Send in the puppets

Chitrakathi works

Stories, explains the Israeli anthropologist bestseller Yuval Noah Harari, are the foundational stones for civilisation. As the digital age takes central position in daily lives, it becomes crucial to use this narrative in a more effective, and tactile manner. This weekend, APRE Art House will host a unique workshop and exhibition of traditional Indian shadow puppetry to shape current social narratives for children.

Chetan Gangavane

"The idea is to expose children to arts and crafts. We want them to understand that there is a lot of beauty and wisdom in tradition, but also have fun," says Aradhana Nagpal, founder of Garmi Ki Chutti who is curating the session, Storytelling with shadows, with APRE Art House. This dual function is accomplished through the works of two artists in Chetan Gangavane and Tapan Moharana. While the Sindhudurg-based Gangavane brings to the city his heritage of Chitrakathi shadow puppet play, Moharana is a multimedia artist who has been working around the Odiya tradition of Raban Chhaya for the last couple of years. Both forms carry with them centuries of traditional and folk storytelling.

Shadow puppetry forms a key part of Moharana's artistic practice

Gangavane explains, ""I hail from Pinguli in Kudal taluka of Sindhudurg. It's a small village that's home to the Thakar community but has nourished 11 rare traditional art forms." Among these are shadow puppetry (Dayati), string puppetry (Kalsutri bahulya), and leather dolls (Tambdyacha bahulya). "The term Chitrakathi comes from telling stories [kathi] using pictures [chitra]," he says. The traditional artist has been involved in the tradition for the last 15 years, and follows his father, Padma Shri-awardee Parshuram Gangavane and elder brother Eknath Gangavane who worked to conserve the tradition, and built a museum to highlight its practice. "These were used to tell stories of ancient myths, mostly the Ramayana and Mahabharata. But this time, we are using it with a newer context; to tell three stories from the Panchatantra that are more relatable to children," he remarks.

Tapan Moharana

This attempt to adapt and imbue traditional art to a newer world is necessary, adds Moharana. The Odisha-based artist discovered his state's traditional art of Raban Chhaya during the pandemic. "I had always been looking for it since it was a faint childhood memory," he shares, admitting that the last generation of these puppeteers no longer practice the art. "I found through them artefacts, and learned how they used and created these dolls. I have since been trying to imbue them into my artistic practice," he says. This will emerge through his work Story of a God that he will seek to simplify.

Children at a previous show

Noting the difference between the two traditions, Moharana explains, "If you look at the form of shadow puppetry in Odisha, it is extremely basic in its style. As you travel across India, it gains more mechanical and artistic features. Throughout, they are used to tell mythologies. My attempt is to bring a more socio-cultural context to the storytelling using this medium."

Nagpal adds, "Such exhibitions allow children to visit an art gallery, and learn to appreciate and interact with an art form. Bringing in shadow puppetry was interesting since children will witness how the art is performed, and interact with the artists." The event will also allow children to create and colour puppets that they can take home. "They might go on to play with and create their own show," she says.

Aradhana Nagpal

Such interactions can be fun, says Gangavane. "We have travelled across the country, and overseas, and at all times participants are curious about the dolls, how we manipulate them and design them. For children, it is a very curious phenomenon," he says. Moharana notes that while usually puppets are created in goat skin, his session will have paper-designed puppets and art. "In the end," Moharana summarises, "we always return to the old ways of telling tales that we first heard from our grandmothers."

On: February 24; 11 am and 2 pm
At: APRE Art House, Sanghvi House, third Pasta Lane, Apollo Bunder, Colaba.
Log on to: insider.in
Cost: Rs 1,000 onwards