Credit: Special arrangement
An eight-hour shadow puppetry show will run through the night in Bengaluru, starting Saturday. The city has previously hosted overnight cultural events such as Kuvempu’s play ‘Malegalalli Madumagalu’, and the Fireflies music festival.
Every southern Indian state has a shadow puppetry tradition. This weekend’s performance will showcase Karnataka’s Togalu Gombeyata, which uses leather puppets to depict episodes from the ‘Ramayana’ and ‘Mahabharata’, and the legends related to Vishnu and Shiva. The Bengaluru enactment will focus on ‘Virata Parva’, the story of the Pandavas’ final year of exile, which they spent in disguise.
Leading the troupe is Gunduraju, a seventh-generation puppeteer from Hassan. His family specialises in what he calls a 3,500-year-old art form. “In our tradition, one puppet can feature an entire scenery, whereas in others, one puppet represents a single character. Also, our puppets are designed so that even from a profile, you see both eyes,” shares the 66-year-old.
Overnight performances once served practical needs, says Gunduraju. Before television, villagers travelled long distances by bullock cart for entertainment. Returning late put them at risk of encounters with wild animals, so the shows kept them engaged until dawn. Similarly, at weddings and funerals, the performances kept guests awake through the night, avoiding the need to arrange lodging for hundreds of attendees.
The tradition finds a new context this weekend. It is part of the 24-hour ‘Bangalore Linear Festival’ and serves as its all-nighter show. The citywide festival features performances along the metro corridor.
Gunduraju has staged shorter versions of Togalu Gombeyata in India and abroad but says the demand has dwindled. The festival co-director Bharavi was keen to bring it to the city. He has known Gunduraju for a few years and was familiar with the intricacies and social dimensions of the craft. Bharavi says Gunduraju inherited the rights to perform in a hundred villages from his father. At his daughter’s wedding, he gifted 17 of those villages to his son-in-law, also a puppeteer. “The villagers don’t allow anyone else to perform,” says Gunduraju.
‘Virata Parva’, from September 13, 10 pm to September 14, 6 am at Bangalore Creative Circus, Yeshwantpur. Details on @linearfestivals.in on Instagram.