Shadow puppets are silhouettes or cut-out figures manipulated to cast shadows on a screen or surface. This form of puppetry is often performed behind a backlit screen, with the puppeteer manipulating the puppets to create various characters and scenes. Shadow puppets can be made from various materials such as leather, paper, or even stiff fabric, with intricate designs and jointed parts to allow for movement and expression. This art form is popular in cultures around the world and is known for its visual storytelling and dramatic effects created through light and shadow play.
India has a long and rich tradition of Shadow Theatre. References to shadow theatre are found in the ancient Tamil classic ‘Silappadikaram’. Many Western Indologists, such as Pischel, Luders, and Winternitz, believe that the well-known Sanskrit drama ‘Mahaanaataka’ was originally written as a play for shadow theatre. If this assumption is true, this art form would be at least one thousand years old.
Raavana Chhaya
Shadow theatre is prevalent in the states of Odisha, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. In the shadow theatre forms of the first three states, the shadows are black and white, while those from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are multi-coloured. The shadow theatre in Orissa is Raavana Chhaya, or shadow of Ravana. It is strange that in this form, while the story is based on Rama, the theatre itself is named after Ravana.
Thol Pava-Kuthu
The shadow theatre in Maharashtra is known as Camdyaachaa Bahulye or Chitra Marathigaru. Here, the themes are also largely drawn from the legend of Rama. In Karnataka, there are two styles of shadow theatre, both known as Togalu gombeatta. One style uses very large size figures ranging from 1-1.5 metres and the other style uses smaller figures ranging from six inches to two and a half feet. The themes are drawn from Ramayana, Mahabharata and other Puranic episodes. The theatre form came into Karnataka from its organiser, Kattare Kalachari, who hailed from Maharastra. The shadow theatre in Karnataka is also referred to as Killekyathru. There are several families that perform in their respective areas and are known by different names, such as Gombberama Chakkai Gobbeyata and Togalu Gobbeyata. Thol Pava-Kuthu or Pavaikottu, the shadow theatre of Kerala, again thrives exclusively on the stories of Rama. Andhra Pradesh has the strongest tradition in shadow theatre, known by the name Tholubommalata. Here, the figures range in height from 1.2 to 1.82 metres and are the largest among the other shadow theatre forms.