Hide and seek

The pandemic may have cast a shadow on the arts scene now, but for many folk crafts in the country, the breathing difficulties began much before the coronavirus struck. Leather puppetry, for instance, has been struggling for survival in the state for decades, with the translucent figurines losing their sheen, and literally so, with time.

The art is in dire need of public and government support, says Prof. M J Kamalakshi, vice president, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, and former chairperson, Karnataka Lalithkala Academy, who is bringing attention to the craft through an ongoing exhibition titled Reflection - The Ramayana. "Leather puppetry was once the social media of people," says Kamalakshi.

"But now it suffers from lack of continuity as an art form. The economic condition of most puppeteers is so bad that youngsters move to cities in search of jobs," she adds, explaining that they earlier used to lead a nomadic life, moving from village to village to hold shows. "Now, they tend to stay in one place, but most of them don't have enough land to make a comfortable living, and they work in others' fields. So puppetry takes a back seat. And unless they practise it, the craft will not be in a presentable condition."

The art form has also suffered due to increased material cost and commercialisation, with artisans taking easier routes like tracing the images, or using textile colours instead of preparing the original shades like they used to do. "They no longer make new puppets on a particular subject. They should know how to tan leather, and colour it, etc, but the skill is being forgotten fast," says Kamalakshi, who joined Chitrakala Parishath in 1965. "We started collecting leather puppets from villages in 1968.

Now, ours is the biggest collection, with over 3,000 puppets," she adds, talking about how this folk art was once popular in the entire south India. It originated at Kolhapur in Maharashtra, and later spread to other states. "The story goes that a brahmin, Kattare Kalachari, married a woman from a lower caste, and was outcast. He then started teaching his children this skill," Kamalakshi says, pointing out that even now, the puppeteers talk with their family members in Marathi even though they are fluent in, and may perform the shows, in the local language of their region. The leather puppetry too assumed distinct features in each state, with variations in size and material used.

According to Kamalakshi, public support and involvement of youngsters is essential to encourage the practice. "The government is taking some care to revive it. They hold awareness campaigns on topics such as family planning, etc. through these shows in rural areas," she says. "But that is on a small scale. It should be upon everybody to help preserve our culture."

In the shadows
Leather puppets are made of deer or goat skin that absorb colour easily. The leather is treated to translucency to allow shadow play. The characters are drawn on the skin, cut out and decorated with dots and lines. The puppet is supported with a bamboo strip, and the arms have movable joints so that they can be manipulated in specific ways. The puppeteer presses the figures against the screen and the image appears as a silhouette to the viewer.
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