The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Puppetry, passion and purpose

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Sunday, May 25, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Puppetry, passion and purpose

“I want to set up a permanent theatre for puppetry”

— Photo: S. Thanthoni

R. Bhanumathi.

With her amazing voice, she breathes life into puppets and transports the audience to a different world. She uses them as a medium of education, entertainment and therapy for kids. In over two decades of working with puppets and people, she wove, with great ease, several themes, including those about wild life conservation and science. Puppeteer R. Bhanumathi speaks about her involvement in puppetry and her passion for environmental education to K. Lakshmi.

“I am not a performer. I am more into applying puppetry in different fields,” says R. Bhanumathi, who conducts workshops for various groups of people — from children, college students, teachers, animators and housewives. Having started her career as a teacher in Delhi, her interest in puppetry grew when someone from Vadodara asked her to make puppets for a school project. “Till then, I had no idea about making puppets. But that project changed my life and drew me to puppetry.”

Her association with World Wildlife Fund made Ms. Bhanumathi, managing trustee of Pavai Centre for Puppetry, use puppetry for creating awareness of wild life conservation.

“There is a lot of creativity in puppetry and it is not just meant for children. Every puppet of mine has a purpose,” says Ms. Bhanumathi, who makes her own puppets with different materials, including jute, foam and a mixture of gum, chalk and milk. “I meticulously design every puppet,” she adds.

Each of them has a fascinating name to go with a story … be it Khan Chacha who sports a beard or the colourfully clad Jhilmil or her latest creation ‘Makku’. Pointing to a pair of jute puppets, she says, “These two turtles ‘Subbamma and Kuppamma’ speak about their problems and need for turtle conservation.”

She uses the art of puppetry to help children get over stage fear . “This way, they develop their creative ability through story telling and also learn about wild life,” she says. Her thesis for Ph.D., on the status of shadow puppetry in South India, helped her understand the declining art form and work towards developing it. “There is a tremendous scope for puppetry to flourish. More people must take interest in developing the art form,” she says.

Through Pavai Centre for Puppetry, she has trained many people, affected in the tsunami as well as those from villages to help them earn a livelihood by making puppets.

She now plans to conduct workshops for school children on neighbourhood wildlife. “I want to set up a permanent theatre for puppetry and reach out to more people through puppetry on wheels,” Ms. Bhanumathi adds.

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