Kathputli (Puppetry from Rajasthan) - Craft Documentation

KATHPUTLI JAIPUR

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Craft Documentation Craft - Kathputli Location - Jaipur, Rajasthan

A project by Ashitta Shah B.Des (2017-2021)

Supported by Unitedworld Institue of Design Karnavati University Gandhinagar.

Preface Unitedworld Institute Of Design, also known as UID has been a very sourceful and great place to support a design career. The institute helps us with the involvement in different types of craft. Craft documentation is a way to study, research, observe, explore, and experience craft in its region by the students in order to gain knowledge and document it for other fellow designers and researchers.

We chose the craft of “Kathputli” from Kathputlinagar in Jaipur, Rajasthan. By entering the slums of the village, talking to all kinds of artisans into this craft and some contact preserved by our mentor we were able to nd our craftsmen Pappu Bhat, Anil Bhat and their families who own the legacy of making traditional Rajasthani puppets.

This document is about getting to know their craft and listening to their stories of how it has evolved from ages, the process of its making and my appreciation towards the craft.

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Acknowledgement It was an appealing experience to be able to explore and understand the craft of KATPUTLI in Jaipur, Rajasthan. I am immensely grateful to Mr. Manu Joshi for answering all the queries in advance, Mr. Sunil Kaliha and Miss Kumud Kedia for guiding and making me ready for this eld trip and the research, and Mr. Robin Makwana for helping me put the content together into this document.

I would like to thank all the family members of Mr. Pappu Bhat and Mr. Anil Bhat for answering all our questions patiently and the people of Katputlinagar for welcoming us in their home and letting us explore their traditional craft.

I am very thankful to my group members- Nilesh Khandekar, Mugdha Kulkarni, Pranjal Sawai, Juhi Mansinghani, Kanaka Ghare, and Riya Bhansali for being so caring and encouraging throughout the trip.

Lastly, I would like to thank UID and Karnavati University for providing me this opportunity to explore the craft.

Contents Introduction Rajasthan Jaipur Puppets

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Kathputli About kathputli Kathputlinagar Artisans’ Proles Process Evolution Challenges Future

33 35 37 49 71 73 75

Bibliography

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Rajasthan

Photograph taken at Amer fort.

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Rajasthan Rajasthan is the largest state of India which literally means “ Land of Kings” or “ King’s Abode “ ( from ‘raja’ meaning king and ‘sthan’ meaning land or abode). Rajasthan is a north-western state of India. Apart from being a symbol of royalty, it is also known as the “land of colours” considering the colourful culture of this state. This state reects the rich and ancient Indian way of life. Highly cultivated music and dance with its own style are a part of this state’s culture. The culture of Rajasthan is highly depicted through their handicrafts, folk music and dance, including festivals and architecture.

From the famous attire of ghaghra and choli to the delicous dal baati churma and the dances of Ghoomar and Kalbeliya, Rajasthan still amazes the minds of people who visit.

Places to visit Rajasthan is known for its culture, colours, majestic forts and palaces, folk music and dances, rich traditions, local festivals and beautiful havelis. Jantar Mantar, Mehrangarh fort, Stepwell ( Jodhpur), Chittar fort, Lake palace, Baradari on Anasagar lake, Jain and Dilwara temples, Shrinathji temple, Kioladeo National Park, Ranthambore

Crafts of Rajasthan Rajasthan is also known for its art. Bandhani, leheriya, batik, leather work, kathputli, miniature paintings, gesso work, hand work dhurries, tarkashi, zari, stone carving, lac work, meenakari, blue pottery, and stone work are the crafts of Rajasthan.

Cuisines and Festivals Dal Baati Churma is a very popular dish in Rajasthan. It is also known for its traditional of snack Bikaneri Bhujia.

Other famous dishes include Bajre ki Roti and Lahsun ki Chutney, Mawa Kachori, Pyaaj ki Kachori, Miri Bada, and Ghevar.

Festivals celebrated in Rajasthan include Mewar festival, Teej festival, Gangaur festival, Desert festival, Brij Holi, Matsya festival and Kite festival.

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Portrait of a musician taken at Amer fort.

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Jaipur

Portrait of Jai Singh 2 ( Founder of Jaipur.)

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Jaipur Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan. It is also known as the “Pink City” of Rajasthan as the dominant colour scheme of the buildings is pink. It's the largest city in the state.

The city was founded by the Rajput Jai Singh II ( The ruler of the city Amer.) in 1727 and is named after him. Its designed by Vidhya Bhattacharya and was planned according to the Vastu Shastra and Shilpa Shastra.

Jaipur was made capital of the state after India’s independence in 1947.

It is mainly known for its culture and tourist attractions like Hawa Mahal, Jal Mahal, City Palace, Amer Fort, Jantar Mantar, Nahargarh Fort, and Jaigarh Fort.

Jaipur’s culture is a beautiful combination of royal heritage and an urban modern lifestyle.

Performing arts of Jaipur include Kathak, Ghoomar and Katputli.

Out of all crafts of Rajasthan, blue pottery, tarkashi, leather work, katputli, and block printing are some that are practiced in Jaipur.

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Puppets

Puppet in the entrance of puppeteer Rampal Bhat’s house

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Puppets A puppet is an object often resembling an animal, a human or a mythical creature. It is animated and controlled or manipulated by a person that we call a puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre where the puppeteer uses his arms, hands or some devices like rods or strings to manipulate the puppet and perform or tell stories.

History Puppets is an ancient form of entertainment. The earliest known puppeteers were probably the Greeks or the Egyptians. String puppets made out of wood performing the action of kneading bread is the oldest evidence of puppets in Egypt. Aristotle mentions or discusses puppets in his work in around 322 B.C. Puppetry has originated in India in around 5th Century B.C and is known by different names in the different parts of the country. “ Marionettes moved by strings” was mentioned by a Tamil poet in the 2nd Century B.C. The art of puppetry as “Bommalattam” is mentioned in the Tamil literature Silappadikaram.

In Srimad Bhagwata, the God Almighty has been likened to a puppeteer who with the three strings- Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, manipulates all beings of the created universe.

Glove puppeteers of Kerela.

Shadow puppet against the white cloth screen.

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Types of Puppetry in India 1. Glove puppets They are worn on hands just like gloves. Middle nger and thumb act as the hands of the puppet and the index nger acts as a head. They are also known as hand puppets.

The Indian states known for these art form are Kerala where its known as “Pavakathakali”. In Pavakathakali the puppets are dressed like the performing artists of the folk dance Kathakali.

And in Orissa its known as “ Kundhei Nach”.

2. Shadow puppets Shadow puppets are at puppets that are operated against the rear of the tightly stretched white cloth screen.

They are cut out of leather which is been treated to be translucent. The puppet shapes are attached to a bamboo or cane stick for manipulation.

It is practised in Andhra Pradesh (Tholu Bommalata), Karnataka (Togalu Gombeyata), Kerala (Tolpavakoothu), Maharashtra (Chamdyachya Bahulya), Orissa (Ravanachaya), Tamil Nadu (Tolpavaikoothu).

Indian rod puppet

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3. Rod puppets.

These puppets are manipulated by rods of different types and sizes. They mostly have three joints- The head is supported by the main rod, which is joined at the neck and both arms are attached to the rods that are joined at the shoulders. The main rod is hidden by the robe or costume of the puppet.

West Bengal has rod puppet shows known as “Putul Nach” plays that are based on the legends of Ramayana and Satee Behula.

In Orissa “ Kathi Kandhe” is the art of rod puppetry. The traditional rod puppet of Bihar is known as Yampuri.

These puppets are of wood and are one piece with no joint and hence the manipulation of these rod puppets is more difcult and require greater skills.

String puppet made at Anil Bhat’s house

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4. String puppets String puppets are made of wood, wire, cloth or rags and saw dust. These puppets are suspended from hand held strings for handling and manipulation. String puppets are also known as a marionettes.

These puppets are seen in the states of Assam (Putul Nach), Karnataka (Gombeyetta), Maharashtra (Kalasutra Bahulya), Orissa (Gopalila Kundhei), Tamil Nadu (Bommalattam), and Rajasthan (Kathputli).

All the puppets shows in India are based on the mythological stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata or the mythological and historical stories of the particular state.

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Kathputli

A puppet from the 52 characters of theatre.

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Kathputli The word ‘Kathputli’ is derived from ‘kath’ meaning wood and ‘putli’ meaning puppet. This literally translates to puppets entirely of wood. Kathputlis are made out of wood, cloth, and cotton.

Kathputli is a form of performing art, a theatre that was performed for the rulers and the royal families for entertainment. The tradition of kathputli is based on Rajasthani tradition and folk tales. It has been a very popular performing art of Rajasthan after Ghoomar. It was not only the way of storytelling but also a way for moral and social education. Due to the invasion of Mughals in Rajasthan, Kathputli started to lose its importance. Earlier Kathputlis were only made for shows but as the British and foreign countries started colonizing India and recognizing this craft, they wanted to buy it. So, selling of these kathputlis started. My batch mates and I land up in Kathputlinagar, Jaipur to talk to craftsmen and artisans about their story and experience in the making, selling and performing of Kathputli.

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Kathputlinagar Kathputlinagar is a small colony (basti) in Jaipur where the Bhat community and most kathputli craftsmen live.

There are about 100 to 150 families here who dedicate their lives to this craft. This place is truly a treasure of puppet and puppet-making. The craftsmen we met were very kind, welcoming and catered us with utmost love.

Anil Bhat Anil Bhat is a puppeteer from Kathputlinagar and has been making kathputlis for the last 18 years. He says that making puppets is their family legacy that is carried forward from 7 generations and he is proud to carry it on himself. He is from the village Nagaur and has now settled in Kathpulinagar where makes his living by selling kathputlis and performing puppet shows all over the city.

Earlier when he was a kid, they used to migrate to cities in Rajasthan for performing shows and also sell them in melas of different villages.

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Pappu Bhat Pappu Bhat, brother to Anil Bhat is the eldest in the family. He is more experienced in performing shows and has been making puppets since childhood. According to him when he was a kid they used to do puppet shows which were an hour and a half long, that included 52 characters with intense story- telling. Nowadays people don't have the time to watch puppet shows and so they just perform for 5 minutes which is mostly a puppet dancing on the most popular song of the month/year. He has migrated outside Rajasthan for performing shows and representing the Rajasthani culture and tradition. Now as this theatre is losing its importance, they only perform in parties and hotels for tourists.

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Rampal Bhat Rampal Bhat is the eldest puppeteer in the colony. He has been a puppeteer since childhood. His kathputlis have been exported as he has his own style of making them that also represent the Rajasthani culture. He makes kathputlis of Indian mythological characters and Gods. He also designs clothes for them instead of just mismatching them. He purely works on quality and not for mass production. He is the most experienced craftsman we met in Kathputlinagar.

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Laxmi Bhat She is the sister of Anil Bhat. She is also the craftswoman in the family who mostly does the painting and the latter part of making kathputlis. She mostly paints all the kathputlis that are carved by her brothers and helps her family earn.

Sumitra Bhat She is the wife of Pappu Bhat. Just like Laxmi, she also does the latter part of making the puppets. She also manages the home and parents her kids.

This is a picture of her making tea for all of us when we were interviewing Pappu Bhat and Anil Bhat.

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A portrait of the wife of Anil Bhat and the daughter in law of the house. After getting married she also started helping the family business.

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Process

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1. Carving After buying blocks of wood cut into small sized pieces of around 6 inches the craftsman rst carves the face of the kathputli and gives the lower part a proper shape on top of which the detailed parts of the body will be attached which will be made of cloth stuffed with cotton or waste cloth. The wood they use is called ‘adu’ as a local term and it's a a soft wood which they carve out using a normal chisel. They use their hands to apply pressure on the chisel which is then applied on the wood. The wood gets carved out in thin layers of chips.

2. Filling in the gaps After the kathputlis are carved out they are coated with a layer of ‘ chalk mitti’ which is basically a paste of chalk and water to ll in the pores and small holes in the wood. It is also applied to get an even surface on the face of the kathputli and makes a layer between paint and wood. When the paste dries, the kathputlis are sanded.

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3. Sanding After the application of ‘chalk mitti’ the katputlis are left to dry. As soon as they dry which is in about an hour they are sanded with an emery paper. Sanding helps remove the extra layers of the paste. Due to sanding they reduce the weight of the kathputli which would be more if they were left unsanded with the coating of the ‘chalk mitti’ paste.

4. Painting the body.

After the sanding is done the painting of the kathputli starts. The paint used is white or off white/skin (made by mixing white, yellow and red) of the brand Asian Paints. Two to three layers of this paint is applied so that none of the wood is seen through it. It is applied with a normal local paintbrush. The craftsman makes sure that the paint and its layers are even for a more nished look.

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5. Painting the features.

The nal part is painting the features of the kathputli. These features are painted directly with black and red paint with a brush. No pencils are used beforehand, it is a purely developed skill of painting perfect features in a Rajasthani style by patience and experience. After this part of the process, the next major part of clothing and the body of the kathputli starts.

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6. Measuring and cutting the cloth After the nal painting is done, cloth of appropriate measurement and design is cut. These cloths are mostly waste cloth that are bought or are no longer in use. The cloths are mis-matched and selected for the kathputlis. Only Rajasthani style clothing is adorned to the kathputli as this is a craft that expresses the culture, history and tradition of Rajasthan.

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7. Attaching arms.

The rst thing they attach to the main body are the arms of the kathputli. These arms are made of cloth which is stuffed with cotton or other waste cloth. The cloth that is attached to the wooden body is attached by hammering small nails in the front as well as the back of the kathputli.

9. Joining the Salwar or Dhoti and feet.

The traditional lower clothing is a dhoti or a salwar which is rst nailed onto the main body and kept open from the end. Feet are made by stufng feet shaped stitched cloth with cloth or cotton. Those feet are placed inside the opening and are stitched to the lower clothing of the kathputli.

This lower clothing is for men. Women wear a ghargra (long skirt). And as one can’t see feet because of the ghagra no feet are attached to female kathputlis.

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8. Attaching the Headgear.

The turban or ‘pagadi’ deeply resonates to the Rajasthani culture. It is attached to the head of the kathputli using nails as its been attached to the main body of the kathputli. In older times, a turban was been worn by someone who was highly respected in the village or also the elderly of the house.

Turbans are worn by men. Women take a duppatta (scarf) over their head. Hence for female kathputlis the duppatta is attached.

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10. Finishing and attaching strings.

The last step to make the kathputli is to add an accessory according to the character it represents, cutting out extra cloth and threads and nishing the kathputli with all the little details possible. Later strings are attached to the kathputli so it is ready to perform.

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Evolution of Kathputli Earlier during monarchy, kathputlis were only made for theatre. As the British invaded and started appreciating this craft, they wanted to buy it or keep a piece of it with themselves as it represented the rich lifestyle of ancient people who lived in Rajasthan. During that time, the shows used to be one to one and a half hours long as it was a good mode of entertainment as well as social education. It had a huge story including 52 different characters and puppeteers used to migrate in and around the state for performing. Now, these shows are musical and as short as three minutes as people have become busier and have no time for this, theatre, hence, it has starting to lose its life.

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Challenges faced Earlier when this craft was appreciated more, people were ready to pay a good amount of money to buy kathputlis.

And there were limited kathputlis made as only the Bhat community used to make them. Now people of outside the community also make kathputlis and this has been a major reason for a drop in quality of the kathputlis made because everyone is trying to make and sell them as cheap as possible.

Another challenge for the craftsmen is to earn a good amount of money to survive, some of them sell kathputlis as souvenir in tourist or government shops, or do short shows in tourist places and hotels. However, they earn just enough to survive from it.

The production of the kathputlis has stopped for two months during monsoon as the wood has moisture and it is not viable to work on. So during this time they take a small loan for their expenses, do shows, or nd some other temporary jobs.

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Future The craftsmen don't see much hope for this craft and theatre in the future, they prefer on educating their children enough so they can earn their bread butter from it or they want their kids to go into music as they play and sing too while they perform their puppet shows. They think there is more scope in music than in doing puppet shows.

As a lifestyle accessory design student, I still see hope in kathputli souvenirs if its form, size, quality and material is been modied. It caters to all types of people, and not only tourists. If its made more luxurious and used as an inspiration for some home decor products then this craft has a good amount of scope in the future.

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Bibliography The research is referred towww.blog,indiacrafthpuse.com en.wikipedia.org All the photographs except pages 18, 24 and 26 belong to the author.

Ashitta Shah ashittashah99@gmail.com