Rod puppet has a main rod to hold the puppets

Rod puppet has a main rod to hold the puppets and two thin Rods attached with two hands. These two rods also hold by other hand of puppeteer. It is operated from below stage.

Bil Baird in his books ‘The art of the puppet says, “Bengal had created a rod puppet style which I believe moved eastward with Hinduism and became the wayang golek (Java) performed with three dimensional wooden figures that are manipulated with rods”.

So India has a long tradition of rod puppets. Now rod puppets are only seen in west Bengal, Orissa and Bihar.

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Glove puppets are also known as sleeve, hand or palm puppets

Glove puppets are also known as sleeve, hand or palm puppets the head is made of either paper mache, cloth or wood, with two hands emerging from just below the neck. The rest of the figure consists of a long following skirt.

These puppets are like limp dolls, but in the hands of able puppeteer, are capable of producing a wide range of moments. The manipulation technique is simple, the moments are controlled by the human hands, the fist finger inserted in the head and the middle finger and the thumb are two arms of the puppets. With the help of these three fingers, the glove puppet comes alive.

Puppeteers operated it from below or sitting in ground and taking it before his eyes. One puppeteer can manipulate two puppets at a time.

The tradition of glove puppet in India is popular in Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal and Kerala. The delivery of dialogues, the moment of the puppet and the beat of the dholak are well synchronized and create a dramatic atmosphere.

In Uttar Pradesh glove puppets plays usually present social themes, where as in Orissa such plays are based on stories of Radha & Krishna. The theme for Glove puppet plays in Kerala is based on the episodes from either the Ramayana (or) Mahabharata.

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Names of different traditional puppets of India

Puppets can be broadly classified into FOUR categories based on the mode of manipulation. These are marionettes, shadow puppets, Rod puppets, Glove puppets, Finger puppets and fist puppets.

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Glove

Orissa – Sakhi kundai

Kerala -- Pava Koothu/Pava kathakali

West Bengal – Bener putul Nach

Uttar Pradesh -- Gulabo Sitabo

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Rod

West Bengal – Putul Natch

Orissa -- Kattu Kundhei

Bihar -- yampuri

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String

Rajasthan -- Kath putli

Maharashtra -- Kala sutri bahuliya

Karnataka -- Gombeyatta

Andhra Pradesh -- Koyya Bommalaata / Chekka Bommalaata

Orissa – Gopalila Kundhei

West Bengal – Tarer putul Natch

Assam – Putala Natch

Tripura – Putul Natch

Manipur – Laithivi Jagoi

Kerala -- Nool pavakoothu/ pavakali

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Shadow

Maharashtra -- Chandyacha

Karnataka -- Togalu Gombeatta / Chekka Gombeatta

Kerala -- The pavakoothy

Tamil Nadu – Thol Bommalatam

Andhra Pradesh – Tholubommalaata

Orissa – Ravan Chhaya

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Composite forms

Behar – Chadar Badar

West Bengal -- Chadar Badar

Tamil Nadu – Bommalatam

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Puppetry Education by Pilla Nirmala....

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