is not only seen as a medium of entertainment but also as a strong medium of education. Kathputli is an expression of culture, costumes, and lifestyle of the place where it is made, but due to lack of patronage many traditional puppeteers are forced to abandon this craft. This study is an attempt to trace the origin and history of the string puppets of Rajasthan. The Bhat community was profiled to understand traditional ways of making of the string puppets and the changes seen in terms of materials used in making of puppets, tools, staging techniques, scripts, etc. Future prospect of puppetry was also discussed from inputs received from the promoters of puppetry and the audience.