PUPPET AND LIFE

"You have the right to love 

and be loved as well. 

The right to, not just break but, shatter from your shell.

Run free, run proud 

sing to me and sing it loud. 

Slacks and dresses spinning and twirling, 

backs and arms bending and curling. 

Dance like the puppets do 

not seeing the strings touching you. 

please puppet master loosen your grip 

please god let his hand slip...."

​

 by Anthony Jarell Alexander, September 2011

Varun Narain's creation

"Puppets are actors though not human beings. Nor are they barely bits of woods and rags. Just as a mask is considered as 'the other face of man', Puppet is in fact, the Mask complete, from which the human actor has withdrawn, not to be disassociated but to be united with subtler objectivity for exploring yet another dimension of Theatre - yet another plane of reality". 

As the famous Mr. Richard Pischel said, "It is not improbable that the Puppet play is in reality everywhere, the most ancient form of dramatic representation." But if we dig more to find the place of origin of puppetry... well there is controversy. But the majority says, puppetry have originated in India earlier than 5th century BC, no country can perhaps claim such a long tradition in this form of art. In ancient tantric tradition and also according to the Vedanta, the essence of human life is referred to as the Ojas or the life-giving force. 

Famous puppeteer and my professor from MCRC Varun Narain and his puppet

Realising the complete parallel of the art of puppetry, where the Puppet is nothing but the reactive-self, manipulated by the external manifests - that is the puppeteer, making it possible...

Varun Narain's Creation 

Now the question is, is there any psychological reason behind making puppets? Well... well... well... we all have a strong desire to escape reality. Psychologist calls it 'wish fulfillment'. The Puppet's power of offering escape from reality through wish fulfillment is the secret of its surprisingly universal appeal which comes through identification, not with any of the Puppets but with the Puppeteer. Perhaps the largest prejudice towards puppetry and its contribution to psychology was evident in the witch hunts in Europe.

As Civilization advanced it was recognized that Puppets do not only mystify, but they also do entertain. The old traditional puppetry has been reinvigorated and Puppets have been successfully introduced to many new spheres of activity, such as education, therapeutic, rehabilitation of handicapped children, propaganda, advertising cinema and television. It has been recognized that there is no limit to the power of Puppets to provide aesthetic entertainment.

Farhatulla Beig and some local kids interacting with string puppet

Actually, puppetry can send a message more effectively and efficiently and in a non-threatening way to the children and parents and as well as to the mass than any other medium. Messages like on sex education or hygiene or communal harmony or infanticide. Puppetry can be a teaching aid in the classroom, no matter what type of Puppets you are using. A simple cut out can be more effective than a chalk n duster in the blackboard. It allows children to escape in their imaginary world. It not only delivers information but touches our inner self and awakens our subconscious mind, brings out our fear, regression.

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@anindita